FortheLoveofReadingandWriting

BethBaker
DuncanMacMillanHighSchoolSheetHarbour
Grades78EnglishLanguageArts
(902)8852777
bbaker@hrsb.ca

ProjectDescriptionandRationale

a)Brieflydescribetheproject.
IcallthisprojectFortheLoveofReadingandWritingasitincorporates
ereadersandiPadstoinspirestudentstobecomeengagedinreadingandwriting
activities.
WhiletheereadersandiPadswillbeusedforanumberofdifferentunits
throughouttheschoolyear,theywillbeintegratedintoeachstepandstageofthe
LiteratureCirclesunit.LiteratureCircleshavebeenaroundforalongtimeastheyarea
greatwaytomeetthemajorityoftheoutcomesforEnglishLanguageArts.Thisproject
st
willbenoexceptionandwillallowmetotakethemintothe21
century.
Ingroupsofthreeorfour,studentswillselectabookfromtheHalifaxPublic
Librarysonlinedatabaseanduploadthesetotheirereaders.Afterdividingthebook
intofoursections,thestudentswillindependentlyreadsectionone.Uponcompletion,
studentswillsharethegroupsiPadtocompletethewrittencomponentsoftheunit.
Thesummarizers,connectors,andpassagepickerswilluseappssuchasWritePadand
BookCreator,whiletheillustratorsandvocabularyenricherswilluseappslikeDraw
andWebReadertocompletetheirwork.
Oncethesetaskshavebeenaccomplished,studentswillcometogetherwith
theirgroupmemberstosharetheirworkviatheiPads.Aftercollaborating,thestudents,
onarotatingbasis,willselectoneparttosharewiththeclassanddisplaythiswiththe
documentcamera.Thesestepswillthenberepeatedforsectionstwofour.
Afterallsectionshavebeencompleted,studentswillonceagainconvene,to
completeafinalprojectoftheirchoiceontheiPads.


Someotherwaysinwhichtheseitemswillbeusedare,butnotlimitedto,the
following:
Ereaders

Dailyreading
Readingstrategieslessons
Readingresponses
BookTalk
Toincreasesightwordvocabulary

iPads
Avarietyofappswillbeusedtohelpfurtherdeveloptheskillsofallstudentsbut
especiallystudentsonliteracysupportplansandadaptations.
Duringtheunitsofgraphicnovels,textfeatures,bias,andcriticalthinking.
Forinterdisciplinarylessons

DocumentCamera

Thedocumentcamerawillbeusedtodisplayavarietyofworkbybothmystudentsand
me.

b)Whatspecificneed(s)withinyourschool(s)doesthisprojectaddress?
Thisprojectaddressesanumberofspecificneedswithinourschoolthefirst
beingourneedtoengagestudentsinliteracybasedactivities.Foravarietyofreasons,
anincreasingnumberofourstudentsdislikereading,howeverhaveshowngreater
interestinreadingonlineandwithereaders.Makingreadingmoreappealingto
students,especiallystrugglingones,isthefirststepinhavingthemmeettheirreading
andviewingoutcomesandfosteringaloveoflearning.Fewwoulddisagreewiththefact
thatoncestudentsareconsistentlyreadingtheirskillsinbothreadingandwritingwill
improve.
Studentswillbeabletousethebuiltindictionaryfeatureoftheereadertohelp
aidreadingcomprehension,extendtheirsightwordvocabulary,andfurtherdevelop
readingstrategiesskills.
TheintegrationoftheiPadsintotheunitwillallowstudentstoimproveontheir
useoftextfeatures,locatinginformationfromavarietyofsources,makingconnections,
improvingspellingandgrammar,andshowingtheirunderstandingoftextallthingsour

studentsstrugglewith.Wealsohaveanumberofstudentswhostruggleto
communicatetheirthoughtsandunderstandingthroughtheuseofpaperandpencil,
howeverhavegreatsuccessconveyingtheirideaswhenusingavarietyoftechnology
basedprograms.Havingtheseitemstousewouldallowallstudentstohavesuccess,
regardlessoftheirability.
Duetoourgeographicarea,theageofourschool,thediversebackgroundand
socioeconomicstatusofthehomesourstudentscomefrom,manydonothavethe
opportunitytoaccess,letaloneownanyoftheseitems.Thisgrantwouldallowthemthe
chancetobuildupontheirtechnologyskillsandbetterpreparethemforthefuturea
chancetheymaynototherwisereceive.
GiventhefactthatweareinourfifthyearofCSIaccreditationweareselecting
ournewgoal(s).Afterdoinganeedsassessment,ourliteracyteamhasdeterminedthat
keepingafocusonwritingacrossthecurriculumisstillimportant,howeveraddinga
readinggoalisapriority.Integratingthistechnologyintotheclassroomwillallowmeto
builduponthesuccessesourstudentshavehadinwriting,whilealsosupportingour
newreadinggoal.
Ourschool,likemanyothers,hasawidevarietyofdiverselearners,theuseof
ereadersandiPadswouldallowmetodifferentiatemyinstructiontobettermeetthe
individualneedsofeachofmystudents.
Thisprojectwillalsoallowmetobettermeettheneedsofthestudentswhodid
notmeettheexpectationsoftheElementaryLiteracyAssessment,andenrichthe
curriculumofthosestudentswhoneedit.
Earlierintheschoolyear,theresourceclassroomwassuccessfulinacquiring
fromHalifaxRegionalSchoolBoardoneiPadforthedurationofthe20122013school
yearthishashadapositiveimpactonnotonlythestudentsacademicachievementbut
ontheirmotivationtocompleteworkaswell.
c)Listthegoalsofthisproject.
Toengagestudentsinreadingandwritingactivities.
Toallowstudentstoimproveinthespecificareasoflocatinginformationfroma
varietyofsources,textfeatures,makingconnections,spellingandgrammarand
readingcomprehension.
Toallowallstudentstobesuccessfulintheareasofreadingandviewingand
writingandrepresenting.
Tohelpstudentsbecomemoretechnologicallyinclined.
Tofosteraloveofreadingandwriting.
Promotingcollaborativelearning

ProjectTeam
Brieflydescribetheinterests,backgroundandqualificationsoftheprojectteam
whichwillenablethemtosuccessfullyimplementthisproject.

BethBakerAftercompletingadegreeinEnglishfromSaintMarysUniversityandan
EducationdegreefromtheUniversityofMaineatPresqueIsle,Bethstartedteachingin
ruralNovaScotia.Inhersixthyearofteachingshereturnedtouniversityparttimeto
completeherMasterofEducationinLiteracyfromMountSaintVincentUniversity.She
graduatedwiththeSenateAwardofDistinction.Manyofherclassesatuniversitylent
themselvestothelearningofnewtechnologyaswellasagreaterloveforlearningand
literacy.ShecurrentlyteachesEnglish78andHealthyLiving7atDuncanMacMillan
HighSchoolinSheetHarbour.

ProjectDesign,InnovationandImplementation

a) BrieflydescribewhythisproposalisinnovativeandmeritsPDAFfunding.

ThisprojectisinnovativeandmeritsPDAFfundinginthefollowingways:

Takingaprimarilypaperbasedunitandmakingithandson
Studentswillbelearningnewpracticalskillsthattheyneedforthefuture
Collaborativelearning
Takesauniqueapproachtoanestablishedunit
TheuseofnewandadvancedAppstohelpmotivatestudentlearning
Incorporatesdifferentiation

b) Explainthisprojectintermsofhowitwillbeimplementedintheschool
and/orclassroom.

Pleaseseeprojectdescription,above.

c) Whatisthetimelineyouintendtofollow?
March

Purchasingofitems
Uploadingofapps/programsneeded

April25

Projectoverview
Demonstrationofitemsandusagetothe
students

AprilMay

Projectimplementation

June2013March2014

Integrationintootherlessons/unitsbasedon
studentneed.

AprilMay2014

Projectimplementationforthe20132014
schoolyear

ProjectLinkstoPublicSchoolProgramandEssentialGraduationLearnings

HowwillthisprojectsupportthePublicSchoolProgramandtheEssential
GraduationLearnings?

ThefollowingEssentialGraduationLearningswillbemetnumeroustimesandina
varietyofwaysduringtheunit.Fromextendingideas,sharingwork,usingtechnology,
reflecting,exploring,questioning,workingindependentlyandaspartofagroup,among
thehundredsofotherthingstheywillbedoing,studentswillmeetoutcomesandbetter
preparethemselvestobelearnersinthe21stcentury.
*AestheticExpression:
Studentswillbeabletorespondwithcriticalawarenesstovariousformsof
theartsandbeabletoexpressthemselvesthroughthearts.
usevariousartformsasameansofformulatingandexpressingideas,
perceptions,andfeelings.

Duringthewrittencomponentoftheunit,studentswilldemonstratetheirunderstanding
oftheirtextinpictureform.Theywillalsocompleteafinalprojectoftheirchoice,directly
linkedtoaestheticexpression.
Communication:
Studentswillbeabletoassesssocial,cultural,economic,andenvironmental
interdependenceinalocalandglobalcontext.

explore,reflecton,andexpresstheirownideas,learnings,perceptionsand
feelings.
demonstrateunderstandingoffactsandrelationshipspresentedthroughwords,
numbers,symbols,graphsandcharts.
presentinformationandinstructionsclearly,logically,concisely,andaccurately
foravarietyofaudiences
access,process,evaluateandshareinformation

 criticallyreflectonandinterpretideaspresentedthroughavarietyofmedia

Throughoutthisunitstudentswillbecommunicatingtheirideastotheirgroupmembers,
theclassasawholeandtome.Inordertodoso,theywillfirstexploreandthink
criticallyaboutwhattheyarereading,sothattheycancommunicatethisinaformthat
canbeclearlyunderstoodandevaluatedbyanumberofindividuals.

PersonalDevelopment
Studentswillbeabletocontinuetolearnandtopursueanactive,healthy
lifestyle.
Demonstratepreparednessforthetransitiontoworkandfurtherlearning.
Makeappropriatedecisionsandtakeresponsibilityforthosedecisions.
Workandstudypurposefullybothindependentlyandingroups.

Inoursociety,thelearnersoftodayandtomorrowwillneedtobetechnologically
advancedinordertofunctioninoursociety.Thisprojectwillallowallstudentstobuild
upontheirtechnologyskillstobetterpreparethemfortheirfuturestudiesandcareers.
Theprojectalsohasamixofindividualandgroupworktohelpthembecomemore
independent,yetbeproductivegroupmembers.

ProblemSolving
Studentswillbeabletousethestrategiesandprocessesneededtosolveawide
varietyofproblems
Acquire,processandinterpretinformationcriticallytomakeinformeddecisions.
Useavarietyofstrategiesandperspectiveswithflexibilityandcreativityfor
solvingproblems.
formulatetentativeideasandquestionstheirownassumptionsandthoseof
others.
solveproblemsindividuallyandcollaboratively.
evaluateideasandexamplesandaskforexplanations.
askquestions,observerelationships,makeinferencesanddrawconclusions.
Identify,describeandinterpretdifferentpointsofviewanddistinguishfactfrom
opinion.

Ateachstepofthisunitstudentsmayencounterproblems.Whetherthesearedueto
thetechnologyitself,ortothenatureofcollaboratingwithotherindividuals,studentswill
developtheabilitytoassessthesituation,brainstormpossiblesolutionsandsolvethe
probleminthemosteffectiveandrespectfulways.

TechnologicalCompetence
Studentswillbeabletouseawidevarietyoftechnologies,
demonstrateanunderstandingoftechnologicalapplications,andapplyappropriatetechnologiesfor
solvingproblems.

locate,evaluate,adapt,createandshareinformationusingavarietyofsources
andtechnologies.
Demonstrateunderstandingof,anduse,existinganddevelopingtechnologies.


Asmentionedatotherpoints,thestudentsoftodaywillneedtobemoretechnologically
inclinedthaneverbefore,andunfortunately,duetoavarietyofreasonsthestudentsdo
notalwayshavethemostuptodate,orevenworking,technologytouse.Thisproject
wouldallowustoleveltheplayingfieldforallstudentsandgivethemthechanceto
becometechnologicallycompetentandsharetheirunderstandinginthewayofthe
future.
CurriculumConnections

Howdoesitfitwithinthecurriculum?

a) Whatarethelearningoutcomesofthisproject?

Thisprojectwillallowallofmystudents,nomattertheirability,tomeetthe
followingoutcomes:

SpeakingandListening:

1.1inviteotherstoparticipateindiscussionsandthinkaboutwhatotherpeoplehavesaidduringa
discussion
1.2askquestionsofothersinordertoclarifyandgetmoreinformation
1.3answerquestionsaskedbyothersinordertoclarifyorgivemoreinformation
1.4stateapointofviewandsupportitwithexplanations,reasoning,orpersonalexamples
1.5listentootherscloselyandidentifythemainideasanddetailsoftheirmessage
2.1contributetosmallgroupandwholeclassdiscussionsusingavarietyofstrategiesforeffective
talk
2.2realizethathowwecommunicate(vocabulary,sentencestructure,speed,tone)isinfluencedby
communicationwithothers
2.3giveinstructionsandfollowInstructions
2.4respondappropriatelytoinstructions,directions,andquestions
2.5considertheeffectivenessofaspeakerbasedonhisorhertalk
2.6identifyverbalandnonverbalcuesspeakersuse(repetition,volumeandeyecontact)
3.1demonstrateactivelistening(eyecontact,rephrasing,clarifying,extending,refining,and
summarizing)
3.2showrespectandsensitivitytowardothersandtheirdifferenceswhengivingpersonalopinions
3.3recognizethatourvalues,attitudes,biases,beliefs,andprejudicesarereflectedinourspoken
language
3.4understandhowlanguageisusedtoinfluenceandmanipulate
3.5recognizethatdifferentsituationsrequiredifferentconventions(questioningtechniques,
persuasivetalk,formallanguage)

ReadingandViewing

4.1selecttextsthatmeetneedsandinterests
4.2readavarietyoftextsincludingfictionandliterature,nonfiction,andmediatextsfromdifferent
provincesandcountries

4.3showanawarenessofhowauthorsusetextfeaturestocreatemeaning
4.4usetextfeaturestoconstructmeaningandunderstandthetext
4.5developindependenceinusingthecueingsystemstoenhancefluencyandmakemeaningfrom
increasinglycomplextext
4.6developindependenceintheuseofarangeofreadingstrategies(predicting,connecting,
questioning,inferring)tomakemeaningfromcomplexprintandmediatexts
4.7identifyanddiscussthekindsofstrategiesgoodreadersandviewersuse
4.8recognizeandexplainpersonalprocessesandstrategiesforreadingvarioustexts
5.2recognizetheneedforadditionalinformationtomeetlearningneeds
5.3locateinformationfromavarietyofprintandnonprintsources
5.4developapproachesandstrategiesforconductingresearch(questioning,narrowingtopic,
webbing,notemaking,drafting,usingorganizers)
6.1giveinitialresponse,orallyorinwriting,towhatisreadorviewed
6.2supportpersonalresponsetotheissues,themes,andsituationswithintextsbygivingpersonal
examplesandcitingevidencefromthetext
7.2begintoquestiontherelevanceandreliabilityofthecontentpresented
7.3begintorecognizethetoolsauthorsuseintheirwritingtoachievedifferentpurposes
(organizationofinformation,languagechoice,useoftime,imagery)
7.4identify,describe,anddiscusstheimpactthattextform,content,andstructurehaveonmeaning
7.5understandthatvaluesandpersonalexperiencesinfluenceunderstandingandcriticalresponse

WritingandOtherWaysofRepresenting

8.1experimentwithanumberofstrategiesasalanguagelearner,suchasbrainstorming,
sketching,andfreewriting
8.2writetoextend,explore,andreflect
8.3reflectonthewritingstrategiesthathelpthemlearnanddescribetheirpersonalgrowthas
languagelearners

8.5integrateinterestingeffectsintheirwriting(feelingsandthoughts,detail,correctinconsistency,
avoidextraneousdetail,languagechoice,vocabulary,andphrasing)
9.1producearangeofwritingforms(stories,cartoons,journals,businessletters,speeches,reports,
interviews,messages,poems,ads)
9.2understandthatwhatiswrittenandhowitiswrittenmustfittheaudienceandthe
purposeforwriting
9.3understandthatideascanberepresentedinmorethanonewayandexperimentwith
manyforms
9.4askforfeedbackaboutwritingandapplyittofuturedrafts
10.1usespellingconventionsforfamiliarwordsandattemptdifficultwordscheckforcorrectness
usestandardpunctuation,grammar,varietyofsentences,vocabulary,andparagraphstructures
10.2begintousespecificstrategiesforcreatingtexts,includingprewriting,drafting,revising,
editing,andpresenting
10.3usevarioustechnologiesforthepurposeofcommunicating(video,email,wordprocessing,
audiotape,Internet)
10.4demonstrateacommitmenttocraftingwritingandotherrepresentations
10.5collectandcombineinformationfromseveralsources(interview,film,CD,text)

b) Whataspectofthecurriculumdoesthisprojectfocusupon?

Thisprojectfocusesonallpartsofthegrade78EnglishLanguageArts
curriculumSpeakingandListening,ReadingandViewingandWritingandOther
WaysofRepresenting
.

c) Whatkeygradelevel(s)and/orsubjectarea(s)willbeenhancedbythis
project?

Thisprojectwillbeimplementedwithtwoclassesofgrade7Englishandtwo
classesofgrade8English.(65students)

d) Howwillthisprojectbesuccessfullyintegratedintothegradelevel(s)and
subjectarea(s)?

Pleaseseeprojectdescription,above.

e) Describehowmaterialswillbeused.
Ereaders

Individuallyduringindependentreading

iPads

Individuallyduringwritten/artactivities
Collaborativelyduringgroupsharetime
andfinalprojects
Individuallyandcollaborativelyduring
wholeclasssharing

DocumentCamera

ProjectEvaluation

Howwillthesuccessoftheprojectbeevaluated?

Thesuccessoftheprojectwillbeevaluatedinanumberofways.

Studentreadingengagementwillbemeasuredandcomparedtoreading
engagementduringothernonereaderactivities.
StudentworkwillbeevaluatedandcomparedtosimilarworkonnonIPad
activities.
Writtenfeedbackfromthestudentswillbegatheredinthreeareas:reading,
writing,andmotivation.
Workcompletionrateswillbecomparedtotheworkcompletionratesdirectly
precedingthisproject.
Allprojectgoals(above)havebeenmet.

7.ProjectBudget

Howdoyouintendtousethemoneyallocatedbythisfund?
Detailentireprojectbudgetincludingfundingfromallothersources.Delineate
specificrequestsincludinganitemizedbreakdownofPDAFfundallocation.(If
purchasinglearningresources,anitemizedlistbytitle,author,priceand
distributorisrequ
ired.)

Item
KoboMini
16GBiPad2
IPEVOUSBDocument
Camera
EpsonWorkForceWF2540
AllinOnePrinter
EnvironmentalHandlingFee

QuantityNeeded
20
6
1

Price(withtax)
$91.98
$458.85
$80.48

Total
$1839.60
$2753.10
$80.48

$149.48

$149.48

N/A

$20.00

$20.00

iTunesgiftcardtopurchase
variousApps,basedon
studentneed
(variousprices)

Examples:
WritingSheets$.99each
WritingToolkit$3.99each
WritetheRightWords$2.99
each
DrawandShow$1.99each

N/A

$155.00

$155.00

GRANDTOTAL$4997.66

*All italicized and quoted text in the following category came from:

ProvinceofNovaScotia.DepartmentofEducation.
PublicSchoolPrograms
.Halifax:,2003.
Web.<http://www.ednet.ns.ca/files/pspolicies/psp_03_04_full.pdf>.