Teacher(s) Name: Ms. Capano
School: Trevvett ES
Grade Level(s): Grade 5
Content Area(s): Science, Language Arts, Reading
Lesson Summary
Fifth graders demonstrate their understanding of sound and how it works by researching and writing an ebook with a variety of nonfiction text features and audio-visual elements. The teacher begins the lesson by discussing sound waves and how they are produced by living and nonliving things. Students share their ideas and experiences with sound. Vocabulary terms are reviewed and assessed informally. The teacher then shares a print book and an ebook about sound, and the class compares the formats. An advantage to the ebook is that it can include actual sounds. Students are instructed to create their own sound ebook using BookCreator with nonfiction text features such as bold print, photos, diagrams, captions and, since it’s an ebook, real sounds. For the cover, students choose a background color, type a creative title, change the font, and add a photo of themselves. Inside the book, the students type facts about sound in complete sentences, being sure to include vocabulary terms. Then they use the drawing tools to create labeled diagrams of sound waves. On the last page, students use the built-in image search to add photos of living or nonliving things that make sounds, and they upload mp3 files of the sounds they make. Two websites that can be used to find free sounds are SoundBible and Sound Effects Archive. Once the books are complete, the teacher combines them into one class book. See an example here.
TIPC Ratings
Research & Information Fluency
Rating:Approaching – Explanation: The students choose the sites they will use for obtaining photos and sounds. They evaluate the sounds to see if they match up with the photo and description. They present their findings in their ebook.
Communication & Collaboration
Rating: Developing – Explanation: The students work individually on their ebooks but they combine them together to make a class ebook. They publish their ebooks online so that they can learn from each other.
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
Rating: Developing – Explanation: The students determine the best way to present their information about sound. If a search doesn’t yield the results they want, they must think of other terms or ways to utilize their findings. They also have to figure out how to use a variety of digital tools for creating their ebook and solve the problems that result.
Creativity & Innovation
Rating: Approaching – Explanation: The students choose the sound information they want to include in their ebook. They decide what audio-visual elements to add to enhance their writing. They are given creative freedom and encouraged to take risks.
Student Artifact
Lesson Materials
