Below is an explanation of the presentation I was asked to create for our annual school auction. Here is a link to the actual screencast video or you can read below and click on the links to screenshots to get the jist of it.

Earlier this week, Vinnie Vrotny, my friend and colleague asked me to send him a lesson that I created using my TabletPC and the smart cart projector on my floor. He explained that he wanted to use it to show at our school auction in order to share how Lower School teachers are using newer technology. At first I was very nervous about this idea, but I have decided to jump straight into this with both feet by using a new technology tool called Jing to share this with the parent community.

First I must go back in time to an earlier post . . .

Their homework assignment sheet looked like this . . . and this. Just a normal Microsoft Word document

Then I imported the text from the document into Microsoft Journal. This is an application on the TabletPC that allows you to write using a stylus. SinceI never have and never will be a great typist, I have enjoyed using this program for writing and projecting brainstorming sessions (like when we voted on names for the class gerbil) and for teaching cursive.

By importing the text into Journal I could model what I expected the 3rd graders to write. We watched a scene from the movie The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. When the short scene was over, the kids recalled what was said, what the characters did as they spoke, and how they felt throughout the scene.

When they brought their homework back the next day, I first let them share what they wrote if they wanted to. The kids were very eager and as they shared I mentally selected “good candidates” for writing out the scene with all of the parts in one paragraph.

Here was a scene that a student shared from the movie The Parent Trap. We began our class rewrite with some of the dialogue she wrote down. Next we chose a sentence that explained the setting of the scene. Then came more dialogue and we inserted some action for the character, Hallie. The class decided to put in some of what Annie, Hallie’s twin, was feeling. Then we concluded the paragraph with Annie’s final statement and some more action.

What we ended up with was a paragraph that would give a reader a clear picture of what is going on in the scene.

The 3rd graders used this and other lessons to help them write their fiction stories which were presented at our annual “Hot Chocolate House.”

Parents and alumni, thank you for supporting the teachers and students by coming out the the “Green B. Lounge!”