Lesson Plan for Implementing

NETS•S—Template I
(More Directed Learning Activities)
Template with guiding questions
Teacher(s)
Name Trent Stapleton

Position Instructional Technology Coach

School/District Kennesaw State Univeristy (iTeach) / Elkins Pointe Middles School / Fulton County School

E-mail Tstaple1@kennesaw.edu

Phone 4044333544

Grade Level(s) 6th

Content Area ELA

Time line 1 week

Standards (What do you want students to know and be able to do? What knowledge, skills, and strategies
do you expect students to gain? Are there connections to other curriculum areas and subject area
benchmarks?) Please put a summary of the standards you will be addressing rather than abbreviations
and numbers that indicate which standards were addressed.

For this project we are focusing specifically on the students’ ability to identify the narrator and voice of a text,
compare and contrast different viewpoints in a text, and to work collaboratively using 21 st century tools in the
classroom. The goal is to see the students develop their skills in using technology while writing their short
narratives. Students will also develop their analytical skills as they determine the point of view of their stories and
create new story lines and new points of view.

Content Standards:

ELAGSE6RL6 Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator speaker in a text.
Students will learn to determine the point of view of the author. Students will be able to
identify the various roles that characters play within a given text.
ELAGSE6RI6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and explain how it is conveyed in
the text.
Students will be able to explain why an author would use a certain point of view. Students
will be able to further analyze texts to identify authenticity in writing.
ELAGSE6RI9 Compare and contrast one author’s presentation of events with that of another (e.g.,
memoir written by and a biography on the same person).
After the students have rewritten their stories, they will be able to compare and contrast
how similar events may appear to different people. Students will be able to discuss how
every event appears differently to each person.
ELAGSE6W3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective
technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.
Students will be rewriting common stories, but in their own words and with different story
lines. Students will create well structured story lines based on the “real” fictitious
characters from common children’s stories.
ELAGSE6W6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact

Page 1 of 7
 and collaborate with others.
Students will continue to work on their digital citizenship while they work collaboratively
with their peers. Students will use Office 365 tools to produce their written work, record
their videos using DoInk (iPad app), and upload their creations to Padlet.

ISTE-S Standards:
2.b Engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions
online or when using networked devices.
These students are at a 1:1 school and this is a common standard for each lesson. Students will focus on
using their devices for educational purposes. Many of our digital native students are familiar with how to
use their devices for their entertainment, but we try to focus on how these devices can help them showcase
their own growth and learning.
2.c Demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual
property.
While the students are rewriting and recording their new stories, they will need to be aware and sensitive to
using the intellectual property safely. Students will need to be careful to make their new stories enough of
their own, and not using the same stories already presented. Students will also need to be careful when
creating their green screen videos and make sure that they are using background images that are free to
use.
6.b Create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.
Students will be writing their own stories and recording their own videos. Students will use Dell Laptops and
iPads to produce their project.
7.c Contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively
toward a common goal.
Students will be working together in groups to produce their final products. Using Office 365 will allow
students and teachers to work together and to monitor progress and participation.

Overview (a short summary of the lesson or unit including assignment or expected or possible products)

Students will read familiar stories (Cinderella, The Three Little Pigs, Goldilocks, etc.) and will retell the stories
from alternate points of view.

Working in groups of 3-4, groups will be charged with choosing a familiar story, identifying the various point of
view (main character, supporting character, spectator, narrator, etc.) and rewriting the story from a different point
of view. Students will use Office 365 tools to work collaboratively to rewrite their story, use DoInk green screen
app to record a video performance of their rewritten story, and post their work (rewritten story, script, and video) to
a class Padlet page. After all of the videos and stories have been uploaded to the class Padlet, the class will view
the videos and new stories.

I will be conducting this lesson with 1 of the classes in the 6th grade. This lesson is similar to one that we have
used in the past, however, it has been a written assessment piece without any technical component. Allowing
students to work collaboratively in Office 365 will help develop their digital literacy and digital citizenship skills.
Including the DoInk Green Screen activity will help to increase student interest, as well as provide an additional
pathway for students to showcase their understanding and to see how their writing can be used in the real world
(think movie director who starts with a story, writes a script, and films a movie). Using Padlet increase the
authentic audience for whom the students will be producing their videos and stories.

Page 2 of 7
Essential Questions (What essential question or learning are you addressing? What would students care
or want to know about the topic? What are some questions to get students thinking about the topic or
generate interest about the topic? Additionally, what questions can you ask students to help them focus
on important aspects of the topic? (Guiding questions) What background or prior knowledge will you
expect students to bring to this topic and build on?) Remember, essential questions are meant to guide
the lesson by provoking inquiry. They should not be answered with a simple “yes” or “no” and should
have many acceptable answers.

 Why is it important to “consider the source” while reading text?

 What is the danger in only listening to a single source/story?
 What makes point of view in writing so important?
 How can an author influence the way their reader feels?

Assessment (What will students do or produce to illustrate their learning? What can students do to
generate new knowledge? How will you assess how students are progressing (formative assessment)?
How will you assess what they produce or do? How will you differentiate products?) You must attach
copies of your assessment and/or rubrics. Include these in your presentation as well.

Students will create their own versions of well known short stories. Students are working with different voices
in their writing (1st person, 3rd person, etc.) and will be retelling a well-known story from a different point of view.
To begin, the class will brainstorm 5-6 short stories that everyone is familiar with. Students will choose the story
they would like to work with and will break off into groups (3-4 students). Groups will identify the narrator and
voice of the story they chose. Groups will then rewrite the story from a new perspective. Students will then record
their new version of their story using the DoInk Green Screen app (iPad).

Formative assessments will take place during the work sessions. The teacher will monitor to make sure that
students are on task (reading their stories, rewriting a new version, developing their script and recording their
video) throughout the project. Formative checks will also take place prior to the students rewriting their own
stories to ensure that students are aware of different voices in their writing.

The summative assessment for this activity will be the final draft of the rewritten story and the Green Screen
video. A rubric will be used to assess student/group mastery of these skills.

This project will be differentiated to address the needs of several different learning styles and abilities. While
the students are working, the teacher will meet with specific students in a one-to-one setting to help keep
students on track. Students will have the opportunity to show their mastery of voice in writing as they right a story,
prepare a script and perform their skit.

Page 3 of 7
Resources (How does technology support student learning? What digital tools, and resources—online
student tools, research sites, student handouts, tools, tutorials, templates, assessment rubrics, etc—help
elucidate or explain the content or allow students to interact with the content? What previous technology
skills should students have to complete this project?)

The students will be using Microsoft 365, DoInk Green Screen, and Padlet during this activity. Students will
use Office 365 to collaborate with their writing and to communicate with their teacher and their peers. Using Office
365 to produce their new stories will emphasize the importance of using technology for educational purposes
(typing, communicating, collaborating) and not for entertainment purposes only. Using DoInk, students will learn
how green screen technology works to create their short videos. For many, this will be their first experience using
green screen to produce their own videos, and they will be introduced to the basic skills of video producing and
editing. Finally, using Padlet, the students will have authentic audience for which they are posting their final
products. Padlet will allow the students to organize their own work and to review and comment on the work of
their classmates.

Before completing this project, students should know how to login and navigate their Office 365 portal.
Specifically, students should be familiar with creating and sharing a Word document with Office 365, how to
retrieve information from their Office 365 Class Notebook (provided by the teacher), how to upload documents
and videos to online platforms (Padlet), and they should at least be familiar with the basics of how a green screen
works.

Instructional Plan
Preparation (What student needs, interests, and prior learning provide a foundation for this lesson? How
can you find out if students have this foundation? What difficulties might students have?)

The students will be working with common children’s stories during this project. It is important to be aware of
the diversity of the students in the class and to be sensitive to the cultural backgrounds of the students. Before
beginning the project, we made sure that we had extra copies of several different children’s stories. If any
students were not familiar with these common stories, they were able to choose one at their own reading level.

Allowing the students to choose their own story to rewrite helps to achieve higher levels of interest in the
project. Students were able to choose the story they were most interested in, personalize it by rewriting the story,
and showcase their creativity by creating a DoInk movie.

It will be important for this project to make sure that students understand how to identify the different voices
and tenses in their writing. Students will need to identify the common voice of their story and be able to rewrite the
story from a different point of view.

It is not anticipated that there will be any issues using the technology for this project. Students are already
familiar with using Office 365 and Padlet. We are anticipating that some of the students will have issues using
DoInk, but we plan on being available to assist with students that are having issues during the filming process.

Page 4 of 7
Management Describe the classroom management strategies will you use to manage your students and
the use of digital tools and resources. How and where will your students work? (Small groups, whole
group, individuals, classroom, lab, etc.) What strategies will you use to achieve equitable access to the
Internet while completing this lesson? Describe what technical issues might arise during the Internet
lesson and explain how you will resolve or trouble-shoot them? Please note: Trouble-shooting should
occur prior to implementing the lesson as well as throughout the process. Be sure to indicate how you
prepared for problems and work through the issues that occurred as you implemented and even after the
lesson was completed.

The only anticipated issue with management will be during the recording of the videos. We have received
permission to use two of the small studio rooms in the media center. To make sure that there is not issues with
getting videos recorded, students will need to submit their story with a script to the teacher before being approved
to record their video. Once they have gained approval, students will then upload all of the background images
they may need to their iPad and take the iPad to the media center to record their video. The media specialist and I
will supervise the two studio rooms while students are recording their videos. This way students can record their
videos without being interrupted by other groups in the classroom or people moving around in the hallway.

Aside from losing school Wi-Fi, we should not have any technical issues. We have several iPads in the room
(in case one isn’t charged or is having other issues) and we also have charging stations for the student laptops.

Instructional Strategies and Learning Activities – Describe the research-based instructional strategies
you will use with this lesson. How will your learning environment support these activities? What is your
role? What are the students' roles in the lesson? How can you ensure higher order thinking at the
analysis, evaluation, or creativity levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy? How can the technology support your
teaching? What authentic, relevant, and meaningful learning activities and tasks will your students
complete? How will they build knowledge and skills? How will students use digital tools and resources to
communicate and collaborate with each other and others? How will you facilitate the collaboration?

While designing this lesson, I focused on the increasing collaboration, communication and creativity. Students
will be working throughout the duration of the project collaboratively using Microsoft Office 365. While this isn’t the
first time that the students will use Microsoft Office 365 to collaborate, it will be an opportunity for students to work
on collaborative writing. It will be especially important during this project, as it is anticipated that students will have
their own ideas and they will need to work together as a group to develop a final product.

Students will be able to demonstrate their creativity during the project as well. They will begin by analyzing
common stories as a whole group. They will determine the point of view, the voice, the setting, the theme, etc. as
a class. They will then be responsible for creating a new story line, the same story but with a new point of
view/narrator. After rewriting their story, the students will make the adjustments necessary to turn their new story
into a short skit. They will record their video using green screen technology to help them personalize their learning
and create their new version of the story.

Students will be able to work on their projects during class time and at home. Because the students will be
working with Microsoft Office 265, they will be able to access their work at home. Once they complete their writing
and their videos, their work will be posted to a Padlet which can be accessed outside of the classroom and will
create a more authentic audience for their work.

Throughout the process the students will complete reflections on their progress using Flipgrid.

Page 5 of 7
Differentiation (How will you differentiate content and process to accommodate various learning styles
and abilities? How will you help students learn independently and with others? How will you provide
extensions and opportunities for enrichment? What assistive technologies will you need to provide?)

This project will be differentiated to meet the needs of several learners in the classroom. Students will be able
to choose the story with which they would like to retell. While a list of stories will be provided, if the students can
identify a different story (that is still common knowledge) they may do that as well.

Our district provides Snap and Read for our ELL students. Snap and Read is a Google Chrome extension that
translates and reads aloud text for students.

Our district also provides access to CoWriter. CoWriter is an assistive typing tool for ELL students.

While the students are working to rewrite and then record their new versions of their stories, they have the
option of using several different tools. The students are provided Microsoft Office 365 accounts, but if they would
prefer to use Google docs, or even write with pen and paper, they can use whichever tool is best for them and
their group. Students will also have the option of using DoInk (for basic green screen) or Touchast (if they would
like to include a stop motion feature to their video) to record their videos. Students that do not wish to be on
camera will be encouraged to use Touchcast and create their characters (similar to Gumby) to use in a stop
motion film.

Reflection (Will there be a closing event? Will students be asked to reflect upon their work? Will students
be asked to provide feedback on the assignment itself? What will be your process for answering the
following questions?
• Did students find the lesson meaningful and worth completing?
• In what ways was this lesson effective?
• What went well and why?
• What did not go well and why?
• How would you teach this lesson differently?)

Our school is currently working towards several AVID goals, one of them being to improve self-reflection for
students. Because of this goal, our students are frequently reflecting on their learning through Flipgrid. As part of
this project, students will brainstorm and share their ideas through Flipgrid.

Students will be required to reflect on the project at the end. Again, using Flipgrid, students will reflect on which
parts of the projects they felt helped them understand the various voices and points of view in their writing. As a
final piece of the project, students will which the videos from their classmates and reflect and respond to their
peers.

I anticipate that the students will enjoy the lesson and find it meaningful. I believe that the students will enjoy
being able to show their understanding of the content in a different way then writing and submitting a short story. I
believe the students will enjoy working together in groups, developing their 21 st century communication and
collaboration skills.

As with most activities that involve introducing new technology tools, I do anticipate some difficulty with the
students using DoInk. In the future, I believe that this lesson will run more smoothly as the students are more
comfortable with the tools.

Page 6 of 7
Closure: Anything else you would like to reflect upon regarding lessons learned and/or your experience
with implementing this lesson. What advice would you give others if they were to implement the lesson?
Please provide a quality reflection on your experience with this lesson and its implementation.
The students are completing the project this week, and as I came home on day 2 of the project, I noticed an
article in National Geographic that describes how similar so many of these common stories are in different
cultures. For example, it describes how similar Beauty and the Beast (the Disney tale) is with The Animal
Bridegroom (from Ancient Egypt). In the future I would like to have the students compare and contrast the same
tale from different cultures. I believe this would help the students make an easy connection between the written
works they’re reading in their ELA with the cultures and civilizations they are learning about in their Social Studies
class.

So far, it seems that the thing that the students are struggling with the most is staying on task and staying
focused. But as I discussed this with the classroom teacher, and as we all already know, just because you place a
device in front of a student does not mean they are automatically engaged in their learning. I think moving
forward, it is important to set up effective classroom management procedures and expectations before introducing
the technology tool.

Strochlic, N. (2017, December). Tales as old time. National Geographic, 232(6), pp. 16-17.

Page 7 of 7