The BFG

   by Roald Dahl   

A Telecollaboration Lesson for
4th Grade (Language Arts)

Originally designed by Marian Azurin and Maria Vargas
Modified by Katie Sheeler and Kristi Juchnowski

Introduction

This lesson was developed as part of the requirements for 5500:475: Instructional Technology Applications, Summer, 2005, at The University of Akron.

This is a telecollaboration lesson designed as a post-reading activity for The BFG by Roald Dahl.  Teachers are responsible for teaching and guiding their students in creating a "Questions and Responses" dual entry on the computer, which the students will then electronically share with their epals.

Learners

This lesson is anchored in fourth grade language arts, which can easily be modified using various books by Roald Dahl in grades 3 through 6.   

Prior Knowledge:

Students must know how to:

• Read independently at a 4th grade level
• Write in complete sentences
• Create and respond to a "Questions and Response" reading log
• Use a computer
• Type and use a keyboard
• Connect to the internet
• Access and compose email
  

Curriculum Standards

Ohio Academic Language Arts Standards for Fourth Grade Addressed

    Acquisition of Vocabulary Standard

• Use context clues and text structures to determine the meaning of new vocabulary.
• Infer word meaning through identification and analysis of analogies and other word relationships.
• Use knowledge of symbols, acronyms, word origins and derivations to determine the meanings of unknown words.

• Determine a purpose for reading and use a range of reading comprehension strategies to better understand text. 
  
• Make meaning through asking and responding to a variety of questions related to text.

• Use text features and graphics to organize, analyze and draw inferences from content and to gain additonal information.

• Generate ideas and determine a topic suitable for writing.
  
• Edit to improve sentence fluency, grammar and usage.

• Write formal and informal letters that include important details and follow correct letter format.

• Spell grade-appropriate words correctly,
• Use conventions of punctuation and capitalization in written work.
• Use grammatical structures to effectively communicate idead in writing.

• Identify a topic of study, construct questions and determine appropriate sources for gathering information.
• Communicate findings orally, visually and in writing or through multimedia.

• Respond to presentations and media messages by stating the purpose and summarizing main ideas.

• Use keyboards and other common input and output devices (including adaptive devices whennecessary) efficiently and effectively. (1)
  
• Use technology tools (e.g., multimedia authoring, presentation, Web tools, digital cameras,scanners) for individual and collaborative writing, communication, and publishing activities to create knowledge products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (3, 4)
• Use telecommunications efficiently and effectively to access remote information, communicate with others in support of direct and independent learning, and pursue personalinterests. (4)
  
• Use telecommunications and online resources (e.g., e-mail, online discussions, Webenvironments) to participate in collaborative problem-solving activities for the purpose of developing solutions or products for audiences inside and outside the classroom. (4, 5)
  

Bloom's Revised Taxonomy Thinking Skills Addressed

• Remembering:  The students apply this skill level when they recall the information from the book in order to generate questions and responses about the book, The BFG.

• Understanding:  The students apply this skill level when they are actually reading the text, answering questions and generating responses.  The students demonstrate comprehension of what is being read, interpret and summarize it based on their individual perspective.

• Analyzing:  The students apply this skill level when they engage in the dual entry response journals.  The students analyze what their epals have written and distinguish whether it is fact and opinion.  

• Evaluating:  The students apply this skill level when they read the responses from their epals.  The students must evaluate what their pal wrote or asked and decide on an appropriate response.  Then, when they create that response, they must justify and support it with details from the book.

• Creating:  The students apply this skill level on a daily basis.  The students are creating questions and constructing responses daily as they read section of The BFG.
  

Objectives

1. The students will be able to create a "Questions and Responses" dual entry journal on the computer.
2. The students will be able to demonstrate proper grammar, sentence structure, and rules of writing through a dual entry journal. 
   
3. The students will be able to comprehend and evaluate the book, The BFG and brainstorm questions related to the story that will be shared with their epal.
4. The students will be able to communicate with other students telecollaboratively through epals using the "Questions and Responses" dual entry journal.
5. The students will be able to idenfity with and describe characters from the the book, The BFG and develop their own interpretations about the characters.
6. The students will be able to identify the differences between facts and opionions by incorporating the book, The BFG, the "Questions and Responses" dual entry journal and communicating with their epal.
   

Partners

For this lesson to be successful, the incorporation of other telecollaborative classrooms is vital.  Collaborating teams will include various fourth grade classrooms from everywhere.  A teacher can find paricipating classrooms through ePALS.  Classrooms with similar time zones should be chosen so that scheduling and corresponding runs efficiently.  Prior to integrating the lesson into the classroom, test out the process with the collaborating teacher.  There should be initial exchances between the teachers before students begin the work.  The ePALS website will help in searching for a virtual classroom.  Go to the ePALS website and submit a profile under Join ePALS, then click on Find Classrooms and type in the appropriate information to find a telecollaborative classroom to do this lesson with.  In the Descriptions keywords bar, type in either your subject area or the lesson topic; such as The BFG or Roald Dahl.  This will help refine your search and connect you with other telecollaborative classrooms.  

Process

This lesson is based on the Keypals Activity Structure and Correspond Action Sequence as described by Judi Harris.

This lesson will last for approximately two weeks.  Students from the collaborating classrooms will read 7-10 pages of The BFG daily.  After each reading, students will use computers to create a dual entry journal.  On one side of the page, students will write questions that they have about the chapter(s) they recently read.  On the other side of the page, students will write comments/respones they have about the reading.  The students wil then electronically send their daily journal entries to their epals.  Students are responsible for responding to their epals' journal entry by answering the questions and/or responding to the comments. 

Grouping:

In order to best facilitate this lesson the students will work individually with their epals through a "Questions and Responses" dual entry journal. 

Variations

In situations in which the collaborating classroom is no longer able to participate, students can respond to each other's Q&R journal entries (within the classroom) or other fourth grade Language Arts classrooms within the school district through mail. 

Resources Needed

• Class sets of The BFG by Roald Dahl
  
• E-mail accounts for all students
• Access to a class set of computers with internet connections
  
• Microsoft Word
  

Justification: These materials were chosen because they were instrumental and vital to the implementation of the lesson.  

Evaluation

Justification: The rubric was generated as a tool to assess the extent to which the students met the objectives of this lesson.  Each rubric criterion identifies specific lesson objectives that will be addressed throughout this lesson. 

Credits & References

Roald Dahl Fans.com
Original lesson plan from http://eprentice.sdsu.edu/J03OJ/vargasm/J&GP_TCL.html

"We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this lesson, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this lesson. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL."