SUBJECT: Language Arts

GRADE: Fifth

TECHNOLOGY: PowerPoint

BY: Harvey Kelly, Michele Cadenas, Lisa Rainen

Target Grade/Subject

This three part English lesson is designed for a fifth grade heterogeneous class. Over the previous two weeks, each student has read a book chosen by the group from a teacher-generated selection. Books address specific historical time periods covered in this year's social studies instruction. Groups are teacher composed and consist of five mixed ability students. Previous instruction has introduced PowerPoint software. Students are mechanically proficient in its application. Students have been writing daily about their reading in their book response journals.

At this developmental level, students acquire much of their understanding through social intercourse. Vygotskian theory suggests that children develop their own thinking abilities through timely and appropriate guidance and support from teachers and peers. By working collaboratively toward the accomplishment of common goals, students are able to provide one another with information, prompts, reminders and encouragement at the right time and in the right amounts to promote the successful acquisition of knowledge.

Objectives

1.)    Each student will work in a group to create and deliver a logical and persuasive multimedia presentation in support of a specific element of the group's opinion. Presentation will result in a score of 85% or greater on the instructor's evaluation rubric.

2.)    Each student will actively participate in the group analysis and design of the presentation to the satisfaction of all group members as reflected by an average score of 4 or greater on peer evaluation rubric.

Virginia Standards of Learning

English: Oral Language: (5.1) The student will listen, draw conclusions, and share responses in subject-related group learning activities.

• Participate in and contribute to discussions across content areas.
• Organize information to present reports of group activities.

English: Oral Language: (5.2) The student will use effective nonverbal communication skills.

• Maintain eye contact with listeners.
• Use gestures to support, accentuate, or dramatize verbal message.
• Use facial expressions to support or dramatize verbal message.
• Use posture appropriate for communication setting.

English: Oral Language: (5.3) The student will make planned oral presentations.

• Determine appropriate content for audience.
• Organize content sequentially or around major ideas.
• Summarize main points before or after presentation.
• Incorporate visual aids to support the presentation.

Materials

• In-Group Peer Evaluations
• Teacher Evaluations
• Group Evaluations
• PowerPoint software and computer and printer access for each student
• Five floppy disks
• A laptop computer and LCD projector
• Group chosen books
• Project Description handout
• Book response journals

Lesson Description

Introduction:

• Reintroduce the definition of historical fiction: a fictional retelling of an actual event or period, often involving a personal point of view. Write this definition on the board.
• Ask students the following questions about the historical fiction they have read and its relationship to the given definition. (Responses will vary according to specific book) selection.
  • Does your book involve a personal point of view? How did this point of view help you understand the book?
  • Responses may include: The personal point of view made history more interesting because I could relate to the person.
  • Does your book describe a specific time period or event that you recognize? How did you tell?
    • Responses may include: The book not only told me it was about the Civil War, it described specific battles, weaponry, and living conditions through the eyes of one person.
  • Did your book help you understand the historical events described in it? How did it do that?
    • Responses may include: By seeing a person living in this time, I could feel what it was like to be there.

Content Focus

Day One

• Remind students that this assignment will be to analyze and report their opinion of the reader appeal on specific topics for the book.
• Recommend that students review their response journals to get ideas on these topics.
• Inform students that they will be graded on the persuasiveness of their presentations (both group and individual) and also by peer evaluation of their contribution in a team oriented project.
• Distribute in-group peer, teacher, and group evaluations to students. Indicate to students that these will be used to evaluate their presentations and so should be kept in mind as they work.
• Tell students that their findings will prove informative to their fellow students and will provide you with a knowledge base from which to choose assigned readings for future classes.
• Tell students to get together in their book groups.
• Distribute project handout to each student.
• Review the handout and explain its requirements. Check for clarity of expectations and review project timeline discussion on day 1, development of presentation on day 2, and presentation on day 3.
• Have each group select a project coordinator. Indicate that the project coordinator will mediate difficult decisions and ensure that the group remains on task.
• Allow students the rest of the lesson time to work in their groups.
• Circulate among the groups to assure a productive on task start and answering any additional questions the students have generated. Ensure that students remain on task throughout lesson time and provide guidance with discussions as needed.
• Announce beginning of 10-minute wrap-up.

Day Two

• Reassemble project groups in the school computer lab. Ensure that students in the same group are at consecutive computers.
• Indicate that students should follow directions for day 2 on their project handout. Have five extra handouts (one for each group) in case students have lost theirs.
• Circulate among students to answer questions and guide if necessary.
• Indicate to students that as they complete their slides they should work as a group to prepare introductory and concluding slides and organize presentation as a whole.
• Have students print out their presentations upon completion and save it to a disk.
• Bring students back to classroom to rehearse their presentations, focusing on elements mentioned in evaluations.

Day Three

• Set up a laptop computer with a LCD projector before class begins.
• Remind students of the characteristics of a good audience: listening, sitting up, and looking at the presenter.
• Distribute new Group Evaluations, giving 4 to each student for the purposes of evaluating the presentations.
• Review the items on the group evaluations, asking students to describe how they would determine their answers. Responses may include whether or not the reasons make sense and whether or not the presenters seemed to believe what they were saying.
• Draw group names out of a hat to determine order of presentations.
• Listen to student presentations and complete the first section of the teacher review form for each student on his or her portion of the presentation.
• Provide time after each group presentation for students to complete group evaluations. Indicate to presenting groups that they should fill out their in-group peer evaluations during this time.
• Collect all student completed evaluations.

Closure

• Have students address one of the following writing options in their book journals for homework:
• Based on what you know about the actual historical events that your book describes, how historically accurate is your book? Give specific examples.
• Pick a character in the book and compare it to someone you know of. How are they similar? How are they different?

Evaluation

• Student will complete Group Evaluations form evaluating their classmates as a group on the persuasiveness of the presentation. Average scores will be figured for each group.
• Student will complete In-Group Peer Evaluation form evaluating each of their group members on their contributions to the group effort.
• Teacher will complete Teacher Evaluation forms evaluating each student individually during their presentation. Students will also be evaluated on the content of their PowerPoint slides.

In-Group Peer Evaluations

Your Name

Name of Group Member

Please rate your group's members on the scale of one to five for each category, where one is needs improvement and five is excellent.

Kept up with reading the book.

1 2 3 4 5

Contributed to group discussions on entire presentation.

1 2 3 4 5

Shared plans for individual presentation and slides with group.

1 2 3 4 5

Please describe in your own words the team member's contribution to the group.

How would you rate yourself in terms of your own effort and contribution to the team? Complete the following survey about yourself.

Kept up with reading the book.

1 2 3 4 5

Contributed to group discussions on entire presentation.

1 2 3 4 5

Shared plans for individual presentation and slides with group.

1 2 3 4 5

Group Evaluations

Your name

Group name

Persuasive Viewpoint (circle one): Read Not Read

Complete the evaluation by rating the group on each of these issues on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is needs improvement and 5 is excellent.

Rate the level at which the group persuaded you to read or not read their book.

By reason

1 2 3 4 5

By appealing to your emotions

1 2 3 4 5

Explain why or why not you were persuaded. Provide at least three specific reasons.

Teacher Evaluation

Student Name:

Group Name:

Check the appropriate box for each item.

During presentation

Excellent

Satisfactory

Needs Improvement

Speaks with feeling

Speaks clearly at appropriate pace

Has good posture for this setting

Maintains eye contact

Uses gestures to support verbal message

Uses facial expression to dramatize verbal message

Persuasiveness

During slide evaluation

Excellent

Satisfactory

Needs Improvement

Content is on topic

Content organized around major ideas

Slides show main points of presentation

Illustrations support content

Comments:

Project Description

Day 1

Name your group. Give this name to the teacher.

In your groups, each student will choose one of the following topics about your book, making sure every topic is chosen:

• character relevance
• character development
• plot
• important events
• engaging language

Discuss each of these topics as a group before assigning parts, taking notes as you discuss. Use the following questions to guide your discussions.

• Character Relevance
• Are the characters believable?
• Are the characters in the book easy to read about?
• What about the characters makes them easy or not easy to read about?
• Are the main characters similar to you? In what ways? If not, how are they different?

Character Development

• Do the characters change or grow in the book due to events?
• Do the characters face difficult choices? Do they deal with these choices in interesting ways?
• Are the characters consistent, or do they seem to change for no reason?

Plot

• What is the book about?
• Is the plot believable?
• Is the plot interesting? Why or why not?
• Why do you think the author wrote this book?

Important Events

• What important events happen in the book? Why are they important?
• How do these events affect the character? The plot?
• How do these events relate to the actual historical events? Are they similar? Different? How?

Engaging Language

• Does the book use interesting descriptions? Give examples for either answer.
• Are the sentences varied, or do they all start and sound the same way? Give examples.
• What is your favorite quote out of the book? Why?
• Decide as a group whether you will try to persuade your audience to read the book or not to read the book.
• Choose a topic you would like to present on. Create an illustration describing your topic.

Day 2

• Develop two PowerPoint slides on your topic showing major points of your presentation. Organize the whole presentation as a group, including order of slides, introductory slides, and concluding slides. Scan your illustration and include it in one of your slides.

• Rehearse presentation as a group. Consider the elements of the evaluation forms for presentation as you rehearse.

Day 3

• Be prepared to evaluate other groups on the persuasiveness of their presentation.
• Prepare yourself for presentation.
• Give your presentation.