Character Analysis with Animoto

Student Description Eighteen 5th grade students Lesson Overview Students will use Animoto to create character analysis presentations on characters from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Educational Objectives The student will be able to infer personality traits from a characters words and actions in a story. The student will be able to work collaboratively with a partner. The student will be able to use technology to organize their thoughts and ideas into a coherent presentation. Common Core Standards CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.1 Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.5.1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others ideas and expressing their own clearly. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.5.9 Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. AASL Standards for the 21st Century Learner 1.3.1 Respect copyright/intellectual property rights of creators and producers 2.1.5 Collaborate with others to exchange ideas, develop new understandings, make decisions, and solve problems. 2.1.6 Use the writing process, media and visual literacy, and technology skills to create products that express new understandings 3.1.4 Use technology and other information tools to organize and display knowledge and understanding in ways that others can view, use, and assess. Time Frame Two 45 minute class periods 1st Class Period 5 minutes - Project Introduction/Example 10 minutes - Instruction 30 minutes - Partner Work Time 2nd Class Period 5 minutes - Additional Instruction/Q & A

25 minutes - Partner Work Time 15 minutes - Project Presentations Resources Character Analysis worksheets (attached), one per pair of students (9) Pencils Copies of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one per pair of students (9) Laptop computers, one per pair of students (9) Teacher computer and projector Animoto website account Demo Animoto presentation Prior Knowledge This group of students recently read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a class. They use laptop computers on a daily basis. Students have completed an activity in library class combining pictures, music, and text to create a purely attractive presentation. They have no experience with Animoto. Preparation Using a class roster, the librarian and classroom teacher will split students into pairs and assign each group a character from the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Care will be taken to place any students that may struggle with the analysis or computer portions of the assignment with students that are confident in these areas. The librarian will set up a free Animoto account to be used by the students. The librarian will create a demo Animoto video to use during instruction. The librarian will add links to the 5th grade homepage for both Animoto and Pixabay. The classroom teacher will turn on the teacher computer and projector, then open files for the Character Analysis worksheet and example Animoto presentation. Lesson Plan 1st Class Period Project Introduction/Example 5 minutes 1. Classroom teacher will explain to students that theyll be creating a presentation based on the characters in the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Classroom teacher will review the concepts of character traits, asking students for ways to discover these traits. 2. Librarian will explain that instead of a physical product, students will be creating an Animoto video to display their work. She will show the example Animoto video. Instruction 10 minutes

1. Classroom teacher will introduce the Character Analysis worksheet and explain what information is required in each area. She will discuss with students examples that could work for each character paying special attention to the way each answer is supported in the text. 2. Librarian will walk students through the process of creating a new Animoto video, including adding pictures, text, a title, and choosing music as well as ordering their tiles. She will remind students that all these components should be selected with their assigned character in mind. She will write all necessary login information on the whiteboard for students to use. 3. The librarian will introduce Pixabay.com, a site containing photos licensed under creative commons that do not require attribution. She will review with students the concepts of copyright, creative commons, and giving credit. Partner Work Time 30 minutes 1. Classroom teacher will announce groups and character assignments as librarian passes out Character Analysis worksheets. Classroom teacher will explain that each pairs worksheet must be approved by either herself or the librarian for a group to progress to video production. 2. Students will be given time to complete the Character Analysis worksheet with their partner. Both teachers will circulate the room, helping students with questions and encouraging participation and cooperation between partners. Students will be encouraged to use the novel to complete the worksheet. 3. Any pairs that complete the Character Analysis worksheet and are approved by a teacher will get a laptop from the hallway cart and begin the process of creating their Animoto video. 4. At the end of the allotted time period, students will put away laptop computers and hand in worksheets to the classroom teacher. 2nd Class Period Additional Instruction/Q & A 5 minutes 1. After passing back worksheets, librarian will use demo Animoto video to introduce students to advanced options like adjusting timing on both pictures and music and how to preview their video. Shell also go over how and when to publish videos so the whole class can see them. 2. Both teachers will take any questions students may have about the project in front of the whole class. Partner Work Time 25 minutes 1. Students will be given time to complete their Animoto videos. Both teachers will circulate the room, helping students with questions and encouraging participation and cooperation between partners. 2. Any pairs who finish early will be free to complete other homework, silent read, or use a center in the classroom.

Assessment/End Product Project Presentations - 15 minutes 1. One by one, the classroom teacher will project on the classroom screen the completed Animoto video of each group. Students will be given an opportunity to provide feedback at the conclusion of each video. 2. At a later time, the classroom teacher and the librarian will use the worksheet and video of each group along with their individual observations during the class periods to evaluate whether each student achieved the educational objectives for the project.

Lesson Reflection
Assessment Results Overall, we were pleased with the quality of the work produced. Some groups struggled to create a coherent presentation; their videos seemed very random when viewed. We realized we did not emphasize sequencing of ideas as a major point. If we carry out this project again, well be sure to focus on this concept.

Timing was also an issue. There seemed to be a huge gap between completion times for the groups. Some were nearly done on the first day, while others were putting the finishing touches on their video as others were being shown. After this project we have an even better concept of the computer and internet literacy of each student and felt that some changes in student pairings would help this problem the next time around. The classroom teacher commented that she saw a deeper level of comprehension of the novel and characters in several students than shed observed in previous assignments. Through observing the groups as they worked on their videos, I would many if not all of the students could now navigate the Animoto website well enough to complete a video independently. The students really seemed to enjoy the project. They were excited when it was announced and most maintained this excitement through their video production. Many talked of using the Animoto website to create other presentations. We felt this was a great asset to the project and makes the idea worth revisiting. Collaboration with Classroom Teacher Our collaboration for this project began with me simply asking if the teacher would be interested in teaching a collaborative lesson with me. She readily accepted and from there were had a discussion about the various topics being covered by her class in math, reading, social, studies, science and also the things wed been delving into in library class. We discovered that we are both huge fans of Roald Dahl and I was thrilled to discover that her class was about halfway through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Since we were both so passionate about it, she suggested the lesson center on the book. I asked if shed mind taking a closer look at the characters using a technology the students hadnt yet learned and she agreed. After that meeting, I looked hard at creating a lesson on Prezi to use for our character analysis project, but the deeper I delved into it, the more I thought it would take the students more time than we had to learn and use the program. Id used Animoto to create video introduction to one of our reading incentive programs earlier in the year and the students had all been quite impressed that Mrs. McCoy made that. I thought they might be excited about making something like it themselves so I approached the classroom teacher with this idea. She was unfamiliar with the site, but after I gave her a tour, she agreed it would work for her class. The rest seemed to come very easily. I feel like I lucked out with a classroom teacher who was so willing to work with me on this project. It gives me great hope for collaborative projects to come with other colleagues.

Names: ____________________________ ____________________________

Meet _____________________________________! (character name)

What he/she does

What he/she says

How he/she looks

What others say about him/her

Adjectives to describe him/her