Subject: AP English
Grade Level: Juniors and seniorsWeb 2.0 Tools: Google Docs, Google Talk
Using Google Tools in the Teaching and Learning AP English Classroom Overview: This is actually a tried and tested lesson that works incredibly well in the teaching and learning environment. At the beginning of the school year, one of the “Norms for the classroom” is to have a Google account set up. It has been my experience most students already have a Google account, but likely you will have 3 to 5 students who do not. Creating a new account is easily accomplished by going to www.google.com and clicking in the upper right hand corner on Sign in.
By clicking on the Sign in link you will be redirected to the Google accounts page as pictured below. In the bottom right corner, highlighted in blue, click on the link Don’t have a Google Account? Create an account now. The form will appear to set up a new account.
Another “Norm for the classroom” again, set from the beginning of the school year is when working on collaborative projects for AP English the first person the students invite to share and collaborate with is me. This allows the opportunity for me to formatively assess the students’ thinking and help to guide or coach their work along the way. This allows the perfect opportunity for clearing up misconceptions before students get too far off track, while at the same time offering valuable feedback for those moving in the right direction. The students use Google Talk for discussion. Google Talk is a free download which enables users with accounts to login and have chat opportunities. The students understand I expect them to stay on task. I monitor the floor constantly often stopping to ask questions and coach the students in their work. Rarely do I have an issue with students using chat off task. They know they will do the AP English work using the cool Google tools if they use them properly and meet expectations. While at the same time they know they will do the AP English work with paper and pencil seated in rows if they fail to use the tools properly.
Goals:
The goals for this lesson are to allow students an opportunity to write about a variety of subjects from a variety of disciplines and to provide an audience and purpose for them to more easily authentically demonstrate an awareness of who and why they are writing. Objectives:
At the conclusion of this lesson students have experienced what it means to create meaningful and purposeful authentic writing. Instructions:
I create a document and shared it with the AP English Students. I published for the purposes of this assignment as a webpage; however, for my classroom purposes I share it with only the students who are in my AP English course. Once the document or assignment has been shared, through Google Talk, the students find a partner in the classroom and once found, they have a discussion (chat) focused on which of the analytical essay questions they want to collaboratively answer. Their Google Talk discussions should include which question they want to answer and why, how they might approach answering the question as well as how they plan to organize answering the question. Once the decisions are made, one student will create a Google Doc and then share it with their partner as well as myself. Both students are able to edit the same document at the same time, and if I choose I am able to chime in as well. The next phase of the process is when the partners have completed answering their chosen question; they find another team of students to peer edit their response. Using the comment features in Google Docs, each student provides meaningful feedback to a classmate. I also monitor my Google Talk during this process watching for questions students might ask of me. Perhaps one of the most amazing elements using Google tools with AP English students is the amount of collaboration going on, but yet all you hear in the classroom is the sound of students typing away.
Below is a rubric I would typically use to evaluate the effectiveness of this assignment.
|
Criteria |
4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Content and Treatment of Topic | Writing focuses on topic, 100% of ideas are connected, and 100 % of the requirements for the assignment are met. | Focus on topic and, 51%- 99% of ideas are connected, and 51% – 99% of the requirements for the assignment are met. | Focus on topic and less than 50% of ideas are connected, and less than 50% of the requirements for the assignment met. | Topic mentioned but not explored. |
| Thoughts and ideas | Ideas demonstrate strong higher-order thinking | 51% – 99% of ideas demonstrate strong higher-order thinking | 50% of ideas demonstrate higher order thinking | Ideas are unrelated to the topic. |
| Organization and Clarity | Organization clearly presents ideas. Text flows naturally from one idea to another. Unique personal writing style | Organization centered on ideas. Beginning, middle and end. Grammar and writing conventions clear. | Grammar and writing conventions acceptable | Lack of organization and clarity. |
| Google Talk Discussions | 100% of time on task using rich discussions to make decisions regarding collaborative project. | 51% – 99% of time on task using discussions to make decisions regarding collaborative project. | 50% of time or less on task using discussions to make decisions regarding collaborative project. | Off task |
Posted on July 23rd, 2010 by Terri Stice
Filed under: Uncategorized
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