Curriculum
Digital Citizenship: Grades 2-3
The Power of Writing
Download Student Activity Sheet(s) in PDF format.
Read a Letter to Educators about digital citizenship from CyberSmart!
Overview
Students are guided through a multi-lesson project to identify a real-world problem, investigate the problem, and communicate a written message to an audience outside their classroom.
Objectives
- Identify, describe, and investigate a real-world problem.
- Collaborate with other students to propose a solution or message to a specified audience.
- Apply the writing process, including reflection, to produce a formal communication.
National Educational Technology Standards for Students © 2007
Source: International Society for Technology in Education- Creativity and Innovation
- original works as a means of personal or group expression.
- Communication and Collaboration
- interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
- communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
- develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.
- contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.
- Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
- plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
- use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.
Advance Preparation
Consider a time frame of from two to four weeks for this writing-for-a-purpose task, which will allow students enough time to identify a real-world problem they agree is important, investigate the problem, and draft, revise, and publish their final product.
Site Preview
No Internet sites are required for this lesson, although you may wish to take students online to learn more about the problem they choose.
Optional strategies for using Web 2.0 tools with your students are recommended under Teach 1 and Extend with ePals.
Materials
- Student Sheets (one set of 2)
Introduce (offline)
Have students brainstorm problems to solve in their school and in their community, such as these:
School- There is a broken water fountain.
- Some trees died and were cut down, but no new trees were planted.
- The line to get food in the lunchroom is very long, and then there is not enough time to eat.
- There is no soccer field that kids can use on the weekends because the adults are using it.
- There is litter around the neighborhood playground.
- Some people don't have homes where they can sleep at night.
Teach 1
Hold a discussion and a vote to have the class choose a single problem from their list.
Once students narrow their choices to a top three to five, use a Web 2.0 tools,such as an online survey, to allow students to vote for their top choice.
- Put the students into small project teams of two or three students.
- Distribute the student sheets.
- Have students complete the Plan section on Sheet 1. At this point you may wish discuss some ground rules for student collaboration (for example, all members of the team should contribute to each step in the process).
Teach 2
- On their sheets under Learn, students are asked to share something they learned about the problem. Give students time and guidance to find out more about the problem by visiting Web sites, e-mailing an expert, or reading a book. A school library media specialist will be a helpful resource person at this point.
- If your school uses the Independent Investigation Method (IIM) to teach student research skills, this is a good opportunity to apply it.
- Students may not have a specific answer to What can people do to solve it? If they don't, suggest that they write what people can do to learn more about the problem.
Teach 3
- Guide students to consensus regarding whom they should write to about the problem. If they chose a school-based problem, they might write to their principal. If they chose a community problem, they might write to all the residents of their city or to the mayor. For problems that are societal in nature, such as homelessness, they could also write to the President or other national leaders.
As a class, decide what form the written product will take and how it will be published — a flyer, a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, an e-mail, or a blog.
If your class has its own blog, allow students to use it for collaboration and the publication of their messages.
- Have students use a writing process to draft, write, and revise to reach a final product.
- Deliver the students' messages to the intended audience, inviting replies.
Assess
The following items assess student mastery of the lesson objectives.
- Ask: How did you choose the real-world problem you wrote about? Students should identify and reflect on the brainstorming and voting process they used to reach a consensus.
- Ask: How did you make sure that all the members of your team helped write? Students should discuss the collaboration ground rules used in your class (for example, all members of the team should contribute to each step in the process).
- Ask: How did knowing whom you were writing for help you decide how to write your message? Students should identify and describe their focus group (for example, if they wrote to their mayor, they might have included a description of their class and school).
- Ask: How can going online help you learn and share your ideas? Students should express their reaction to completing an authentic ("real-world") project, including communicating their ideas to people outside of the classroom setting.
Extend with CyberSmart! Africa Digital Storytelling Videos
- Start by exploring the videos made by school children in a rural village in Senegal. These videos were created by Senegalese elementary school students in partnership with CyberSmart! Africa. (Note: The children speak French. English subtitles are provided.)
- Have students write or collaborate by creating a blog reflecting on what they think binds all people together. What do kids in __[fill in your town]__ have in common with kids from M'bour, Senegal, Africa? Consider sharing your blog with students' families or other classes.
Extend with Epals for Global Connections
Begin a conversation about digital storytelling by having students watch the student-made digital stories from Cybersmart!'s Africa Digital Storytelling Project. Then, go to ePals Digital Storytelling Classroom Project for a well-developed unit having students explore digital storytelling as a way to tell a story, promote cross-cultural understanding and build meaningful connections with others. See also the Digital Storytelling Teacher Forum to connect safely to other classrooms.
CyberSmart! Online Workshops
Find out about earning continuing education and graduate credits with facilitated CyberSmart! Online Workshops.
Free CyberSmart! Educator Toolbar
Save time. Search smart. Access essential information resources for educators. Download the free CyberSmart! Educator Toolbar. It's always on your desktop at home and/or at school.