Instructional Software

Lesson Idea Name: Once Upon a Time Creating a Story in the Past Tense
Content Area: TESOL
Grade Level(s): L3/L4 Students (4th-5th Grade?)

Content Standard Addressed:

Standard 1: English language learners communicate for social, intercultural, and instructional purposes within
the school setting.
Standard 2: English language learners communicate information, ideas, and concepts necessary for academic
success in the area of language arts.
(TESOL technology standards framework. (2008). Alexandria, VA: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other
Languages.)
Technology Standard Addressed:
1.) Students cultivate and manage their digital identity and reputation and are aware of the permanence
of their actions in the digital world. (ISTE-2)
2.) Students demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and
sharing intellectual property. (ISTE-2)
3.) Students create original works or responsibly repurpose or remix digital resources into new creations.
(ISTE-6)
4.) Students communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively by creating or using a variety of digital
objects such as visualizations, models or simulations. (ISTE-6)
5.) Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended
audiences. (ISTE-6)

Selected Technology Tool: Storybird & Khan Academy

URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/parts-of-speech-the-verb/the-tenses/v/the-pas
t-tense-verbs-the-parts-of-speech
https://storybird.com/create/

Type of Instructional Software:

Drill and Practice Tutorial Simulation Instructional Game e-books/e-references

Features of this software (check all that apply):

Assessment Monitoring/Reporting
Allows teacher to create customized lessons for students
Multi-user or collaborative functions with others in the class
Multi-user or collaborative with others outside the class
Accessible to students beyond the school day
Accessible via mobile devices
Multiple languages
Safety, security and/or privacy features

Blooms Taxonomy Level(s):

Remembering Understanding Applying Analyzing Evaluating Creating

Summer 2017_SJB
 Instructional Software

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

Level 1: Awareness Level 2: Exploration Level 3: Infusion Level 4: Integration
Level 5: Expansion Level 6: Refinement

Lesson idea implementation:

In this lesson, I will introduce the simple past tense, when to use it, and how to form ed/d past tense verbs.
I will start the lesson by using Storybird to introduce the Once Upon a Time story I created. I will make sure
that any past tense verbs I use are highlighted so that they can be distinguished. I will then ask my students if
they recognized why some of the words were highlighted and others werent, segueing into the 2-minute
video on the past tense from Khan Academy. Once the video is over, I will bring up my story again, and we
will go through it as a class, finding the words in the past tense and drilling on the present tense verb and
how to add d or ed to make it a past tense verb. This will take about 20-25 minutes.

Once I feel the students have a decent grasp on the concept, I will break them up into groups of 4-5 students
to create their own Once Upon a Time stories using Storybird. They will have 20-minutes to create a story
using at least five (5) past tense verbs. Each student must create at least one page towards the book
(meaning they must form at least one sentence) in order to get a grade for the assignment. At the end of the
twenty minutes, each group will be able to present their book in front of the class. They will be assessed on
whether they were able to correctly form past tense verbs in their proper situations. Their homework that
night would be to read their story to at least one other person outside of class.

With this lesson idea, I am teaching the students through a tutorial and a video, using the instructional
software to present the information. The lesson goes from a LoTi level 2 to a 4 because the students are then
able to apply what theyve learned to create their own story. It can be about any subject they choose, giving
them the voice and choice to raise the LoTi level of the assignment. Through their homework of reading their
story to someone outside of the classroom, I attempt to push the assignment to a LoTi level 5 because their
work is published for consumption outside of the classroom. ISTE-6 is about the students as creative
communicators. Through this project, they will create original works, communicate ideas, and present their
content to the class. ISTE-2 is also applicable because due to the nature or Storybird, their stories are
publishable for consumption in the digital world, teaching them about the responsibility of maintaining their
reputation and understanding the respect one must have for anothers intellectual property, since the
pictures are not their own.

Summer 2017_SJB