This term in Year 4 the students have been thinking about the environment – in particular ‘Trees’. We read A Forest by Marc Martin and built vocabulary banks on class padlets. We then read the story Last Tree in the City by Peter Carnavas and repeated the vocabulary activity.
We discussed the value of picture books in presenting a message to an audience and listed things to consider when writing with a purpose in mind (eg is the language suitable for the target audience).
Students worked in pairs to create their own picture book that would make people simply ‘think about trees’.
We used the online program ‘Storybird‘ (http://storybird.com/) to create the books. I used the class option and provided the students with a login code to access my Storybird Classroom. You are allowed to register 35 studentsfor free, then it is a small fee for students over that number. The illustrations provided by Storybird are of very high quality and proved a great stimulus for writing. Click on the cover to read one of the stories created.
As an extension task student were encouraged to represent the conservation message visually. They recorded themselves sketching an image using a tablet device. I then uploaded the video to Movie Maker and increased the speed to create an effective little clip.
[wpvideo B83ACC1t]
Links: http://petercarnavas.com/books-3/last-tree-in-the-city/
teaching-notes-last-tree-in-the-city
Stories: A Forest by Marc Martin and Last Tree in The City by Peter Carnavas
KLA Outcomes(NSW):
English
EN2-7B: Identifies and uses language forms and features in their own writing appropriate to a range of purposes, audiences and contexts.
EN2-10C:Thinks imaginatively, creatively and interpretively about information, ideas and texts when responding to and composing texts
HSIE
ENS2.6 Describes interactions with environments and identifies responsible ways of interacting with environments
Technology
21st CLD: Collaboration
ISTE Standards: Creativity & Innovation
Technology: Movie Maker, Storybird, Padlet