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The Water Habitat Project
Teacher Guide Sheet for E-mail Messages
After students have collaboratively authored a Photo Journal for a pond field trip, they then write individual pond observation documents that are sent as e-mail to collaborating classrooms and schools. Each student has a document disk so they can work on writing in the computer lab and on the classroom computers.
Time: Sequential 45 minutes lessons from one to three times a week until the document has been taken from Prewrite through Draft, Edit, Revise, and Publish. This process can take from two to four weeks depending on the writing skills of the students and the length of document they choose to write. At least one 45 minute lesson per week is done in the computer lab with all students working on their pond writing documents with additional lab sessions scheduled when possible and other writing times scheduled in the classroom with students taking turns for writing time on the classroom computers.
For their first individual pond writing at the beginning of the school year, the class is given direct instruction on using both keyboarding skills and word processing software skills for their writing process. (See our classroom generated "Bird Print Writing Process" on the our website.) In the beginning of the school year, one 45-minute lab session per week is used to teach each step in the writing process. Parent volunteers are scheduled for the computer lab time to provide additional one-on-one mentoring of this writing process. From the beginning to the end of the school year lab, one 20-minute session per week is used for direct instruction on keyboarding skills using both Type to Learn in tandem with Microsoft Works 3.0.
Materials:
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Individual student computer disks
- Microsoft Works 3.0 Software
- Sunburst Type to Learn
- 27 Mac 575 Computers in the School Computer Lab
- 5 classroom Mac computers
WRITING INDIVIDUAL POND DOCUMENTS FOR E-MAIL MESSAGES
Lesson #1 Reviewing the Pond Digital Image Slide Show
Time: 20 minutes
Materials:
- Digital Image slide show on Lab teacher Computer
- Graphic Converter Software
- Averkey Projection Device
- Large TV monitor
Prior to starting their writing documents in the computer lab, the whole class reviews together the pond field trip digital image slide show as it is shown on the computer lab large monitor. Students take turns re-stating descriptive sentences about the science data in each image.
After reviewing the slide show as a whole class, students verbally share and listen to one another's ideas on a Prewrite list of topics for writing about the pond.
Lesson #2 Writing the Individual Pond Documents for Sending as E-mail Messages
Time: Repeated 45-minute sessions in the computer lab and on the classroom computers until the writing process has been completed.
Materials:- Microsoft Works 3.0
- Three ring binder writing portfolio for each student
- Digital Image Slide Show when in Classroom Computer
- Teacher gives direct instruction to the class on opening, naming, and saving the Pond Prewrite document to the student's individual disks.
- Students begin writing prewrite list ("Puffin Prewrite") for pond observation topics. As students finish their prewrite document, the teacher comes to their computer for a writing conference. If the prewrite document is complete, the student is instructed to do a file/save, file/print, and then file/save as to change the document to the draft step.
- In the draft step ("Swan Draft"), students write sentences under their prewrite words using dictionary (book) spellings for words they know and sound (phonetic) spellings for other words they choose to use. When they have completed a draft document, the teacher comes to their computer to conference and they are instructed to do a file/save, file/print, and file/save as to change the document to the first edit step.
- In the first edit step ("Egret Edit"), the students select words they think need dictionary spellings and use "open apple = u" to underline those words. When they have finished, the teacher comes to their computer to conference and instructs them to do a file/save, file/print, and file/save as to change the document to the second edit step.
- In the second edit step ("Owl Edit"), the students have a one-on-one conference with the teacher to assess/score their edit work, to discuss goals based on their progress in prewrite, draft and edit, and to provide guidance in finding spellings for words in the classroom dictionaries. After having book spellings written by hand on the hard copy of their Egret Edit, the students change the sound spellings to book spellings in Owl Edit. When they complete this process, the teacher comes to their computer to check their work and instructs them to do a file/save, file/print, and file/save to change their document to the revise step.
- In the revise step ("Wren Revise") students receive one-on one and/or small group instruction from the teacher on revising their sentences for fluency, noun/verb agreement, completeness of thought, and paragraphing. Students may do peer revising by sharing their documents with each other in this step. The teacher mentors students in completing the revisions of their sentences and doing paragraphing. When their work is completed, they are instructed to do a file/save, file/print, and file/save as to change the document to the publish step.
- In the publish step ("Peregrine Publish"), the students do a final editing and formatting of their written document so that it is ready to send as e-mail. When the document is ready for publishing as e-mail, the students are instructed to do a file/save/, file/print of Peregrine Publish, and save as to Pond E-mail + date of pond observation.
- The student's Pond E-mail message is printed and is ready to uploaded/sent as an e-mail message.
All hard copies of each student's steps of the writing process are kept in the student's three-ring binder writing portfolio. These documents are presented by the student at parent conferences and used throughout the school year to review writing progress.
Criteria for Writing:
The teacher provides good examples of pond writing documents for the class by reading and having them read using writings from previous classes that illustrate the Six Traits of Writing (Ideas, Organization, Voice, Word Choice, Sentence Fluency, Conventions). In addition, the teacher reads children's literature books that illustrate the Six Traits of Writing. Our school has designated books for this purpose in a school library writing resource collection of books. Throughout the writing process conferences, the teacher encourages and recognizes students' efforts to implement the Six Traits of Writing.
Assessment:
- The teacher uses scoring rubrics for each step in the writing process. (See the Bird Print Writing Process classroom webpages.) The Egret Edit scoring rubric provides the most in-depth assessment of student writing progress. Together, the teacher and student use the Egret Edit scores to set writing goals and to compare progress from one pond writing assignment to the next.
- The teacher keeps anecdotal notes on student's writing behaviors and student metacognitive writing comments.
- The students are assessed on a developmental writing continuum to mark their progress towards achieving writing essential learnings and standards.
Lesson # 3 Uploading and Sending E-mail Messages to Collaborating Classrooms and Schools
Time: Three 1/2-hour sessions over three days (plus additional time as needed)
For 1/2 hour each day, the teacher mentors the two students (who are assigned to do E-mail/Websites on the classroom Helper Chart) in uploading the text of classmates individual writing documents into an e-mail document that can be sent to collaborating local to global classrooms and schools.
READING CLASS WATER HABITAT E-MAIL AND WATER HABITAT E-MAIL RESPONSES
Lesson # 1 Reading Classmates E-mail Messages
Time: Daily half-hour reading sessions in combination of small groups, paired reading partners, and individual sustained reading practice.
In combinations of times for small groups, paired reading partners, and individual sustained reading practice, the teacher mentors students in reading the collection of classmates individual water habitat pond documents being sent as e-mail messages.
Lesson # 2 Downloading Water Habitat E-mail Responses
Time: 30 minutes
When Water Habitat E-mail Responses arrive, the teacher mentors the two students assigned to do E-mail/Websites on the classroom Helper Chart in downloading the response e-mail messages. During teacher preparation time, the teacher can reformat the messages into a larger font as needed, print and make additional copies of the messages for reading lessons.
Lesson #3 Reading Water Habitat E-mail Responses
Time: Daily half-hour reading sessions in combination of small groups, paired reading partners, and individual sustained reading practice.
In combinations of times for small groups, paired reading partners, and individual sustained reading practice, the teacher mentors students in reading the water habitat e-mail responses received from collaborating local to global classrooms and schools.
Criteria for Reading:
- Teacher does direct instruction on using multiple reading strategies when reading water habitat documents
- Students are mentored in using multiple reading strategies to accurately read water habitat documents
Assessment:
- Students are individually assessed while reading water habitat e-mail message documents aloud and being scored for accuracy, rate, and fluency.
- Teacher keeps anecdotal records on students reading behaviors and student's own metacognitive comments on reading progress when reading water habitat e-mail message documents.
- Teacher documents each student's reading progress on a developmental reading continuum.
- Students are assessed in being able to verbally restate and demonstrate comprehension of science concepts in the content of the water habitat e-mail message documents.
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