This lesson is for : Grade 6:
Summary
Students develop editing skills, media skills, literature analysis, and use of literary devices skills in a lesson with four different stations. Station 1 motivates students to edit an expository essay that they wrote in groups or partners; when finished, students may then complete a “Wild Card” editing presentation on 6th grade curriculum-based grammar skills. Station 2 guides students through creating presentations on literary devices. Station 3 supports students in analysis of 6th grade literature using a dialectical journal. Station 4 introduces students to an $80.00 Doritos Commercial lesson that won $25,000 and a trip to the Superbowl as well as a chance to earn $1,000,000.00. Students create their own commercial using a plot diagram and incorporating literary devices.
TIPC Ratings
Research & Information Fluency
Rating: Developing – Explanation: Students are specifically required to research concepts in the directions for the Doritos Commercial. They also research literary devices while making their instructional videos. Students identified various technology to use throughout, some asking to make a Scratch game, or others asking to make a Prezi. Students frequently asked me if they could use this technology tool, this website, or this video example. They identified a number of resources, and I ended up learning a lot, too!
Communication & Collaboration
Rating: Ideal – Explanation: Students were grouped by the teacher into stations, but beyond that students could make their own decisions as to whether to work alone, in pairs, or in stations. To some degree, students were also encouraged to collaborate with students from other stations, they were just instructed that they could not keep other students from completing work on their own station. This worked out really well, especially as students had been in completely different groups when previously writing the essays that they edited in the stations. For example, one student who really needed help developing his editing skills communicated with a peer, then with an administrator who was observing, then the teacher, and then later left his station to get a student from a different station to help him incorporate an example of a hyperbole into the essay. The student from the different station had been in the original essay writing group, and was currently at the literary devices where one of the terms was hyperbole.
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
Rating: Approaching – Explanation: Students had to critically think and solve problems in several instances of the lesson, but they particularly had to do so when creating, filming, and editing the commercial. Some students had to re-film or re-edit, and this part of the lesson kept us extremely busy! The Doritos Commercial lesson could certainly be a lesson that is completed all on its own and not in a station, but there are two huge benefits to doing this lesson in a station. One benefit is that every student wants to immediately film their commercial at once when this lesson is introduced. Having this at one particular station means that only those students have the option to film at this time. The other benefit is that the other stations want to get to this station so that they can make their commercial, so they are more motivated to complete their work so that they can move at the next opportunity.
Creativity & Innovation
Rating: Ideal – Explanation: Students were encouraged to come up with their own ideas. When introducing the lesson, I pointed out that I had set very specific goals and expectations, as I have learned through student feedback that they want specific goals and expectations. However, I instructed students that the lesson is interesting when they, the student, come up with ideas that I, the teacher, didn’t even consider. This led to some very creative incidences, such as when students brought a 2-liter of Coca-cola to go with a roll of Mentos that they got from me. They wanted to make an exploding Mentos commercial instead of a Doritos commercial. Fortunately, my co-teacher discovered them with the 2-liter of Coca-cola, and after a lecture on how creativity is awesome but getting permission is even more awesome, she took them outside so that they could film their exploding Coca-cola.
