Heather+Deblock+Digital+Storytelling+lesson

This lesson using digital storytelling will be used in conjuntion with the unit that was planned in week 5, and also to suplement the lesson in week 6, wherein my students collaborate using the wiki. This lesson will be used as a culmination of the unit. I welcome your input. Heather

Heather. This is well done and its a good idea to explore the role and responsibilities of science in people's lives. I just made two comments, in bold print. One was about how the peer review of the stories would work and the other was about the specific focus they will address in their story. Good job. Cathy

Heather-You have developed a great unit. Creating a digital story to share with the class is a great approach to take. This will allow you to answer questions students may have. Peer review will work well for this lesson. Do you have established guidelines for how peer review is to work for your classroom or will this be new to the students? If this is new, you may need to spend time during the lesson instructing students on how to effectively review the work of others. The only other thing I would mention is that grouping a student who struggles with one who excells academically has backfired on me in the past. I would consider homogenous groupings as I have several students with IEP's who may struggle with content but excel with technology. A great lesson!!! Jenny

Heather: I agree with Jenny. My experience has been that homogeneous grouping works better. It usually means that you have to adjust your rubric accordingly, but with differentiated instruction I guess that is a given. Nice job! Ray

Thanks for all of the constructive comments and suggestions. As for the homogeneous grouping, I have discovered that students who struggle with organization, when paired with a student who excels int hat area, do quite well. Therefore, I have chosen to pair students according to thier strengths as well as their weaknesses. I have actually had homogeneous groupongs backfire on me - too organized and arguing over details in one group, and a project not even getting on paper let alone off the ground due to complete lack of organization.