Submitted by: Jim Dow
Collaborators: Andrea Lund, Annette Marchioli, and Kim Morrison
School: J.R. Tucker High School
Summary
Students examined theme and tone in a story by using children’s short stories as models. These elements are more obvious and easier to detect and analyze in a simplified story. I also wanted students to use technology to explore their own voices by having them examine voice inflection, pacing, volume, and other elements of a story not easily demonstrated when just reading. After we examined all of these elements by modeling The Sneetches in class, students then selected their own favorite children’s story, recorded themselves reading it and imported sound effects from the internet that enhanced the telling of the story. They saved the stories on Audacity and exported them as MP3 files to me for a grade. The 8 best were burned to a CD and along with the corresponding books, will be sent to Longdon Elementary School where they can be checked out, read and listened to. My students also submitted a follow-up writing assignment reflecting on their project.
TIPC Ratings
APPROACHING – Students had to locate and evaluate copyright free music and sound files for appropriate use in an audio transformation of their specific children’s book. They also had to integrate these sounds into the new situation of an audio book using appropriate timing and relative volume.
IDEAL/TARGET – Students shared their recordings with students at a nearby elementary school to provide them a comprehension aide for the books on their level. Students reflected on project with the help of elementary student feedback.
APPROACHING – Students used a variety of resources, experiences, and feedback to answer the essential questions, including how the transformation of text to audio can aide in comprehension. This question has multiple solutions, and answers depended on the experience of the student and his or her product.
APPROACHING – The students’ products had elements of originality because of the sound effects and music chosen, the reading style, pace, and voice, and the fact that none of these books were previously available to students in an audio format. Also, because the books chosen for transformation were on the elementary level and the audio was designed as a comprehension aide for those elementary students, the products had definite value for a specified audience.
Student Artifact
Download Files
Contents:
- Lesson Plan
- Story Sheet
- Sound Effects
- Reflection
- Student Artifact
