Visit 1 Activity 2
Informal collaboration to plan the narrative
09:20-10:00
Context
The teacher has just finished the introduction to the lesson and children all have their Chromebooks open on their desk. On their desks, there are stands with paper and pencils/ pens and now also the worksheet, which has been handed out. The students have multiple tabs open on their Chromebook, linking to the various previously created Padlets and the film for reference.
Key activities
- Planning the story using the planning worksheet
- Children individually and in pairs re-watch the video on their Chromebooks, which are open on their desks
- Children individually and in pairs peruse the Padlets, which are open on their Chromebooks
- Children fill in the story planning worksheet
- To plan a story from a character’s point of view, using beginning, build-up, climax and resolution framework
- To be clear and concise in the planning of the story
- Interactive White Board
- Chromebooks (one per child)
- Padlet
- Film
- Sitting in pairs to promote partner talk
- Sharing digital resources
- Teacher questioning to develop children’s comprehension and understanding of task
- Scaffolding the writing process through the use of previously populated Padlets
- Reading digital text in Padlet
- Digital literacy: Commenting on Padlets
- Story planning
- Character study
- Multimodal comprehension/ visual literacy using video
- Did the children enjoy using Padlet to support their planning task?
- Did the use of Padlet support sustained writing activity?
- Did using the Padlets motivate children to plan their stories?
Lesson Commentary
Introduction
The teacher asks children to use the planning sheet, which is handed out, to create a concise and clear plan for their stories. The planning sheet encourages children to write keywords and short narrative ideas.
- The Padlets allow collaboration (through commenting) and provide a shared repository of ideas developed in earlier lessons
- The Padlets also allow for moving images alongside text. The moving images provide visual stimulation and excitement
- The children’s attention shifts easily from their Padlets to the flipchart, the wall display, the example on the IWB, the film, as they plan their stories
- The Padlet includes a link to the video, that can be viewed from within the Padlet. This allows children to quickly move between their own writing, the ideas from others (in the Padlet comments), the narrative and character structure of the story, and the film.
- Rehearsed use of familiar technologies leads to focus on the task at hand, or exploration of new technologies with fluidity and ease
- Informal/ collegial collaboration through the sharing of digital resources leads to sharing ideas as a community of writers
- Ownership of technologies leads to responsible and fluid use
- Multiplicity of resources create a ‘space of possibility’ where children can freely explore, yet do so in a highly structured activity
- The IWB connected to the laptops allow for student work to be displayed on a large screen
- The extent to which children are able to care for their technological resources
- The extent of children’s prior experience with Chromebooks
- The extent of children’s prior experience reading with Padlet and video
- Whether the film used as stimulus is pedagogically sound and pitched appropriately for the range of readers
- How to facilitate children’s log onto the Chromebooks and access to the resources