Performance Task: Create a Webpage | EL Education Curriculum

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ELA 2019 G8:M1:U3:L14

Performance Task: Create a Webpage

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Focus Standards: These are the standards the instruction addresses.

  • W.8.6

Supporting Standards: These are the standards that are incidental—no direct instruction in this lesson, but practice of these standards occurs as a result of addressing the focus standards.

  • W.8.2, W.8.4, W.8.9, W.8.10, SL.8.1, L.8.6

Daily Learning Targets

  • I can use technology to create a webpage. (W.8.4, W.8.6)

Ongoing Assessment

  • Opening A: Entrance Ticket (W.8.6)
  • Work Time A: Performance Task webpage (RI.8.1, W.8.2, W.8.4, W.8.6, W.8.9b, W.8.10, L.8.6)

Agenda

AgendaTeaching Notes

1. Opening

A. Engage the Learner - W.8.4 (5 minutes)

2. Work Time

A. Create a Webpage - W.8.6 (35 minutes)

3. Closing and Assessment

A. Partner Share - SL.8.1 (5 minutes)

4. Homework

A. Independent Research Reading: Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

Alignment to Assessment Standards and Purpose of Lesson

  • W.8.6 - Opening A: Students use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others. They do this by adding features to the webpage to make it more engaging and to present their ideas efficiently.
  • W.8.6 - Work Time A: Students use technology, including the internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas efficiently as well as to interact and collaborate with others. They do this by creating a webpage for students' narrative and compare/contrast essay.

Opportunities to Extend Learning

  • Students may create an audio book for their narrative by recording themselves as they read their narrative aloud and upload the recording to their webpage. 
  • Students may also record a reading of their compare/contrast essay and upload the recording to their webpage. 
  • Students may film video clips or "confessionals" in which they briefly explain their successes and challenges while reading and analyzing Summer of the Mariposas, writing their narratives, compare/contrast essays, and building their webpage.
  • If time permits, provide additional in-class time for students to work on their webpages and to peer-review one another's pages to ensure quality and consistency among webpages.

How It Builds on Previous Work

  • In Lesson 11 of Unit 2, students, students wrote a narrative that modernized the depiction of a monster from Latin American folklore. In Lesson 11 of this unit, students wrote a compare/contrast essay about the modernized depiction of a monster from Latin American folklore in their narratives. In this lesson, students continue their work from the previous lesson as they create their webpage and add engaging features.

Support All Students

  • Students may need additional support with using technology to create a webpage. Use strategic grouping to pair students with strong technology knowledge and skills with those students who may not be as comfortable with exploring and learning how to use new tools.
  • In Work Time A, if available, show students an example of a website that students have created in the past to help set the context for the performance task.
  • Continue to monitor students to determine if there are issues surfacing as a result of the content of this lesson that need to be discussed as a whole group, in smaller groups, or individually.

Assessment Guidance

  • Review student work during and after the lesson either to provide specific feedback/suggestions or to identify common issues that could be used as whole group teaching points in the next lesson.

Down the Road

  • This is the final lesson of Module 1.

In Advance

  • Prepare Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 14.
  • Prepare to visually display the model website: http://eled.org/0153.
  • Prepare necessary technology for student word processing and website building (see Technology and Multimedia).
  • Work with a computer/technology teacher for support with Google Sites or other website building software (e.g., WordPress).
  • Families may be reluctant to permit the display of their children's name and likeness on the World Wide Web. Adjust the settings for the class website to only be visible to those with your school's email address, or only visible to those who are given the link, or private altogether so that only the students in the class can view it and show their families.
  • Consider how to engage and sustain effort and persistence throughout the lesson, as students will not be formally assessed on their Performance Task webpages. Remind students of the many real-world applications of effective website design and technical literacy. Focus students on the joy of learning for learning's sake.
  • Ensure there is a copy of Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 14 at each student's workspace.
  • Post the learning target and Performance Task anchor chart (see Performance Task download).

Tech and Multimedia

  • Work Time A: Devices and software for students to create their webpage.
  • Work Time A: For gathering images via the internet, refer students to Wikipedia or other resources in which images are in the public domain or are available for free use.
  • The technology in this lesson can be modified according to expertise and the technology available. For example, students could use Google Sites to copy and paste their narratives into a free template. Other website building software can also be used. 

Supporting English Language Learners

Supports guided in part by CA ELD Standards 8.I.C.10, 8.I.C.11, and 8.I.C.12.

Important Points in the Lesson Itself

  • To support ELLs, this lesson continues to tie together the writing that students have done in Units 2 and 3 of Module 1. Students are supported to work to create a webpage on Latin American folklore comprised of students narratives modernizing traditional tales of monsters, as well as students' commentary on the similarities and differences between their modernized monsters and traditional depictions in folklore. The process engages students with technology tools and invites collaboration and celebration of students' work over the course of the module. 
  • ELLs may find it challenging to share their work with the public on a website and with classmates during Closing and Assessment, as this may cause some students to feel self-conscious about their writing. Remind students of discussion norms and habits of character to maintain an atmosphere of support and respect as students share and listen. At the end of the class, congratulate students on their hard work throughout Unit 3 and the entire module, and celebrate everyone's progress and successes.

Vocabulary

  • N/A 

Materials from Previous Lessons

Teacher

Student

  • Equity sticks
  • Performance Task anchor chart (from Unit 1, Lesson 1, Work Time B)
  • Folklore of Latin America (for display) (from Unit 3, Lesson 13, Work Time B)
  • Criteria for an Effective Webpage anchor chart (from Unit 3, Lesson 13, Work Time B)
  • Work to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart (one for display; Unit 3, Lesson 13, Work Time A)
  • Devices and software for students to create their webpages (one per student or per group of students)

New Materials

Teacher

Student

  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 14 (answers for teacher reference)
  • Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 14 (one per student)

Assessment

Each unit in the 6-8 Language Arts Curriculum has two standards-based assessments built in, one mid-unit assessment and one end of unit assessment. The module concludes with a performance task at the end of Unit 3 to synthesize students' understanding of what they accomplished through supported, standards-based writing.

Opening

OpeningLevels of Support

A. Engage the Learner - W.8.4 (5 minutes)

  • Repeated routine: As students arrive, invite them to complete Entrance Ticket: Unit 3, Lesson 14.
  • Repeated routine: Follow the same routine as the previous lessons to review learning targets and the purpose of the lesson, reminding students of any learning targets that are similar or the same as previous lessons.

For Lighter Support

  • As Module 1 comes to a close, put student names into a container of some kind and have each students pull a random name. Ask each student to identify and publicly share one learning victory that they recognize in the peer whose name they randomly selected. This will help to set a positive, supportive tone for the lesson and may help to reduce any trepidation students have about sharing their work in Closing and Assessment.

Work Time

Work TimeLevels of Support

A. Create a Webpage - W.8.6 (35 minutes)

  • Review appropriate learning target relevant to the work to be completed in this section of the lesson:

"I can use technology to create a webpage."

  • Remind students that in the previous lesson they copied their narrative writing and essay onto their webpage on the class website and they worked on the summary on the homepage. Tell students that in this lesson they are going to make their webpage more visually appealing.
  • Ask students to Turn and Talk about the question they responded to on their entrance ticket.:

"What features can you add to your webpage to make it clear and engaging?"

  • Give students 5 minutes to explore folklore websites on the internet again, and to add more ideas to their entrance ticket.
  • Use equity sticks to select students to share their responses with the whole group.

"What features can you add to your website to make it engaging and clear?" (One visual representation of the story. A clear title with a large font. Medium type font for the narrative and essay. A subheading for the essay.)

  • As students share responses, update the Performance Task anchor chart with any new criteria that emerges.
  • Remind students to refer to the chart while creating their webpage and to make sure their webpages include all of the requirements and do not add any additional features that are not listed. Remind students that this is to ensure that our website is clear and cohesive so that site visitors can focus on the content of our narratives and stories and not on the webpage design.
  • Depending on time, students may draw illustrations and transfer them (by scanning them) to their webpage instead of choosing an image from the internet. If not, consider guiding students through an image search using a free online source so that each student is able to include one image of the webpage. See Technology and Multimedia for suggestions.
  • As students create their webpage, circulate and review student work. Support students as they navigate technology, and ensure that students transfer their narratives and essays before adding additional features to their webpage.
  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.

For Heavier Support

  • In Work Time A, allow students time for one final review of their work before posting their writing on the website. Divide students into groups of three. Have each group member choose one item from a simple final proofreading checklist and review their own essay and their peers' essay, focusing only on the list item they have chosen to be responsible for. The list can include items like the following: 
    • Capital letters at the start of each sentence
    • Periods at the end of each sentence
    • Spelling errors
    • Transition words
    • Formatting and spacing
    • Proper use of quotation marks
  • This will give ELLs an opportunity to get peer support in modifying errors. Additionally, the choice in what to review will allow ELLs to take ownership of a language feature that feels accessible.

Closing & Assessments

Closing

A. Partner Share - SL.8.1 (5 minutes)

  • If time allows, have students share their webpages with a partner, each reading their stories aloud and showing their images. 
  • Refocus the whole group.
  • Give students specific, positive feedback on their webpages. (Example: "I saw a lot of you adding pictures, ensuring that you have a clear and easy to read font, and adding a larger title and subtitle.")
  • Give students 1 minute to think before inviting volunteers to share with the whole group:

"What are some of the challenges you faced when trying to create your webpage?" (Responses may include the following: finding a good picture for my webpage, naming my webpage, finding enough resources to offer the audience for further reading on the topic, understanding how to use the website software, writing the class summary for the homepage.)

"What went well as you tried to create your webpage?" (Responses may include the following: uploading my illustrations of my monster for everyone to see working with the class to write the summary for the homepage, choosing an engaging title for my narrative, ensuring that my font was clear and easy to read.)

  • If productive, use a Goal 1 Conversation Cue to encourage students to expand their ideas by giving examples.

"Can you say more about that?"

"Can you give an example?"

  • Repeated routine: Invite students to reflect on their progress toward the relevant learning targets.
  • Invite students to review the Work to Contribute to a Better World anchor chart and think about the habits of character they are exhibiting in the creation of their webpage. Ask students to Think-Pair-Share:

"How is your website helping contribute to a better world?"

Homework

Homework

A. Independent Research Reading 

  • Students read for at least 20 minutes in their independent research reading text. Then they select a prompt and write a response in their independent reading journal.

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