Summary
During this lesson, students collaboratively recreate a scene from the historical fiction novel “My Brother Sam Is Dead” using Pixton comic strip creator. Students complete all planning through a Google Doc prior to creating the comic. Both tools allow students to digitally collaborate.
TIPC Ratings
0 – Entry: Research was not a component of this lesson. Students were analyzing a novel.
4 – Approaching: Students were grouped according to interest using Padlet. Digital tools were used to communicate and collaborate digitally. The students worked in groups with defined roles. Specific roles were provided as this was a sixth grade class fairly new to collaborating in groups. It was felt that scaffolding collaboration skills was a necessity. This is typically a characteristic of developing lessons. However, there were so many other components included in the lesson that it scores a little higher. The challenge in this case truly promotes collaboration to address an authentic task. Students are learning how to collaborate meaningfully without direct supervision.
2 – Developing: Students were applying knowledge after reading a novel. They chose an important event, summarized it, and used a digital tool to create a meaningful summary.
3 – Developing: Students created a unique product by collaborating. This product was a result of summarizing existing knowledge. Creativity was a feature of the lesson, but innovation was not a focus in this lesson.
Download Files
- View the Lesson Plan (Google Docs) which includes
- Sample Google Doc Planning Guide (Blank and Completed)
- Three Quality Student Artifacts
