Lesson Four

Island Stories

Instructional Objectives:
The students will use the writing process to write a story that goes along with the map they have made of an imaginary island.
The students will use telecommunications to share their work with other students.

Time Required:
1 fifteen to twenty minute session for graphic organizer, 1 fortyfive minute - one hour session for first draft, individual peer-peer or student-teacher time for proofreading and editing, individual computer time for the typing of the final story.
 

Advance Preparation and Prerequisite Knowledge/Skills:

• know how to use a word processing program
• know how to send e-mail

Materials/Resources Needed:

• Computer with a word processing program
• Maps from lesson three

Procedures:
Session One: Graphic organizer

• Tell the students that they are going to be writing a description and story about their island. In this session they will be collecting ideas and organizing their thoughts
• The students should use their imaginary island map to complete a   Graphic organizer that will help them organize their thoughts before writing a draft

• Use the writing process to write a description and story about imaginary islands. Use the graphic organizer from the previous session as an aid.
• Write a first draft
• Have peers proofread it
• Edit it
• Teacher proofreads the drafts
• Students refine the draft
• Final product is typed using a word processor

• Students share their stories with "Keypals" as attachments through E-Mail

Activities:
Use the writing process to create a story about an imaginary island and publish it.

Extensions or Follow-up (related Special Projects,events):

• Glue the stories to the back of the maps from lesson three and create a class book by binding them together. My Sample:

• Write a "patriotic" song for your island. (For inspiration use U.S. Songs and Poems, American History for Children Video Series. Schlessinger Video Productions)
• Read  Weslandia  by Paul Fleischman, Kevin Hawkes (Illustrator). In this story Wesley creates his own land/civilization.
• Start a journal or scrapbook of your imaginary island. use An Island Scrapbook, Dawn to Dusk on a Barrier Island, by Virginia Wright-Frierson. Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers.

Samples pages of student work in scrapbook journals:

Homework:
Take your story home and read it to your family. Bring it back to school to create a class book with it.

Evaluation:
Story- Does the story have the following:

A Title	10 points
Good Capitalization	10 points
Good Punctuation	10 points
Good Organization	10 points
Creativity	10 points

50 points = 100% = A

Because of the wide range of performance levels in my classroom I grade each child individually adjusting the grade to his/her abilities, yet having high expectations for all.

Alternate Scoring Rubric- Writing rubric

Illustrative Materials (worksheets, handouts, graphic organizers, photos, maps, and answer keys):
Graphic Organizer
Sample of Student Created Map (lesson Three)

Student Work Samples: