Bridget Dalton
University of Colorado – Boulder
Bridget.dalton@colorado.edu
This ppt is a version of
Dalton, B. & Grisham, D.L. (2013)*. Love that book: Multimodal
response to literature. The Reading Teacher, 67 (3), 220-225.
 We
live in a media-saturated, networked
world where text is:
• multimodal
• interactive
• socially distributed
(Coiro, Knobel, Lankshear, & Leu, 2008; Kress, 2003;
New London Group, 1996)
 Students
use media and the Internet to
• respond to literature
• create compositions and fanfiction
• connect with others in interest-driven
communities, both outside of school
and in classrooms
(Jenkins, 2008; Grisham & Wolsey, 2006;
Unsworth,Thomas, Simpson & Asha, 2005)
 For
ALL learners, including students who
are not faring well in schools:
• Disengaged
• Struggling with academic reading and writing
• English language learners
(Mayer, 2001; Dalton & Proctor, 2006; O’Brien,
2001)
 Scaffolding
 Personalization
 Multiple pathways for diverse
• Multiple means of representation
• Multiple means of expression
• Multiple means of engagement
learners:
• To learn more about UDL, visit cast.org
 IRA
and NCTE highlight the importance
of digital literacies and Internet inquiry
in position papers and standards (see
http://reading.org)
 U.S. Technology
Education Plan recently
released for comment: Technology is
part of the educational reform agenda
 TPAC
(Technology,
Pedagogy, and
Content
Knowledge,
Mishra & Koehler
2006)
 Be
inspired by students and teachers
 Take away ideas , strategies, and tools that will
help you:
• Connect books with media and technology
• Bridge social literacies with school literacies
(the “hook”)
• Scaffold the learning experience so that all
students learn and engage (multiple
pathways for students with diverse needs
and interests)
 Multimedia
Retellings
 Voicethread collaborative response
 Video Book Trailers
 Video rap
 Illustrated letters
 Multimedia posters
 Author illustrator multimedia project

Martina, the Beautiful
Cockroach: A Cuban
Folktale
• by Carmen Agra
Deedy
• Illustrated by Michael
Austin
Garage Band
recordings of
responses to
characters
 PowerPoint book

Dana Grisham and Linda Smetana with 7 gr 3-5 children
“Minnie Mouse” talks
about Martina the
Beautiful Cockroach
and her plans to give
her “leg” in marriage.
Martina’s Cuban
grandmother, Abuela,
tells her to test a
suitor’s real nature by
pouring coffee on his
shoes.
“Josephine” talks
about how Abuela
gives good advice to
Martina.
After three losers,
Perez comes to
propose to Martina.
“Greg, from the
Wimpy Kid” tells us
why Perez, the shy
little mouse, is the
successful suitor.
 Read
and discussed story beforehand
 Children chose their character
 Gave a partial retelling (not the whole
thing)
 Used book illustrations to guide retelling
 Adult recorded with garage band and
created PowerPoint book (scanned images,
inserted sounds, text)
 Resulted in tangible product that was shared
digitally and in print
 Letter
from the Battlefield,
collaboratively composed by 5
graduate education students
• Social studies textbook
• Gettysburg Address
• Google images
A Letter From the Battlefield
• The Civil War
• The Gettysburg Address
By 5 graduate education students in Dana Grisham’s writing class
President Lincoln’s Address
Dearest Mama,
There has been a big battle
here. You know by now
that I didn’t make it
through. I’m sending you
this letter from the other
side.
A lot of men died in this
battle. I just wish I could
see you one more time.
Casualties
You know, so many of
us just wanted to
come home. I don’t
care what side we
were on. We were
tired, scared, and
lonesome for our
families.
Lonesome for Home
I loved our farm,
Mama. I know it was
hard work and we
didn’t have much
money, but we had
each other. I wish I
could see it just one
more time.
A Final Good-bye
So, Mama, please
don’t grieve for me.
I’ll be watching over
you from where I am
now.
Your loving son,
Billy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM3Ws0W86r4
http://vpaamedia.edublogs.org/2009/01/20/students-create-digital-book-trailerslike-movie-previews-for-books/
Book trailer by Rachel Grzenda
Edward Tulane
http://teacherlibrarian.ning.com/video/
storytube-contest-entry-edward
http://storytubes.info/drupal/node/23
 http://digitalbooktalk.com/
/
For a brief how to:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4491963_make-book-trailer.html
http://edu.glogster.com/
Kevin Hodgson’s
6th graders glog
in response to
“3 Cups of Tea”
task
rubric
http://norris3cups.yolasite.com/
Maitri Composes
with:
Color
Background
Graphics
Font
Images
Layout
Video
And, oh yes,
writing.
The whole is more
than the sum of
the parts
 Disney
create
 Princess and the Frog mashup;
 Villains digital painter
http://disney.go.com/create/#/create/
 Students
are multimedia composers
 Multimedia expands and supports
students’ response to literature
 Publishing for an authentic audience
makes a difference
 Designing for diversity scaffolds all
learners
 Jump
in! Choose one idea, one tool, and
experiment
• Experience it yourself before teaching (but don’t
worry about being the expert)
 Take
an existing project and ramp it up
by scaffolding for diversity
 Share
your work; participate in an online
community
A literacy and technology blog by B.Dalton, D.Grisham, J. Castek,
B. Dwyer, Blaine Smith, and D.Wolsey
Bridget Dalton
University of Colorado Boulder
Bridget.dalton@colorado.edu
I love to hear about the ways teachers and
students are using technology and media
to support literacy – please contact me or
post a comment on our Literacy Beat blog