Intel Teach Program

Essentials Course

Digital Story Book: Environmental

awareness
Unit Author
Bonda, Magdalene
First and Last Name

Hudierez, Dwight
Lambon, Roxanne
Obligar, Neo Abell

School Name

University of St. La Salle-Bacolod

School City

Bacolod City, Negros Island Region

Unit Overview
Unit Title
Digital Story Book: Environmental Awareness
Unit Summary
Creative writing is one of the most effective ways in distinguishing students knowledge and
awareness. Students will be given a chance to learn how to effectively write a short story through the
intervention of computer software and applications. As part of their requirements, there will be small
projects to be submitted by the students every after week. Before the formal way of writing a short
story, the students will present to the class all the content about the various ideas, concepts, and
information in writing a short story through a power point presentation. The students will produce
a newsletter containing the compilation of the various learning, poems and write ups about the
basic strategies in making a short story. To further deepen their understanding of a short story, they
will apply these ideas into formal writing. They will compose a short story through submitting their
work in www.wattpad.com. The theme of their short story will be the environmental issues and
trends and how it affects them as being part of the society. Finally, the students will upload and
organize their works in a particular blog site where they will revise and organize their self-composed
short story about the environment. The end-product of this project will be their personal digital story
book obtaining environmental awareness. This will serve as their big project to be submitted after the
unit study.
Subject Area
English: Creative Writing
Grade Level
9th Grade Classes
Approximate Time Needed
2 weeks
Unit Foundation

Grade 9 Level Standard (K-12 Curriculum)

The learner demonstrates communicative competence through his/her understanding of British-American
Literature, including Philippine Literature and other text types for a deeper appreciation of Philippine
Culture and those of other countries.
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Student Objectives/Learning Outcomes

At the end of the unit, the grade 9 student-Einstein students must have:

Identified the various types of short story and great short story writers.
Compose a self-composed short story about nature.
Acquired values and appreciation of short story in the world of Literature.

Curriculum-Framing Questions
Essential
Question

How does environmental awareness help in changing our lifestyle?

Unit
Questions

Why do we need to learn composing short stories?

How are short stories made?
How can we relate this literary work in conveying ideas about environmental
awareness?

Content
Questions

What are the famous short stories in literature?

What are the steps in composing a short story?
What is a short story?

Assessment Plan
Assessment Timeline

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Intel Teach Program

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Before
project work
begins

Motivational
activity

Students work on projects and complete

tasks

Short story
reading and
other literary
works
KWL (what they
KNOW, what
they WANT to
know, and what
they have
LEARNED)
Power point
presentation
(teacher
support)

Power point

Assignment

Evaluation tool

Small project

Evaluation tool
Wattpad

Assignment

Evaluation tool

Small Project

Evaluation tool

2. Elements of a
short story

Nature observation
about nature using
media resources

Digital Story
Book
(On line)
Paper and pen
quiz
(test concept)

1. Short story

Short story practice

After project work is

completed

Reflection
timeline
(reflection
paper)
Story telling
of selfcomposed
short story
(evaluation)

Newsletter

Assignment

Evaluation tool

Small project

Evaluation tool

3. Examples of
short stories

Timeline (Tabular form)

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Assessment
Brainstorm
Anecdotal Notes

Journals
Collaboration
Checklist
Group
Conferences
Literary Rubric
Project Plan
Checklist
Reflection
timeline

Process and Purpose of Assessment

Students will research various ideas, issues, concepts, and trends about the
topic and they will be given enough time to brainstorm as a group of what
will be included in their project.
We provided anecdotal notes for them to be able to monitor and to manage
their works in an organized manner. This will serve as their project map
wherein they will use this as their guide in doing the project. Also, it
provides feedback to adjust instruction for variations or revisions.
To assess the students work, they must submit a journal related to their
unit. We provided a group rubric to assess their understanding and mastery
of the topic.
During the group work, the students will be provided by a checklist to
monitor if everyone is really contributing to their designated tasks. We will
review their checklist during meetings to commend or warn each students
account of work.
Each week, there will be two meetings wherein the class will have a
teacher-student conference to determine individual progress. This is the
time for the students to ask questions to clarify information.
We used literary rubric to assess their poems/sonnets they composed. This
also includes the assessment of their project as a whole (presentation,
concepts, creativity).
The students will have their peer-sharing using their own checklist to
assess their own project. Adjustments of their work can be done during this
activity.
The students will be given a chance to reflect on what they have learned by
making a reflection timeline. They will trace back all what they have
achieved and they will share their meaningful learning about their project.
We used this activity to assess students growth throughout the unit.

Summary of Assessment
On the first week of the unit study, the teacher will assess the students on to their prior knowledge about
short stories. The teacher will share some of the great short stories in the world of literature and also, they
will be introduced by some of the great short story writers. This may give them the hint on to whatever
they will be doing for the next few days of class discussion. In addition, the teacher will have a lecture
about short story and its elements. The discussion will be emphasized according to the content of the topic.
There will be more activities regarding on how to compose a short story. Newsletter, online publishing of
literary works and power point presentation are just some of the activities that the students will be
submitting. However, they will be evaluated by the teacher through giving them specific criteria or rubrics
of the output. On the second week, they will have a project related to the composition their own short story.
They will come up with a digital story book and they will publish this to a particular blog site they the
teacher will assess whether they really understood and appreciate the topic. A paper and pen quiz will also
be given to them after the project. Lastly, a reflection log will be given for them to reflect on what they
have learned from the unit study. This will be objectively and subjectively graded by the teacher before the
unit study ends.
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Unit Details
Prerequisite Skills

Prior knowledge and ideas about short story that have a resemblance of environmental concerns.

Computer manipulation

On line media literate

Word processing

Instructional Procedures
Week #1

1. Prior to starting the unit. Spend time reading; short stories, poems, sonnets, and other literary
works that could somehow introduce to class the knowledge and ideas about literature.
2. Introduction to Short story. The teacher will divide the class into three groups. Each group
should prepare a PowerPoint presentation about short stories and they must present this to the
class. They will also share various types and examples of short story.
3. Short story Practice. Together with their groups, the students will be given enough time to go
outside the classroom and have an observation about the nature surrounding them. They will
compile all their observations in a media source like cellphone camera, video camera, Ipad, etc.
After which, they will compose their own short story about what they had captured in their
gadgets. They will have their freedom to choose their own topic and genre in making a short story.
They are only allowed to do this activity inside the school campus and they must be back in the
room ten minutes before the time.
4. The writers journal. The students will use a template created in Microsoft Publisher to make a
newsletter containing the compilation of the various learning, poems and write ups about the
basic strategies in making a short story. Assisted by the teacher, they will type these into words
and find pictures from clip art. They can upload photos from the internet with proper citation of
source(s).
Week #2

5. Wattpad writer feels. The students are now well-equipped to compose a short story, in that way,
they are ready to write their own story as well. The theme of their short story will be the
environmental issues and trends and how it affects them as being part of the society. They will
publish their work in www.wattpad.com and it will serve as their output for assessing their
performance in the class.

6. Video presentation. The students will watch a video presentation with regards to the
environmental issues and trends. The students will write their insights about the videos that had
been presented to them. They will be given an enough time to compose their short poem related
on to what they have learned from the videos, by group. Each group must present their works
through a poetry reading presentation.
7. Digital short story book. The students will be called in groups to brainstorm different ideas in
composing their digital short story book. They will upload all their works in www.storybird.com and
they will organize it by creating short story about environment. They will sign in a new account in
story bird and will submit their works to the teachers account. They will share their story in front of
the class.

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Intel Teach Program

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Accommodations for Differentiated Instruction

Modifications can be as follows

Content

Resource
Student

paired with another student, peer mentor, and work with teacher aid

examples (short stories) given to student

base on their activity, they must convey their experiences through their
environmental observations (activity)

can use specific examples from a short story book (that is provided to them by
the internet)

Technology:
paired with another student, peer mentor, work with teacher aid, or computer literate that
walks the student through the steps of the processes or helper does the searching and
on-line work as the student aids the helper in decisions
Content
Nonnative
English
Speaker

paired with another student, peer mentor, and work with teacher aid

examples (short stories) given to student

base on their activity, they must convey their experiences through their
environmental observations (activity)

can use specific examples from a short story book (that is provided to them by
the internet)

Modifications can be as follows

Content:

Gifted
Student

They will help their other classmates in doing the work.

examples (short stories) given to student

base on their activity, they must convey their experiences through their
environmental observations (activity)

can use specific examples from a short story book (that is provided to them by
the internet)

Technology:
Students will be able to perform the Microsoft Publisher and or Microsoft Power Point on
their own or with little guidance of the teacher.
Materials and Resources Required For Unit
Technology Hardware (Click boxes of all equipment needed)

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Intel Teach Program

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Camera

Laser Disk

VCR

Computer(s)

Printer

Video Camera

Digital Camera

Projection System

Video Conferencing Equip.

DVD Player

Scanner

Other

Internet Connection

Television

Technology Software (Click boxes of all software needed.)

Database/Spreadsheet

Image Processing

Web Page Development

Desktop Publishing

Internet Web Browser

Word Processing

E-mail Software

Multimedia

Other Power Point

Encyclopedia on CD-ROM

Printed Materials

handouts (for short story)

newsletter (for display as an example)

story book (for story telling activity)

copies of assessment tools (checklist, rubrics)

Supplies

bond papers/sketch pads

pencils/ball pens

Personal computers or computer laboratory

Study.com (2003). Short Stories: Definition, Characteristics & Examples.

Retrieved February 11, 2016, from http://study.com/academy/lesson/shortstories-definition-characteristics-examples.html
Internet Resources
(Teacher Support)

Hansen, Arlen J. (2016). Short story: Literature. Retrieved February 11,

2016, from http://www.britannica.com/art/short-story
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2016). What is a definition of short story?.
Retrieved February 11, 2016, from
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/subjects/literature/what-is-adefinition-of-short-story

Other Resources

NONE

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