Classroom Activities

Fifth Grade
Activity 1
This activity is aimed at getting the students used to writing on the Internet and using
Storybird as a forum for writing.
Students will create picture book stories on Summer Vacation or My irst !ay of
School. These pictures books will be aimed at the lower grades. Students will write
stories with the end result being a read aloud to a kindergarten or first grade class.
Students will search pictures using tags school" summer" summer fun" and classes. They
will have a choice of many pieces of art. They are free to choose the one that will best
suit their stories. Students will also spend some time reading others published books so
they will have some ideas to build on.
#nce students have chosen their artwork they will begin to write their stories. #nce these
stories are completed and before they are published" students will click on the actions
button and click on invite collaborator. They will then enter another student$s email
address and send for another student to read and edit or add to the story. %ecipient
student will accept invitation by clicking on the link in the email. Student will then read
and edit if necessary or add to the story" save and close. Students collaborating on stories
will both receive credit for the final product.
#nce stories meet with my approval" students will then be able to publish.
Activity 2
The fifth grade class will be using Storybird to create stories of triumph. The fifth grade
is studying the sustainability of water and how to sustain &uality of life for now and
generations to come. !uring this unit they will learn how sparse fresh" clean drinking
water is in other parts of the world. In the 'nited States water is plentiful and always
available for the taking" but in other parts of the world (Sudan)" fresh water was hard to
come by for some of the villagers. My students will be reading * +ong ,alk to ,ater by
+inda Sue -ark. This story follows two children in their &uest for survival. They share
the same determination and persevere as they rise triumphant. Two children" one country"
two stories unfolding at two different times.
,e will brainstorm some ideas on how to create a better world for future generations.
Their activity will be to use artwork from Storybird to write a story of a time when they
had to overcome a situation in their lives.
*s the story unfolds students will begin to write a chapter book as a .ournal telling the
story of how they overcame a situation that they felt they would never be able to
overcome. /efore students begin the actual process of writing on Storybird" we will
together talk about some situations some of the students have faced in their lives.
Students will create a list of possible situations they may want to write about. *fter some
conversation around the types of situations that may be suitable for writing about" the
students will choose their topic. #nce their topic is chosen students will sign on to
Storybird" create an account and begin to look for artwork that speaks to them. /ecause
there are so many pictures students will spend some time on this. #nce artwork is chosen
students will begin to write their stories using their pictures to make it pleasant to look at.
,hile students are writing their stories I will be consulting with those that are having a
hard time getting started. This is something that is new to the students and I assume it
will not be easy. #ur students have very low0level writing skills and this will test their
will and determination to commit to this type of assignment.
Mr. /rown" the classroom teacher" and I will collaborate on the writing topics for the
students and the timeline for each part. Mr. /rown will give lessons in the class on the
usage of nouns" pronouns" ad.ectives and sentence structure.
#nce students have completed each section of their story they will be able to publish to
Storybird. Storybird also has the possibility of printing books for a nominal fee.
Standards Used in Activities
W.5.6 1 -roduction and !istribution of ,riting
o ,ith some guidance and support form adults use technology" including
the internet" to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and
collaborate with others . . .
College and Career Readiness
o 'se technology" including the Internet" to produce and publish writing as
well as to interact and collaborate with others.
American Association of School Librarians
o 2.3 1 Skills
2.3.4 1 'se social networks and information tools to gather and
share information
2.3.5 1 'se creative and artistic formats to e6press personal
learning.