Harbour, D. ITEC 7400
Engaged Learning Project
Cyber Authors
Title of Project: Cyber Authors
Subject(s): Social Studies, English/Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 5th
Abstract: In an effort to review for the upcoming CRCT, students will take on the role of an author and write a short
biography on a historical figure of their choice that was covered in the unit. Through prior knowledge and research, and the
guidance from community authors, students will gather information to produce a biographical piece of writing. Students will
then create a 5 question multiple choice quiz about their biography. Finally, students will publish their biographies to
scholastic.com and their class website. Biographies and the accompanying quizzes will be posted on the district Sharepoint
website as a review tool for CRCT.
Learner Description/Context:
The learners are 5th grade students of which 97% are African American and 3% are Hispanic who live in a low-income
neighborhood. Learners have a strong interest in various types of communication, visual & performing arts, and technology.
Students will have the opportunity to collaborate with community authors.
Time Frame: The project will take 10 days to complete. Students will use their 45-minute Social Studies block and 45minute Writing block which totals to 1 hour and 30 minutes per day.
Standards Assessed:
Social Studies- (students choose a person from one of the following)
SS5H1a. Identify Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Harriet Beecher Stowe) and John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry, and explain how
each of these events was related to the Civil War.
SS5H1d. Describe the roles of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, and Thomas “Stonewall”
Jackson.
SS5H3b. Describe the impact on American life of the Wright brothers (flight), George Washington Carver (science),
Alexander Graham Bell (communication), and Thomas Edison (electricity).
SS5H3c. Explain how William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt expanded America’s role in the world; include the
Spanish-American War and the building of the Panama Canal.
SS5H4b. Describe the cultural developments and individual contributions in the 1920s of the Jazz Age (Louis Armstrong),
the Harlem Renaissance (Langston Hughes), baseball (Babe Ruth), the automobile (Henry Ford), and the airplane (Charles
Lindbergh).
SS5H5a. Discuss the Stock Market Crash of 1929, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, the Dust Bowl, and soup kitchens.
SS5H5c. Discuss important cultural elements of the 1930s; include Duke Ellington, Margaret Mitchell, and Jesse Owens.
SS5H8b. Explain the key events and people of the Civil Rights movement; include Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the
Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, Civil Rights Act, Voting Rights Act, and civil rights activities of
Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King, Jr.
Language ArtsELACC5W2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
ELACC5W5. With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by panning,
revising, and editing.
ELACC5W6. With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish
writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
ELACC5W8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources;
summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.
ISTE-S
1b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression.
2a.. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
3b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
Learner Objectives: Students will be able to write an informative text on a chosen famous historical figure covered
throughout the school year. Students will be able to help create a rubric for the finished products and use it to evaluate peer
pieces of writing via google docs. Students will publish their final draft on the class website and www.scholastic.com.
The “hook” or Introduction:
To begin the project, students will be placed into small groups and given a manila folder. The folder will contain strips of
an unidentified biographical essay that has been cut up. Students will not only have to reconfigure the biography, but also
guess who the historical figure is. A representative from each group will then read the biography aloud to the class.
Harbour, D. ITEC 7400
Engaged Learning Project
Cyber Authors
This project should be motivating for students for various reasons. They will have a chance to collaborate with fifth graders
from another school on their writing pieces and eventually publish that piece online for the world to see. Both of these
should serve as motivation to write the best piece possible.
Process:
Day
Day 1
Day 2
Task
Students will complete the introductory activity described
above. Students will choose (from a list provided) who they
would like to write their biography on. Students can choose
to write about someone they identify with, or students can
choose to write about someone they would like to learn
more about. Students have the option of working alone or
working with a partner who would like to write about the
same person. Teacher and students will brainstorm to create
a rubric for the final product.
Teachers and students will discuss what needs to be
addressed in the biography. The biography should include
(but is not limited to) the following:
-Full name, date and place of birth
-Stages of life
-Relationship between contributions of the historical figure
and the time period in which he/she lived
-Major contributions to history
-Interesting facts
Students will visit the computer lab, go to the website
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/biograph/index.htm
and complete the biography writing workshop. Teacher and
students will review the writing workshop together and
students will ask any questions they may have. Students
will begin researching and working on their first draft.
Teacher will observe and assist students as needed.
Day 3
Students will use the computer lab to continue research and
begin work on their first drafts.
Day 4
Authors from the community will visit the class and assist
students as they complete their first draft. Students will
create a 5 question multiple choice quiz on their biography.
Day 5
Students will revisit the rubric and make revisions as
needed. Teachers will pair up students with their PRPs from
another fifth grade class who wrote about the same person.
Students will visit the computer lab and exchange their
biographies for peer review with their PRPs via Google
Docs.
Harbour, D. ITEC 7400
Engaged Learning Project
Cyber Authors
Day 6
Students will visit the computer lab. Teacher and students
will read over the comments their PRPs made. Students will
participate in a Skype session with their PRPs to discuss the
comments made and ask any questions they may have or
make additional suggestions.
Day 7
Students will make revisions to their first draft and quizzes.
Day 8
Teacher will conference with individual students and pairs
to make final suggestions/revisions.
Day 9
Teacher and students will revisit the rubric one last time and
make revisions as needed. Students will complete their final
drafts, including quizzes.
Day 10
Students will publish their final drafts to Scholastic.com.
Students will publish their biographies and quizzes to their
class website. The teacher will post the biographies and
quizzes to the district Sharepoint website under the CRCT
review section.
Product:
Students will produce a biographical piece of writing that they will publish to scholastic.com as well as an accompanying
quiz that they will post along with their biography to the class website. Published pieces of writing will be posted on the
district Sharepoint website under the CRCT review section to be used as a review/study guide for other 5th graders taking the
CRCT .
Technology Use:
A key component of this project is for students to use Google Docs to share their writing and receive feedback from their
PRPs (Peer Review Partners) with a local fifth grade classroom. There will also be a Skype session so that students will be
able to discuss feedback and bounce around ideas with their PRPs writing like biographies. They will publish their writing
via Scholastic.com and a class website.
How does the proposed technology use in this learning experience support the indicators of engaged learning?
Indicators of Engaged Learning
Technology Support
Producers
Students will produce a piece of writing via Scholastic.com.
Teacher
Students will publish their product to the class website,
which will help students prepare for the CRCT.
Collaborative
Students will utilize Google Docs and Skype to collaborate
with their PRPs.
Authentic/Meaningful
Writing pieces will be published to the world.
References and Supporting Material:
Harbour, D. ITEC 7400
Engaged Learning Project
Cyber Authors
Websites
Writing With Writers: Biography
http://teacher.scholastic.com/writewit/biograph/index.htm
Kids Encyclopedia
http://kids.britannica.com/
Encyclopedia Brittanica
http://www.britannica.com/
Web-based Productivity Tools
Google Docs
http://docs.google.com
Skype
http://www.skype.com/en/
Books
Roblyer, M.D. & Doering, A. (2013) Integrating Technology into Teaching, (6th ed). Boston: Pearson.
Rubric
RubiStar
http://rubistar.4teachers.org/
*Students will help to generate/revise the rubric as they go through the process.
High Indicators of Engaged Learning:
Standards-based
The project is centered around Social Studies and Language Arts standards.
Producer
Students will produce a written piece to be published online.
Collaborative
Students will collaborate with other students their age to give and receive
feedback. Students will also collaborate with community authors while
constructing their pieces.
Student-directed
Students will have the option to choose a historical figure, research, and
create a biography on that person.
Seamless, Ongoing Assessment
Students will receive continuous feedback from teacher, peers, and
community authors.