CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE (CYOA) IN PROJECT-BASED LEARNING

by Karan Lee
ESL Teacher at Technology, Arts, and Science Studios (M301), New York, NY

Writing Choose Your Own Adventure stories: Why is this good for ESL, main stream,
and other special needs students?

During the 2008-2009 school year at TASS Middle School, we had 23 ESL
students, which consisted of about eight percent of the student body. More than 30
percent of our 240 students had IEPs. Special needs students and ELLs continue struggle
with literacy within inclusion or self-contained classes; half of all ELLs last year also had
IEPs.
Because of our enormous educational challenges, we must think far ahead and
plan curricula that will motivate our students into generating their own world point of
view. We must help students regulate and own their learning processes by pushing our
pupils to think critically, and to be able to express themselves effectively in writing and in
oral discourse. Middle school students are not just test-takers in the state -- they are
young adults with great potential to move and change the modern world.
Going back to our program, approximately 15 ELLs -- including one mainstream
student and one former ELL -- attended the ESL After School program during the 2009-
09 school year. A year-end PowerPoint Autobiography project was extremely effective in
getting students to write about themselves and to present formally in front of peers,
teachers, and parents using technology including laptops, SmartBoards, and projectors.
These students did not do the project for a grade. And even though most were very
reluctant to present in the beginning, every last student participated. The major
accomplishment of this project-based learning was the early development of self-
motivation to become better writers, readers, and presenters with formidable technology
skills.
Because of our school's focus on technology, and the effectiveness of the ELL
Success Grant on reading, writing, and technological literacy gains, we should continue
to assign projects that encourage students to use higher level thinking skills, to
collaborate, and to produce portfolio-quality work they can be proud of. CYOA stories
are the way to go, since they are highly interactive, personal, and a welcome break from
the essays models that students are used to and are often challenged by. The included
lesson plan can be modified for all classes and student ability levels. The project is
creatively challenging in its own way, regarding organization, planning, etc., but also can
be a lot of fun.
Another reason why I want to do CYOA with ELLs and special education
students is that many of the students language abilities are from Intermediate to
Advanced. Although this project can be adapted for beginners, it is more appropriate for
those of slightly higher English ability and fluency. We need to differentiate not only for
our neediest learners, but also for our high ability learners, too.
Although the portable laptop computer carts are very popular and sometimes
difficult to get a hold of, this unit of study would be ideal for an after school program or
for any class that assigns the use of computers on a consistent schedule of about twice
weekly.
How will student work be shared?

Student work, such as websites or PowerPoint presentations, will be published on

the Internet if permissible. If not, student work will be copied onto CD-ROM. Students
can create an avatar or nickname associated with their writing if they do not wish to be
identified on the Internet.
Teachers, fellow students, and parents will be invited to a presentation at the end
of the unit during or after school hours. Students will create a summary of their project,
which they will present orally, as well as showcase their own CYOA websites via
projector and SmartBoard. Students will encourage the audience to explore the stories in
depth after the presentation.