This module introduces students to Scholar through a topic that has general appeal and one in which students can draw upon their background knowledge and conduct further research. Students also learn about the writing process and how to use Scholar.
Animals, Note-taking, Information, Reasons, Evidence, Multimedia.
In this module you will be able to share your knowledge about animals and do more research to develop your knowledge further. You will learn about how to use Scholar to write, give and receive feedback, and publish your work. You will also learn about other functions of Scholar such as sharing ideas in Community, dividing a work into ‘Elements’, creating different ‘Versions’, and incorporating media.
Focus Questions
What makes an animal incredible?
How can I take notes and organize ideas in an informative text?
How do I write an informative text about an animal?
Comment: What is an incredible animal that you can think of? Post your comment and look at the incredible animals suggested by other students. Comment on any you think are interesting and explain why. Start with @Name.
This module introduces students to Scholar through a topic that has general appeal and one about which students can draw upon their background knowledge and conduct further research. Students are introduced to some of the features of Scholar, including ‘Comments’ in Community, dividing a work into ‘Elements’, creating different ‘Versions’ and incorporating media.
This initial activity introduces students to Community with a simple post of one or two words.
Main CCSS Focus
W.4.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
Learning Intention: To collaborate with my peers in Community, sharing interesting ideas about animals.
Think about what makes an animal incredible. Discuss some of your ideas with a partner and then write about one of them so you can share ideas with the whole class.
Comment: Post a comment describing an incredible animal and what makes it incredible. Comment on the comments of one or two other students by posing a question and/or adding something interesting or incredible you know about that animal.
This activity builds on the initial comment in Community and aims to engage students further in their learning by connecting them to a knowledge building community. ‘Comments’ in Community Updates are used throughout the module to engage students and as tool for collaboration and reflection.
Use a Think-Pair-Share to scaffold students’ thinking before they write their comments in Community. In a Think-Pair-Share, students think for one minute and then share their ideas with a partner. In the sharing, each person speaks for about 45 seconds while the other person actively listens. The activity also provides an opportunity to discuss how students can support their peers through their comments in Community. In addition, set up protocols for using formal academic language in Community.
Emphasize the importance of providing reasons to support their opinions about what makes an animal incredible. If necessary, verbally model an incredible animal. For example, "A polar bear is incredible because it can survive in such harsh conditions and when it swims, it breaststrokes like a human."
CCSS Focus
SL.4.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.4.1c: Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others.
SL.4.3: Identify the reasons and evidence a speaker provides to support particular points.
Learning Intention: To search the Internet, and find and share incredible facts about animals.
Search the internet for more information on animals and identify an incredible fact about an animal.
Comment: Post one incredible fact about an animal. Include the website link so other students can learn more information. Then read at least one other student’s link and post a comment or ask a question about it. Your comment might answer one of the following questions: What interested you most? How is it the same and/or different to information you posted? What is some other information you know about the topic. Be sure to name the student you are commenting on by starting with @Name.
In this activity students use internet search skills to find more information about their topic. As students record the links to Internet sites in the Community posts, emphasize that these are important to also include in the Reference section. Provide individualized support for students to locate and record information.
It is important to scaffold comments students may make about other students’ comments. Model this by adding comments. For example:
I choose the Warty Newt as my incredible animal. Here is a fact, "The warty is also called the great crested newt for the dramatic, jagged crest that males develop along their backs during the spring breeding season." I found this information on this website: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/warty-newt/
Use discussion through a Think-Pair-Share if necessary to provide further support.
CCSS Focus
W.4.8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.
SL.4.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.4.1c: Pose and respond to specific questions to clarify or follow up on information, and make comments that contribute to the discussion and link to the remarks of others.
Read the informative text about Deer (Source: Encyclopedia Britannica Kids).You can download it from Shares.
Complete the survey.
This survey is based on a short informative text on Deer from the online version of Encyclopedia Britannica Kids . The text is suitable for ages 8-11. For copyright reeasons, the text is not included here. To access the text, it will be necessary to sign up (Free 7 day trials are available). Then distribute the text to students by posting the text to Shares.
Alternatively, create a new Community Update - Go to the Community Profile and in the pull down menu, select Updates. Paste the text into the update and then add it to the Community Activity Stream.
The survey introduces a model of an informative text with questions that provide information about students’ comprehension of the text and understanding of text structure and technical language. Depending on the results of the survey, more individualized support may be provided for students who require it.
Survey Results: Go to the Survey Tool in Publisher. Then go to Find a Survey => Already Distributed Surveys => Results.
CCSS Focus
W.4.2a: Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
W.4.2b: Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.
Learning Intention: To start my writing project.
Description: Write an informative text for the web about an incredible animal. Include multimedia and references.
Check the Work Request in your Notifications. Click on this link to open the “Untitled Work” in Creator. Then, change the title, and begin a first draft. Go to About This Work => Project => Description for further project information.
For what you need to do in order to write a good informative/explanatory text, go to Feedback => Reviews => Rubric. Keep the Rubric open and refer to it as you write.
When you are ready to submit, click “Submit Draft” below the work. This is the version of your work that will be sent to others for review.
Comment: Do you have any questions about how Scholar works? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student's question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by starting with @Name.
Assigning the project to the students at this stage is important to set clear expectations, and also so students understand how the activities that follow will support them. The Overt Instruction Update, How to Write in Scholar, that follows, will support students to explore and understand the Creator space.
Project Rubric
CCSS Focus
W.4.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.
W.4.4: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose and audience.
W.4.6: 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.
Learning Intention: To understand the phases of draft, feedback, revision and publication in Creator in Scholar.
In Scholar, you go through the following writing phases:
1. Draft: This is where you write the first draft of your work.
2. Feedback: You will then be asked to give feedback on works that your peers have written.
3. Revision: Next, you will receive feedback from your peers on your work. This feedback will help you to improve your work when you rewrite it.
4. Publication: Finally, your teacher will review your work and may decide to publish it to your profile page in Community. Once published, other members of your class community will be able to read and comment on your work.
Now, go to Creator. Do not create a new work - make sure you write in the blank work that has been created for the class project. If you open your work from the link in your Notifications, you will be sure to be in the right work. Have a look around:
You can view some short videos on how to use the Scholar workspace. These include:
Comment: Do you have any questions about how Scholar works? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student’s question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by adding @Name
For students who have not used Scholar before, this update describes the stages in the online writing process.
Encourage students to refer to the Rubric before they write and as they write. The Rubric can remain open so they can continue to refer to it. If necessary, take students through the Rubric. For first time users of Scholar, the following Overt Instruction Update from The Writer's Toolkit: Strategies for Writing in the New Media may be useful to add to Community:
CCSS Focus
W.4.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
Learning Intention: To understand how you organize information in an informative text.
Information texts on the web are divided up into sections. Look back at the online text about ‘Deer’ from the Encyclopedia Britannica. Use the Structure tool in Scholar (About This Work=> Structure) to outline your sections or ‘Elements’ and insert headings. You can use the same headings as the one on deer or create different headings. You can change the order of the sections at any time by hovering over a section and choosing the icon to move sections up and down as you organize your thoughts. To create subsections, drag the icon to the right.
You can view a short video on how to use the Structure Tool in Scholar.
Use your background knowledge first and add some points under each heading. Then look up other websites to find more information about your chosen animal. Add facts, definitions, concrete details and examples under each heading in your own words. If you copied sentences from other websites, that would be plagiarism, pretending that these are your words and ideas when they are not. When you use the exact words, for example, in a definition, then make it a quotation and insert “quotation marks” followed by the source (Source: title of the text or website).
Refer to Deer to see how facts and examples are included and how the author has used technical words such as: antlers, hoofed, scientific, Cervidae, species, swamps, tundras, pudu, cud, climates, breed, adulthood, venison, and endangered. Add some technical words about your topic under each heading. These will make your text sound more informative and important.
You can view a short video on Saving/Versions of your work in Creator.
Comment: Give one tip about researching information. It can be what you have just learned or from a time in the past.
In this update, students use the structure tool in Scholar to create ‘Elements’ with headings. Encourage students to use the same or similar headings as the text on deer so the text is a scaffold to identify information to include on their focus animal. Once students have recorded bullet points under each heading, they can then expand or elaborate on the ideas in them which will help them to write in their own words.
Including some technical words under each heading is also a way of expanding vocabulary and providing more ideas to write about.
Encourage students to refer to the Rubric as they plan. The Rubric can remain open so they can continue to refer to it. If necessary, take students through the Rubric. For first time users of Scholar, the following Overt Instruction Update from The Writer's Toolkit: Strategies for Writing in the New Media may be useful to add to Community:
Conclusion
Note that the model text of "Deer" does not include a conclusion. However, the criterion of writing a conlcusion is included in the rubric, so encourage students to write one.Going over the rubric will scaffold this for students.
CCSS Focus
W.4.2a: Introduce a topic clearly and group related information in paragraphs and sections; include formatting (e.g., headings), illustrations, and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
W.4.2b: Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.
W.4.2d: Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to inform about or explain the topic.
W.4.2e Provide a concluding statement or section related to the information or explanation presented.
Learning Intention: To understand how to insert images and links to add to the written text.
Information texts often benefit from having media included. Your text may benefit from including:
You can view a short video on using the Creator Workspace in Scholar.
Comment: Ask and answer each other’s questions about including media here, and look for answers in already-answered ‘frequently asked questions’ (FAQs).
In today’s communications environment, students need to be able to represent their information knowledge multimodally.
In this activity, finding images and links is very purposeful and contextualized. Emphasize to students about the importance of labeling and positioning these elements to complement the information in the text rather than for decorative purposes.
Also emphasize the importance of referencing information.
CCSS Focus
W.4.2a: Include formatting (e.g. headings), illustrations and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
W.4.8: Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; take notes and categorize information, and provide a list of sources.
Learning Intention: To give feedback on other students’ works and then revise my own.
Check your Notifications for Feedback Requests: You have received a Feedback Request. Click on this link to take you to the work you have been assigned to review. Go to Feedback => Reviews => Review Work. Rate the work on each criterion and explain why you gave the work that rating. Make in-text comments at Feedback => Annotations. Make an overall recommendation at Feedback => Recommendation.
Submit your feedback once it is finished at About This Work => Project => Status. You will not be able to submit your review until all requirements set by you teacher have been met. These may include a Review, Annotations, and/or a Publication Recommendation.
For more information, see Reviewing a Work and Submitting a Review and Annotations.
The next stage of the writing process is to revise your own work.
Check your Notifications for a Revision Request: You have received a Revision Request. Click on this link to take you to the most recent version of your work. Then go to Feedback => Reviews => Results to see the reviews and Feedback => Annotations to see in-text comments. Once you have incorporated all of the feedback (Reviews/Annotations) from your peers, click “Submit Revision” below the work.
You can also write a self-review, explaining how you have taken on board the feedback you received.
For more information, see The Revision Phase.
Comment: Do you have any more questions about Scholar at this stage? Make a comment in this update. If you think you have an answer to another student's question, please answer it - be sure to name the student you are replying to in your comment by starting with @Name.
This update covers two stages of the writing process in Scholar: Review and Revision.
The following Overt Instruction Updates from The Writer's Toolkit: Strategies for Writing in the New Media may be useful to add to Community. They may be used with first time users or it may be appropriate to introduce them in a second writing project so students learn about the features of Scholar over time.
Before the students submit their final work, run the Analytics. Check the percentage of text revised between one draft and the next, the number of words currently written and the grade level of the writing. You may wish to ask some students to do more work before they submit.
CCSS Focus
W.4.5: With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, and editing.
W.4.6: 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.
L.4.1: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
L.4.2: Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Learning Intention: To identify what is successful writing.
Check Notifications to see if your work has been published and whether works that you provided feedback on have been selected for publication. Published works may be viewed on your and any collaborators' individual profiles in Community.
Comment: Read two - three other people’s published informative texts about animals. Write a comment about the most interesting thing you learned from reading them. This might be ideas you hadn’t thought of or interesting evidence such as facts that you didn’t know. Also comment about one thing you have learned about writing informative texts. Mention the creator and title of the work, and make a link to that page so the person reading your comment can jump to the page quickly.
Notifications of publication are provided to the creator and all reviewers.
This reflection activity promotes student metacognition about what makes quality writing by reading and reflecting on other students’ writing. Ask students to look over other people’s published works - have them read at least two or three works. Ask them to comment on something interesting they learned from reading other students’ work.
Refer to Analytics to see how students have performed.
CCSS Focus
W.4.6: 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.