Building cross cultural learning through technology

As part of our Common Core State Standards, students need to have knowledge of the writing process and create an informational report about an animal.

First, students will be introduced to the writing process through direct instruction from the teacher. Next, students will be exposed to research apps such as PebbleGo and National Geographic on the iPad. The students will be provided time to rome these websites for fun. Then, students will be asked to choose an animal they are interested in learning about and will conduct research on the animal using the iPads. Then, students will work independently through the writing process until the revise stage. Next, students will work with partners to revise their rough drafts. Students will then create a final draft. Finally, students will create a PowerPoint presentation to present to their class about the animal they researched.

During the editing stage of the paper, families will be invited into the classroom to watch their child's PowerPoint presentation about their animal. Last, students will use the iPad to Skype their PowerPoint presentation to their pen pals in Japan who are learning English.