Creating a Plot for a Digital Story

Session #3:

Creating a Plot for a Digital Story

Overview: Before today’s lesson, students should have already conducted their family interviews and started inquiry into an approved Social Studies topic. Today’s lesson will focus on organizing their information and creating a plot for their digital story.  Students should have completed their historical/social justice research already.

Short term objectives:

Students will demonstrate the ability to:

 1. Develop a plot for the digital story.

2. Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an event or idea.

3. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source.

4. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

Interactive Phase:

Activity #1: Introduction/Set-Focus Event:

1. Write on board, “What do movies and books with a good plot have in common?” Ask students to write this question in their notebook/journal for today’s writing prompt. Give students a few minutes to jot down some ideas. Next, invite a few students at a time to the board to share their ideas. Discuss the results. Copy down list so all students will have a master copy of student created list.

Examples:

Holds viewer’s/reader’s attention from beginning to end, interesting, engaging characters, clear beginning, middle, and end, descriptive setting, rising action, falling action, conflict, & has point of view.

Bridge: "I want everyone to create a rough draft of a storyboard that you'll use to help guide the creation of your digital story."

Activities #2: Now that you’ve creating a list, pass out the “Seven Elements of a Digital Story” worksheet. Read through the list aloud. Discuss each element. Watch a digital story from http://www.storycenter.org/stories/ or one of your own. Look at questions again after you watch the video. Does it have all of the elements? What would you modify/add?

Activity #3: Model for your students HOW to fill out a plot outline and storyboard.

Activity #4: Pass out a plot outline and storyboard. Work with students to fill out their digital story outlines.

Closure: Collect outlines and storyboard. Have students do a quick write answering these questions: (1) How is the family interview going? (2) What Social Justice topic are you exploring?