Smiley Simile Stories

TIPC Ratings

Entry – Students applied prior knowledge of similes and parts of a story: beginning: introduction of characters and setting; middle: conflict introduced, and end: conflict resolution. However, this occured prior to this lesson and is not applicable to the time frame focus.

Ideal/Target – The students chose their own groups and roles within those groups as they communicated and collaborated to complete the authentic task of making a virtual interactive book. The Zooburst books were shared globally in the Zooburst online gallery as well as embedded on our classroom blog to allow for communication and collaboration regardless of time zone or physical distances. The students used the rubric as well as our classroom blog to reflect on their roles as communicators and collaborators and to set goals for future growth.

Ideal/Target – Students chose their own groups and roles as they designed and created an original simile story using the web2.0 tool, ZooBurst, while incorporating group suggestions. Since each student directed a page, all students participated in this task and cooperated in a group setting. Students provided support in writing and technical aspects of this lesson and evaulated their peers in a positive, constructive manner. The students used the rubric as well as our classroom blog to reflect on their roles as critical thinkers and problem solvers and to set goals from future growth.

Ideal/Target – The students completed the authentic task of creating an online, interactive book of short stories using similies based on their existing and self-generated knowledge of book structure (parts of a book) and of similies. The students exercised creative freedom during the story development process and in the utilization of the ZooBurst Web2.0 Tool. The students used the rubric as well as the classroom blog to reflect on their creative/innovative process and to set goals for future growth.