Challenge #10: Give Students a Choice

For this challenge, I had to create a lesson plan and/or a project plan where students are given a choice in the outcome and topic for a project. Click the link below to view my lesson plan.

http://sablackburn.wikispaces.com/Choice+Rich+Environment

I have also include my lesson plan in my Blog.

Title of Activity
Responding to Literature
Grade Level and Subject Area
Fourth grade English language arts.
Alabama Course of Study Objectives
4.11 - Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
4.27 - With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
4.35 - Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to support main ideas or themes; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
4.36 - Add audio recordings and visual displays to presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes.
Lesson Objective
The student will be able to describe the main idea, supporting details, and characters in the weekly reading story using technology.
Description of Activity
This activity is designed to be used as a way to check the student’s ability to describe the main idea, supporting details, and characters in their weekly reading story. This lesson plan was designed to be used with a fourth grade class when they are reading the story So You Want to Be President by Judith George illustrated by David Small. This story is the fifth story in unit two of the Scott Foresman Reading Street reading series. The comprehension skill studied in this story is main idea and supporting details.
The story So You Want to Be President explains that the job of President of the United States is tough but many people try to get it.  This story explains what it takes to be president. It also demonstrates how past presidents stayed true to themselves and their unique personalities while in office.
For this activity students will be able to choose from five different projects that assess their comprehension of the main idea, characters, and supporting details of the story. The students will work in groups of five to complete each project. The five projects are listed below.
Project One - Presentation to the Class
The students will create a Power Point presentation explaining the main idea, supporting details, and characters in the story. They will then present the presentation to the class.
Project Two – Newspaper Article

The students will read and review teacher selected newspaper articles. They will then create their own article that mimics the format of the teacher selected newspaper articles. The student’s article will describe the main idea, supporting details, and characters. The students will then publish their article on the class Blog.

Project Three – Video News Report

The students will watch teacher selected television news reports about various current events. They then will write a script for their own television news broadcast. Their broadcast will describe the main idea, supporting details, and characters of the story.  The students will record their broadcast and share it with the class. The video of the news class will be uploaded to the class website.

Project Four – Reader’s Theatre
The students will create a script for a play that describes the main idea, supporting details, and characters of the story. The students will perform their play for the entire class. A video recording of the play will be made an uploaded to the class website.
Project Five – Podcasting

The students will create a Podcast that describes the main idea, supporting details, and characters in the story. The students will then publish their podcast to the internet and share it with the class.

Assessment

For this lesson, I would use the same rubric for each project. The students would receive full credit for the project if they have correctly described the main idea, supporting details, and characters of the story in an organized manner. They would also be assessed on their contributions to the project and their ability to collaborate.