Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities

Lesson Idea Name: You’re Entitled to Your Opinion

Content Area: English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): fifth grade
Content Standard Addressed:
ELAGSE5W1: Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons.
a. Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are
logically grouped to support the writer’s purpose.
b. Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details.
c. Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., consequently, specifically).
d. Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.
Technology Standard Addressed:
Global Collaborator: Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by
collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally.
7b. Students use collaborative technologies to work with others, including peers, experts or community
members, to examine issues and problems from multiple viewpoints.
Selected Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity:
KidPub
URL(s) to support the lesson:
https://www.kidpub.com/

Describe how you would incorporate an Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity in your
classroom:
I would incorporate online projects, collaboration sites, and publishing opportunities in my classroom by
having my students perform tasks such as the one I have described below. I would also have my students write
down several topics that interest them in order to try to find other opportunities that I could connect them to
that align with several of their interests and hobbies. I could see several interesting and original lessons
coming out of practices such as these.

I would like to look into other projects of this nature that other teachers have completed in the past to see if
they could be repeated, built upon, or adapted to fit my classroom. I feel like another cool way to incorporate
these experiences into the classroom, or perhaps to introduce them, would be to show past results from
other classes to my current class to spark their interest in it. This could allow my students to have a reference
in order to visualize lessons they might like to attempt of a similar nature.

What technologies would be required to implement this proposed learning activity in a classroom?
Access to a computer lab or laptop cart in the classroom would be required to complete this lesson.
Describe how the following features are addressed in this learning experience (note: all of them may not be
addressed in the project, but most should be if you are reaching a high LoTi Level).
a. Collaboration with peers, near-peers, mentors outside their classroom and often beyond their
school: Use of KidPub to find others to edit their pieces allows students to connect with peers outside
of their classroom and beyond their school.

b. Student-centered learning and knowledge creation (creating original data and or producing original
products as a result of engaging in a project): This project has the students creating an original
opinion-based writing piece for peers to view in the library.

c. Higher-order thinking: This project will ask students to dissect their opinion and to find an order and
flow to their thoughts. This project also has them edit their pieces and find faults in their original
thinking in order to become a better communicator and to dig further into the concepts they are

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 Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities
investigating.

d. Students publishing their original work to others who will use/care about their product: Students
completing this project will post their work to KidPub in order to work with peers outside of their
classroom who will also have to make use of their work. For this reason, these outside peers will care
about the work. Their work will also be placed in the library for other outside peers to read.

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☒ Evaluating ☒ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☐ Level 4: Integration

☒ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

Because students can use the computers to write their papers, they can use various tools that are built into
the word processors and other available assistive technologies to assist them as needed. Some of these useful
features include, but are not limited to, making the font size larger, using text-to-speech, using big keys, using
translation tools, using speech-to-text.
Lesson idea implementation and Internet Safety Policies:
Students will have an end goal of writing an opinion paper over a predetermined topic matter (ex. Should
schools require its students to wear uniforms?). This lesson will span many weeks and include many steps. The
teacher will introduce the lesson and have the students start by writing their opinions out as a web map or
other graphic organizer that they prefer. Then they will plan their papers by writing paragraph headers in
order to map the order and flow of their papers. The teacher will check their progress at this point and answer
any questions along the way. Finally, the students will write out their papers using time in class and at home if
necessary or preferred. That being said, there will be some class time set aside for writing either on paper or
in a word processor. Certain functions can be turned on or off to have the students be responsible for their
own spelling, grammar, etc. Students will look over their own papers and at least one other student’s paper to
suggest edits while providing constructive feedback. After all of this, students will publish their works to
KidPub. Students will find another student through KidPub to investigate their work and make any final edits.
Copies of the student’s final papers can be made available to read in the library for a set period of time. Their
opinions can be made into a graphic to be posted in the hallway for others to investigate.

To comply with student safety and privacy policies students will be briefed on internet safety and parent and
administrator permission will be gained before the online collaboration begins. Students will be limited to
using only their first names or pen-names registered with the teacher while collaborating online.
Reflective Practice:
I feel that this lesson could positively impact student learning by having them excited to share their final
projects in the school for others to see. This has them have a more emotional connection to this learning
experience. This would be an authentic learning experience that allowed them to collaborate with others
outside of their classroom and their school.

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