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| CREATE A WEBSITE |
| written by Christy Clawson |
SERVICE PROJECT OVERVIEW
Families who are coping with a child’s cancer diagnosis need to garner all the support possible from friends and loved ones. An important aspect of the support process is communicating information about the patient, treatments, and the family’s needs.
In this lesson students will create a website to provide a communications tool for a family fighting childhood cancer. Creating a website is an authentic writing task that gives students an opportunity to practice a variety of literacy skills in the context of providing a useful service. Throughout this project, students will be encouraged to develop empathy, practice useful technology skills, and learn about the importance of communication as a means of support in their community. The website will contain news about the child and the fight against cancer, list specific requests for things that volunteers can do for the family, and also provide a place for emotional support where friends and loved ones can post messages of love and support. |
Language Arts |
6-12th grade |
| Language Arts |
- 1. Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
- 4. Gathers and uses information for research purposes
- 7. Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts
- 8. Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes
- 9. Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media
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| Working with Others |
- 1. Contributes to the overall effort of a group
- 3 . Works well with diverse individuals and in diverse situations
- 4 . Displays effective interpersonal communication skills
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UNIT OBJECTIVES |
- Students will research a variety of resources to learn about website design (Internet, books, experts in the field) as well as copyright laws pertaining to the Internet.
- Students will present ideas for a website to a family fighting cancer and obtain written consent to use their stories and images on the Internet.
- Students will gather and organize information necessary for webpage development from child, family, and other sources (interviews, written instructions, photographs, graphics, music, etc.).
- Students will create web site content using the writing process.
- Students will publish the final version of web site.
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ASSESSMENTS |
| Teachers can select which portions of the overall project to assess. Some possibilities include: |
• Working portfolio containing research notes about website design
• an annotated list of research sources
• writing tips
• group work notes
• writing examples of each step in the writing process
• reflections about the project.
Students will submit final website design for approval to adult leader/teacher. See available Website Rubric.
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LESSONS CONTAINED IN THIS UNIT:
Note to teachers: Students may be interested in learning about how the film was made before viewing the film clip. See the A Lion in the House website for information. Please review the suggested Discussion Questions (PDF) prior to the group viewing. You may need to adjust the questions according to the unique make-up of your group. For most active viewing of the material, please engage your students in both pre-viewing and post-viewing discussions.
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Language Arts |
- 1. Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
- 8. Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes
- 9. Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media
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| LESSON OBJECTIVES |
- Students will view the Unit Film Clip and discuss Discussion Questions as a whole group activity in class.
- Students will participate in a class discussion.
- Students will write a journal response to the quote.
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| PROCEDURE |
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1. Provide an overview of the film project.
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/lioninthehouse/02_index.htm
2. Prepare group for active viewing by leading them in a discussion based on the pre-viewing questions.
3. View the Unit Clip with students. After viewing, engage your students in a whole class discussion of the Discussion Questions (PDF).
4. Read aloud excerpts from the book, A Lion in the House, edited by Margaret McGurk.
5. Ask students to write a journal response to the Isak Dinesen quote, “You know you are truly alive when you are living among lions.”
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- What does this quote mean to you?
- Why do you think the filmmakers chose this quote to represent the project?
- What or whom do you think the lion is?
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Back to Lessons
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Language Arts |
- 1. Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
- 4. Gathers and uses information for research purposes
- 7. Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts
- 8. Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes
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| LESSON OBJECTIVES |
- Students will research websites and website design.
- Students will research current copyright law related to the Internet.
- Students will be able to explain relevant vocabulary terms.
- Students will maintain a working portfolio that contains their notes and an annotated list of resources for future reference.
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| MATERIALS |
- Desktop/laptop computers with internet access
- Writing tools and paper
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| PROCEDURE |
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1. Before students begin research, ask the class how communication happens within a community. Students may suggest things like media (radio or television), schools or churches – all the places where people meet each other in daily life. Explain that communication is especially important when families are experiencing hard times because then others know they need support. Students should realize that the internet is a powerful communication tool, but it is just a tool. The value to people lies in the communication, not the tool. Possible discussion points include:
• What could be some possible benefits to families of having a website?
• What makes the web a useful communication tool?
• How could the same information be shared with people who don’t have web access?
• How could people without a computer at home get web access? |
2. As a class, view some examples of personal websites.
Engage students in a discussion of qualities that contribute to an effective website and what makes an ineffective or difficult to use website.
3. Brainstorm a class list of important elements that should be included in websites.
3. Have students place the final list in their working portfolio. |
| ASSESSMENTS |
- Students’ annotated list of resources
- Vocabulary activities
- Working portfolio
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EXTENSIONS |
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Give students a list of terms and have them conduct a web-based scavenger hunt. In addition, have a text set available in the classroom to provide additional resources so that students can learn as much as possible about website design.
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Note to teachers: Before writing website content, have your students develop interview questions and practice note taking skills. You may choose to assign an interview team to conduct the family interview. Alternative approaches might be to invite the family into the classroom to speak to the students, or to provide the family with a list of questions that they can answer in writing. Your approach to the interviewing process will depend on the needs and availability of the family. Be sure to discuss with students the need for sensitivity and compassion.
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Language Arts |
- 1. Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
- 8. Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes
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| Working with Others |
- 1. Contributes to the overall effort of a group
- 3. Works well with diverse individuals and in diverse situations
- 4. Displays effective interpersonal communication skills
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| LESSON OBJECTIVES |
- Students will participate in a class discussion about questioning and interviewing.
- Students will investigate the art of asking questions.
- Students will write interview questions that they would use to gather website information.
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| MATERIALS |
- Writing tools and paper
- Access to computers with word processing capability
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PROCEDURE |
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Note to teachers: Before conducting interviews, discuss with your students how to handle sensitive subject matter. Visit the A Lion in the House website for more information. |
1. Review interview techniques with your students. Share Internet and print resources that contain tips on interviewing.
2. Have students develop interview questions to use when discussing possible website content with the child and family.
3. Have students practice interviewing and taking notes in small groups within the class or with a partner before talking to the family members.
4. Students should keep their notes gathered from the interviewing research and practice and include the notes in their Working Portfolio.
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| ASSESSMENTS |
- Students’ working portfolio containing notes about questioning and interviewing
- Group participation
- Peer evaluations of group work
- Written interview questions
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- Invite a community speaker into the classroom and have students develop and ask interview questions, take notes and write a brief article or essay.
- Have students role play active listening techniques.
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Storyboarding is a planning tool used in media production. It is an especially useful technique for visual learners. It helps students visualize the non-linear nature of a website, and how that differs from a traditional book. Many website producers and planners use flowcharts for this purpose and this tool may be incorporated in lieu of storyboards.
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Language Arts |
- 1. Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
- 8. Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes
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| LESSON OBJECTIVES |
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Students will explore using storyboard techniques (or flowcharts) as a prewriting and drafting tool. |
| MATERIALS |
- Writing tools and paper, poster board
- Access to computers with word processing capability
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| PROCEDURE |
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1. Have students view storyboarding links provided under Additional Resources.
2. Have students use copyright law as a guide to help determine what content will require express written permission to legally use on their website.
3. Have students use the technique to create a visual draft of the website they will create.
4. Student should keep a copy of their completed storyboard in their working portfolio. |
| ASSESSMENTS |
- Students’ working portfolio containing storyboard drafts and notes
- Group participation
- Peer evaluations of group work
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Invite a guest speaker to explain to the class how storyboards and/or flowcharts are used in media production. |
Back to Lessons
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| LESSON 5: COMMUNITY SERVICE > CREATE A WEBSITE |
Note to teachers: You will need to determine how to organize the writing assignments according to the structure of your classroom. Writing tasks could be organized as whole class collaborative writing, group work, or individual assignments. Instruct your students to use the writing process to develop their writing skills, and to keep copies of their various drafts so they can see their progress.
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Language Arts |
- 1. Uses the general skills and strategies of the writing process
- 4.
Gathers and uses information for research purposes
- 7.
Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts
- 8.
Uses listening and speaking strategies for different purposes
- 9.
Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media
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| Working with Others |
- 1. Contributes to the overall effort of a group
- 3.
Works well with diverse individuals and in diverse situations
- 4.
Displays effective interpersonal communication skills
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| LESSON OBJECTIVES |
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Students will create an informational website using audience and purpose as a guide. |
MATERIALS |
- Notes and photographs gathered through web design research, discussions and interviews with child, family, and any other sources, properly cited
- Storyboard or other prewriting document (outline, flowchart)
- Web address for preferred host site (Note: Two sites that host free personal web pages for people experiencing health crises are http://www.caringbridge.org and http://www.carepages.com)
- Preferred writing tools and references
- Release form for photographs to be used
- Website Planning Guide (PDF)
- Website Rubric (PDF)
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PROCEDURE |
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1. Ask students to write a brief journal about what they hope to learn through completing this project.
2. Discuss with students the importance of audience and purpose. Ask students to consider how these elements affect the writing format. It may help for students to envision potential viewers of the finished website. The key idea is for students to realize that there is an appropriate voice, language style, and level of formality for this writing task.
3. Have students brainstorm ideas about what kinds of things families would want to include on a web page for communicating to friends and loved ones. See Website Planning Guide (PDF).
4. At this point, the teacher may prefer to break students into groups and assign or have students choose the website sections they will be writing (e.g., Homepage, Volunteer Sign-ups, etc.).
5. Have each group create a storyboard of the section they will be working on. This is a picture of the layout, not in great detail, but enough to help guide the layout process.
6. Have students write content, using their notes and resources. Students will use the writing process to write their assignments:
• Pre-writing: Students develop a storyboard, outline or flowchart for the overall website writing project.
• Drafting: Students are writing, getting words on paper.
• Revising: After students have reread their own work, have them conduct writing conferences with peers or adults. This phase is focused on improving content, structure, word choices, and syntax.
• Editing: This process is about fixing the details and polishing the piece of writing. At this stage, the teacher will want to help students make sure this writing piece is free of errors.
• Publishing: After the teacher has approved the writing and the family has approved the web site content, the website is ready for posting to the Internet.
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7. Students will submit their final writing to the teacher for approval and assessment (see Website Rubric PDF ), then to the family for final approval.
8. Due to security concerns, the family will determine who is to post the final written version to the web. This person will probably be an adult over the age of 18 according to the specifications of the web host server agreement.
9. Students will write a reflection comparing their learning and progress with their original expectations. |
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES |
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Atwell, N. (1998). In the Middle: New Understandings About Writing, Reading, and Learning. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Mitchell, S. (2006). Create Your Own Website: 5 Easy Projects in Full Color. Indianapolis, IN: Sams.
Sebranek, P., Kemper, D. & Meyer, V. (2001). Writers Inc: A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning. Wilmington, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Small Planet
http://www.smplanet.com/webpage/webpage.html
Internet site to guide the creation of a website and pages
Web Monkey
http://www.webmonkey.com//kids/
Internet site for kids interested in building websites
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- Working portfolio containing research notes about website design, an annotated list of research sources, writing tips, group work notes, writing examples of each step in the writing process, and reflections about the student’s learning throughout the project.
- Students will submit final web site design for approval to adult leader/teacher. See Website Rubric. (PDF)
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- Language Arts students may wish to work in conjunction with a technology advisor, using computer skills as well as writing skills to design the web site. The following sites provide instructions for developing your own webpage using html (hyper text markup language) from scratch:
- Students may want to offer to provide ongoing site maintenance to extend the project (*note- some sites require managers to be at least 18; review terms and conditions carefully)
- Students could create a newsletter containing the website information to be mailed to family or friends that don’t have an Internet connection.
- Students could find out where internet access is available in their community and provide that information to the family to share with friends and relatives.
- Students can offer to take photographs with a digital camera to provide updates for the website if the family wishes.
- Students could create posters or brochures depicting the benefits of web sites to be made available to families.
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- Have students maintain a portfolio throughout the project, including written reflections on their learning. Possible reflection questions to write about or discuss:
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- What worked well with the project?
- What can we do better next time?
- What have we learned about providing support to children and their families who are coping with cancer?
- Is there something more that we can do to help?
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- Students can provide website training for other students who wish to develop a similar project.
- If the family gives permission, provide the link to the website on mylion Scrapbook and please share artifacts and photographs.
- Ask for feedback from the family about the impact the website has had on them.
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