Engaged Learning Project

Amber Beauchamp
Title of Project: Learning with ePals
Subject(s): English, Ninth Grade Literature and Composition
Grade Level(s): Ninth Grade

Abstract:
My two Ninth Grade Literature classes would read a work of literature from outside the United States,
specifically Japan to start. My students would then form ePals with the students from Japan to create a
broader understanding of literature and cultural diversity. My students would then have a perspective
that expands borders. My students would write informative/explanatory texts to convey complex ideas
about the literature they have read to their ePals from Japan. This ePals communication would span
across the academic year, but the literature being read would change over the course of this
communication-spanning from World to American works per the Georgia State Standards and contain a
variety of fictional and non-fictional pieces. Students will be using technology to read texts online,
research pertinent information, and publish the communication to their ePals.

Learner Description/Context:
Ninth Grade Literature and Composition for ninth grade students, age 14-16, in North Hall County. My
school has an IB program, so global participation is understood in our classes. The project spans over
two Ninth Grade Lit and Comp classes. The class size averages 24 learners for a total of 48. My Ninth
Grade Lit classes are general cohorts that contain diverse ability levels. Students have IEPs, 504s, gifted
flags, DPI flags, and EL flags. A common influence I have found in these students is a large liking for
the current cultural phenomena, Anime. It is this commonality that has led to searching for ePals in
Japan. My students are also most familiar with American History involving Japan, which will make it
easier to try to gain diverse perspectives on people and places since there is a basic foundation of
understanding for comparison. It should make it easier for students to break down a piece of literature
from outside the United States and form culturally appropriate written communication with global peers
from Japan. My students are very comfortable using Google Doc, so this should allow the concentration
to be on the literature and communication with ePals.

Time Frame:
Students will maintain correspondence with their ePals over the course of academic year; however, 50
minutes a week will be allotted to writing informative/explanatory pieces to their ePals. Students’ text
will typically change on a bi-weekly basis (an average time frame for reading larger works like novels is
two weeks). Students will write the expository letter and send to their Japanese peers every two weeks.
Students will work with Japanese peers to develop a murder mystery outline and share ideas starting
January. Students will collaborate to create, revise, and share their finished murder mystery by the end
of April (working from January to April).

Standards Assessed:
ELAGSE9-10RL6 Analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience reflected in a work of
literature from outside the United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature.

ELAGSE9-10W2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts,
and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of
content.

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

a. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections
and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia
when useful to aiding comprehension.
b. Develop the topic with well-chosen, relevant, and sufficient facts, extended definitions, concrete
details, quotations, or other information and examples appropriate to the audience’s knowledge of the
topic.
c. Use appropriate and varied transitions to link the major sections of the text, create cohesion, and
clarify the relationships among complex ideas and concepts.
d. Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic.
e. Establish and maintain an appropriate style and objective tone.
f. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the information or
explanation presented (e.g., articulating implications or the significance of the topic).

ISTE 6 Creative Communicator

ISTE 7 Global Collaborator

Learner Objectives:
 Students will analyze a particular point of view or cultural experience by reading The Decagon
House Murders and And Then There Were None.
 Students will write informative/explanatory texts to convey complex ideas about the works they
have read to their audience, peers from Japan through the ePals connection.
 Students will collaborate with their peers in Japan to write their own murder mystery story.
 Students will be measured on a scale of zero to 5 using the rubrics provided in this document.
 Students will be measured against the expository writing rubric for a weekly writing grade.
 Students will be measured against the creative writing rubric for their murder mystery story at
the end of April.
 Students will be measured against the expository writing rubric to judge their entire writing
portfolio at the end of the year.
 Students will be measured for mastery-level that shows focus, understanding of audience,
development of ideas, cohesion, appropriate language and style, and a conclusion that reveals a
clearly articulated significance of ideas.

The “hook” or Introduction:

A common influence I have found in my students is a large liking for the current cultural phenomena,
Anime. It is this commonality that has led to searching for ePals in Japan. My students are also most
familiar with American History involving Japan, which will make it easier to try to gain diverse
perspectives on people and places since there is a basic foundation of understanding for comparison. It
should make it easier for students to break down a piece of literature from outside the United States and
form culturally appropriate written communication with global peers from Japan.

I will introduce the experience to my students by saying, “Has your love of Anime characters ever made
you wish you could learn with students from Japan? Well, this year we will do just that. We will read
certain texts collaboratively, exchange writing with our peers in Japan, and then write collaboratively to
create a murder mystery that will stump all of your readers. Can you create a mystery that no one but
you and your ePal can solve?

Process:
Students will maintain correspondence with their ePals over the course of academic year; however, 50
minutes a week will be allotted to writing informative/explanatory pieces to their ePals. Students’ text
Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University
will typically change on a bi-weekly basis (an average time frame for reading larger works like novels is
two weeks). Students will write the expository letter and send to their Japanese peers every two weeks.
Students will work with Japanese peers to develop a murder mystery outline and share ideas starting
January. Students will collaborate to create, revise, and share their finished murder mystery by the end
of April (working from January to April).

August:
Explain the hook/introduction to the students. Students will then write their initial correspondence to
their ePals, so that each student can learn basic information about each other. Students will watch videos
I recorded in the “Getting Started” section of my Canvas that explain how to properly format their
documents and share them with me. Students will receive gracious first grades using the expository
rubric included in this document.

September:
Students will be introduced to the murder mystery genre and conventions. Students will read the first
text collaboratively as a whole group, The Decagon House Murders. The text will take approximately
two weeks to complete. During this time, students will be developing topic ideas and noting details in
the Google Doc they will deliver to their ePals. Once the novel has been finished, students will fully
develop and revise their expository letter for delivery to their ePals. I will grade the students each week,
the first week will be used as a daily grade scoring against the expository rubric and the final week will
be for an essay/project grade scoring against the expository rubric. Student writing completion will take
place on Fridays.

October:
Students will read the next text collaboratively as a whole group, And Then There Were None (we also
have audio available). The text will take approximately two weeks to complete. We will also watch the
1945 Public Domain film version of the text on YouTube as a mentor model. During this time, students
will be developing topic ideas and noting details in the Google Doc they will deliver to their ePals. Once
the novel has been finished, students will fully develop and revise their expository letter for delivery to
their ePals. I will grade students each week, the first week will be used as a daily grade scoring against
the expository rubric and the final week will be for an essay/project grade scoring against the expository
rubric. Student writing completion will take place on Fridays.

November and December:

Students will read from across a variety of genres and cultures. Expository writing during this time will
focus on providing information about the texts to their Japanese ePals and learning about their ePals
ideas from the topics ePals have had in class during this period of time. During this time, students will
be developing topic ideas and noting details in the Google Doc they will deliver to their ePals. Once the
various texts have been finished, students will fully develop and revise their expository letter for
delivery to their ePals. I will grade students each week, the first week will be used as a daily grade
scoring against the expository rubric and the final week will be for an essay/project grade scoring
against the expository rubric. Student writing completion will take place on Fridays.

January through April:

Students will work with Japanese peers to develop a murder mystery outline and share ideas starting in
January. Each group of students will read the Mass Live newspaper report and watch the How To Write
A Murder Mystery clip on YouTube to help them understand establishing outlines before beginning their
murder mystery writing. Students will collaborate to create, revise, and share their finished murder
mystery by the end of April (working from January to April). Students will publish and share their work
to Book Creator at the end of April. Students will go through various checkpoints that will be measured
Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University
against the creative writing rubric, because the students are required to have at least 2 grades each week
in my district.

May:
Students will be able to read and enjoy each other’s murder mystery stories. Students will be able to
attempt guessing who the murderer is, we will track the guesses in a shared class Google Doc, and we
will see if there are any accurate guessers at the end.

*Note: My students will still be producing a variety of writing, along with technological and reading
tasks, aside from this major accumulating project to still meet certain state standards, as well as prepare
for their Ninth Grade EOCs. This is why the ePals writing only takes 50 minutes of class time, so that
we still have 200 minutes of class time attributed to other various requirements to meet the standards
and their learning growth.

Product:
For the end product:
1) Students will produce a portfolio of informative/explanatory essays in the form of letters.
Students will compose their writing in Google Docs that they can share with teachers and peers
for edit suggestions. I will assess students on each writing, then I will assess their entire portfolio
of letters at the end of the course. The students will be able to see their own growth of writing
and ideas through this portfolio. Their product will be used by the ePals, high school students
from Japan, and my students will also be using and caring about the Japanese students’ writings
as these will be part of the inspiration for their own responses. Each group of high school
students, my students and the Japanese students, will find meaningful communication that
expands their own understanding and perspective of being a teenager in different parts of the
world assuming the same tasks. Technology is integrated in the online text access for visual and
audio reading, the use of Google Doc for collaboration, and the publication of their writing to
ePals in Japan.
2) Students will work collaboratively with the students from Japan to create their own mystery story
using Book Creator. The students can share a Google Doc to work through compiling ideas and
suggestions together, then they will finalize their project in Book Creator.

Technology Use:
Students will use their one-one technology devices to access all content throughout the course. We will
use Canvas, because that is the LMS provided by my district to access materials and support. Students
will use Google Docs for writing, peer feedback, teacher support, and revisions. We will use the ePals
website to connect with our peers in Japan. We will also utilize Google Docs and email for
communication and collaboration with the students in Japan. We will be using YouTube for additional
support materials on understanding genre and writing outlines, as well as watching the film And Then
There Were None as a mentor for writing murder mystery stories. I will use the rubrics to assess the
work students are creating in their shared Google Docs as we progress throughout the year and their
overall portfolio sample at the end of the year. Book Creator will be used for students to publish and
share their collaborative murder mystery writing. The technology supports the engaged learning
indicators by providing: collaboration, authentic and challenging tasks, seamless/ongoing assessment,
interactive instructional model, learning that is knowledge-building and empathetic, teacher as a co-
learner, and students the ability to be explorers and producers.

References and Supporting Material:

Novels:
The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji
Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Film (Mentor for writing):

YouTube Film Version And Then There Were None https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Po8FZoNUoIY
(Public Domain due to the year of creation, 1945.)

*Student expository essay letter writing, and mystery creative writing, will be inspired by these two
diverse cultural works in the murder mystery genre.

Murder Mystery Writing Support:

YouTube Video clip How to Write a Murder Mystery by Rae Sterling. Helpful clip to give students
support in the major genre conventions along with the tips on skills needed to start writing outlines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YusZH4z7YBk

*The video provides support for the various abled learners, since they can use closed captions, enlarge
the screen, change language, and access whenever they need it.

A newspaper report from Mass Live about a high school student in Massachusetts who wrote and
published her own murder mystery novel. https://www.masslive.com/living/2021/02/westfield-high-
school-student-publishes-first-novel-during-covid-19-pandemic.html

*The newspaper report helps students understand the basic structure and motivation for writing.

Audience Details:
ePals
https://www.epals.com/#/connections/profile/2a1821ff-22f9-4717-93d5-a94953518d2a
Teacher: Momoyo A
Location: Japan - Nagasaki-Shi, Nagasaki
Level: High School
Age Range: 15-17
School Type: Private School
School: Kaisei High School
Subject: English/Language Arts
Class Size: 41+
Teaching Since: 1993
ABOUT
I am teaching students aged 15 to 17. There are 40 students in my homeroom class. I would like to
exchange ideas by emails or postal mails, or other communication tools. My students are very excited to
have friends from all over the world, as we are in such a small area and this opportunity will help us to
open up to the world.

High Indicators of Engaged Learning:

1. Vision of Learning
a. Collaborative. Students have and value the skills to work with others. They understand
that learning is social, and they understand that many problems/issues have multiple
points of view.
2. Tasks

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

 a. Authentic. Tasks bear a close relationship to real world problems in the home and
workplaces of today and tomorrow. They build on life experiences, require in-depth
work, benefit from frequent collaboration, and are of relevance and interest to learner(s).
b. Challenging. Tasks are complex and typically involve sustained amounts of time.
Students must stretch their thinking and social skills in order to be successful.
3. Assessment
a. Performance-Based. Assessments are meaningful, challenging experiences that involve
presenting students with an authentic task, project, or investigation, and then observing,
interviewing and/or examining their artifacts and presentations to assess what they
actually know and can do.
b. Generative. Students and their teachers create the assessment criteria and/or tools so that
they are meaningful and generate knowledge.
c. Seamless and Ongoing. Instruction and assessment are integrated; assessment of the
process and products occurs throughout the instruction.
4. Instructional Model  
a. Interactive. The course of instruction responds to student needs and interests, and
students can make key decisions regarding their learning.
5. Learning Context
a. Collaborative. The school is conceptualized and designed as a learning community where
students learn to work collaboratively.
b. Knowledge Building. Learning is made public so that the learner can get input from
diverse perspectives and build on that knowledge.
c. Empathetic. Diversity and multiple perspectives are valued and utilized to build on the
strengths of all students
6. Grouping
a. Heterogeneous. Groups include males and females and a mix of cultures, learning styles,
abilities, socioeconomic status, and ages in order to capitalize on the range of background
knowledge and differing perspectives.
7. Teacher Roles
a. Facilitator. Teachers create opportunities for students to work collaboratively to solve
problems, do authentic tasks, and share knowledge and responsibility.
b. Guide. Teachers help students to construct their own meaning by modeling, mediating,
and coaching. They constantly adjust the level of information and support according to
students' needs.
c. Co-Learner/Co-Investigator. Teachers learn along with students, and students may serve
as teachers.
8. Student Roles
a. Explorer. Students discover concepts and connections and apply skills by interacting with
the physical world, materials, technology, and other people. Often students are
encouraged to jump into an open-ended activity in order to stimulate their curiosity,
become familiar with the instructional materials, and formulate early understandings of
the task.
b. Producer. Students generate knowledge and products for themselves and the community
which synthesize and integrate knowledge and skills.

These indicators of Engaged Learning are highest in the lesson, because students will be learning,
collaborating, and producing work for students in Japan through ePals connection. Students will also be
collaborating and publishing their co-written murder mystery with Japanese ePals. I think this lesson
ranges to a LoTi 6, because to reach a level 6 the work produced by the students would need to have an
Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University
impact in some way on change or outside the classroom. I think it meets the level 6 due to higher-level
thinking and creation with others outside of our borders, as well as the range of technology used and a
co-created published piece in Book Creator.

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

Rubric For Letter Writing Essays:

Total Possible: 25 points Name ____________________________________ Period _____

Expository Essay Letter Writing Rubric

This rubric will be used to grade your letter writing. Follow the guidelines below to receive full
points.
Above Mastery Near Below No
Standards
ELAGSE 9-12 W2
Write
informative/explanatory Mastery 4 Points Mastery Mastery Points 0
texts to examine and
convey complex ideas,
concepts, and
5 Points 3 Points 2 Points
information clearly and
accurately through the
effective selection,
organization, and
analysis of content.
Focus and Audience The text clearly The text has an The text has a The text has an Did not do the
a. Introduce a topic; focuses on the interesting and clear topic to unclear topic, work.
organize complex compelling topic clear topic to inform the and the audience
ideas, concepts, and and connects the inform the audience about cannot
information to make audience to ideas audience about the ideas. understand the
important connections and concepts. ideas and ideas.
and distinctions; connections.
include formatting
(e.g., headings),
graphics (e.g., figures,
tables), and multimedia
when useful to aiding
comprehension.
Development The text The text provides The text provides The text attempts Did not do the
b. Develop the topic identifies the effective facts, facts and to develop and work.
with well-chosen, significant facts, definitions, definitions that explain the topic
relevant, and sufficient extended quotations, and provides the but forgets to use
facts, extended definitions, details for audience with information
definitions, concrete details, and appropriate appropriate appropriate to
details, quotations, or quotations that examples on the information on the audience.
other information and provide the topic that the topic.
examples appropriate to audience with sufficiently
the audience’s appropriate develop and
knowledge of the topic. examples based explain the ideas
on their for the audience.
knowledge of the
topic.
Cohesion The text explains The text The text uses The text attempts Did not do the
c. Use appropriate and the relationship identifies the transitions to to connect the work.
varied transitions to between the relationship connect the topic and ideas,
link the major sections topic and facts, between the major sections to but the
of the text, create as well as topic and facts, create cohesion. transitions create
cohesion, and clarify skillfully uses and the text confusion.
the relationships among words/phrases to skillfully uses
complex ideas and connect major words/phrases to
concepts. sections for connect major
cohesion sections for
throughout the cohesion

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

 text. throughout the
text.
Language and Style The text uses an The text uses The text uses a The text has Did not do the
d. Use precise language engaging, appropriate formal, objective limited use of work.
and domain-specific formal, objective formal, objective tone and uses appropriate style
vocabulary to manage tone and contains tone and uses domain-specific and tone, and it
the complexity of the sophisticated relevant vocabulary for does not include
topic. language and language and the topic. domain-specific
e. Establish and domain-specific domain-specific vocabulary for
maintain an appropriate vocabulary to vocabulary to the topic.
style and objective demonstrate the convey
tone. complexity of complexity of
the topic. the topic.
Conclusion The conclusion The conclusion The conclusion The conclusion Did not do the
f. Provide a concluding provides clearly provides the ties to and merely restates work.
statement or section articulated significance of supports the the development.
that follows from and insight into the the topic and information in
supports the significance and implications for the text.
information or implication of future use.
explanation presented the topic.
(e.g., articulating
implications or the
significance of the
topic).

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University

Rubric For Collaborative Creative Writing Project:
Total Possible: 25 points Name ____________________________________ Period _____

Creative Writing Rubric

This rubric will be used to grade your fiction writing. Follow the guidelines below to receive full
points.
Standard Above Mastery Near Below No Points
Mastery 4 points Mastery Mastery 0 points
5 points 3 points 2 points
CCSS.ELA- Events are All events make Most events make Some events Story makes no
LITERACY.W.9- sequenced both logical sense logical sense make logical logical sense
10.3.C logically and sense
Sequence events creatively 
to create a (You took a
coherent whole. sequencing risk
and it worked out) 

CCSS.ELA- Uses three or Uses two Uses one Use of figurative Does not attempt
LITERACY.W.9-10.3 more effective examples of example of language is to use figurative
Write using examples of effective figurative effective figurative ineffective language 
effective figurative language language
language.
techniques.   
CCSS.ELA- Four or more Three examples Two examples of One examples of Imagery is never
LITERACY.W.9- examples of vivid of vivid imagery vivid imagery vivid imagery attempted
10.3.D imagery
Use sensory (a example is one
language to or more sentences
convey a vivid describing the
same thing) 
picture of the
events, setting,
characters, etc.
CCSS.ELA- No distracting 1-3 distracting 4-6 distracting 7-9 distracting 10+ distracting
LITERACY.W.9-10.4 grammatical errors grammatical grammatical grammatical grammatical errors
Produce clear AND 450-500 errors OR over errors OR 400- errors OR 300- OR not even 300
and coherent words  500 449 words 399 words words
writing for the
task and
audience.
CCSS.ELA- Multiple drafts Multiple drafts Multiple drafts Multiple drafts Only a final draft
LITERACY.W.9-10.5 show 5 or more show 3-4 show 2 show 1 was submitted
Develop and improvements improvements improvements improvement OR No
strengthen improvements
were made
writing by
editing.

Jo Williamson, Ph.D., Kennesaw State University