Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities

Lesson Idea Name: 5-Day Essay on KidPub

Content Area: English
Grade Level(s): 6th Grade
Content Standard Addressed: ELAGSE6W3: Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or
events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.

Technology Standard Addressed: 1.6 Creative Communicator Students communicate clearly and express
themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media
appropriate to their goals.

Selected Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity: KidPub

URL(s) to support the lesson: https://www.kidpub.com/

Describe how you would incorporate an Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity in your
classroom:

Students will be asked to write a narrative essay on the topic of their choosing. They will be granted a full
week of class time to choose their topic, workshop in groups, and post their essays to KidPub. The first day,
students will able to brainstorm potential topics for their essays and begin working on their outlines either
alone or with a partner. Days two, three, and four are in-class workshop days where students will be given
time to work on their essays. The setting in the class will be quiet so each student can have the best
opportunity to write their essays. The final day will see students finish and post/turn in their essays.

Once finished with their essays, students will post their essays to KidPub and to me (the teacher). Over the
next week, we will check in to see if there are any responses to their work. Should there be any, the students
will be required to write a minimum 1 paragraph response to the responses they receive on their essays.

What technologies would be required to implement this proposed learning activity in a classroom?
Computer

Describe how the following features are addressed in this learning experience (note: all of them may not be
addressed in the project, but most should be if you are reaching a high LoTi Level).
a. Collaboration with peers, near-peers, mentors outside their classroom and often beyond their
school: Students will collaborate with peers during the introduction and outline phase of their
project. They will also collaborate with others from outside the school when they respond to messages
left on their work on KidPub.

b. Student-centered learning and knowledge creation (creating original data and or producing original
products as a result of engaging in a project): Students will be given multiple days in class to work on
their essays.

c. Higher-order thinking: Students will showcase higher order thinking during each stage of the process
of this assignment.

d. Students publishing their original work to others who will use/care about their product: Students
will publish their essays to KidPub once completed on Friday,

Spring 2018_SJB
 Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☐ Remembering ☐ Understanding ☒ Applying ☐ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating ☒ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☐ Level 4: Integration

☒ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

This activity supports student learning in a few ways. It allows students to collaborate with each other during
a planning section and to collaborate with feedback once they have finished their essays. This will serve as a
great tool for learning how to handle positive and negative feedback during different stages of an activity. The
tool allows students to gain a feel for what the real world is like.

Lesson idea implementation and Internet Safety Policies:

Implementing this learning experience would require checking in with my district’s Internet Safety and
Student Privacy policies. Reminding students to practice netiquette (internet etiquette) while working will go
a long way in ensuring the policies are met, as this project does not require any major internet interaction
besides responding to posts made on the students’ work.

Reflective Practice:

This project could have a positive impact on student learning, as it develops narrative writing skills, as well as
allows students to take comments and constructive criticisms on their work. To further this lesson, students
could rewrite their essays based on the feedback they received on KidPub.

Spring 2018_SJB