Writing Links: project Steps

Project Steps

Once you have registered, you enter the "Learn-By-Doing" setting in which you not only have access to support documents in this Web site, but will be in communication with the project co-ordinator who will help you learn or refine the technology skills required. Print this page and keep it as your Project Planner.

1- Welcome. Let's Begin!
Check your technology skills.
The project co-ordinator invites you ...

to consult and respond to the Skills and Technology Inventory. This will tell me your level of comfort with the technology we will be using and what hardware and software you use
to clarify what you need to learn in order to meet the project requirements

2- Learn and practice
Be prepared with the technology skills you will need.
Before you begin work with the students, we will plan some simple activities that will allow us to test, learn and practice certain procedures, according to need and the technology you have. You will be asked to:

Enter the teacher area and explore what changes you can make there and how to make them.
Write a message to the project coordinator using the web form in the teacher management area.
Create a personal mailing list in your E-mail to include teachers' E-mail addresses in you writing circle
Address a message to them using this mailing list.
Scan a picture, scale it, save it and send it to the project co-ordinator.
Use a drawing software or a software like Paint to create a digital picture and save it in JPG format.
Copy text from a word processor into an E-mail message. The process will be the same to paste it in a web form.

Now is the time to get help from your local RECIT animator if you need it.

3- Class Action!

Throughout the project, you and your class can use your Class Web site to document the process and the classroom activities. Take pictures that tell the story of your project , of your class or your community. You can use it in many creative ways. Parents might like to visit the web site. Inform them. Have your class visit the web sites of your partners and respond to them through their class mailbox. See Sample Web Site.

Building Interest and Background	Suggestions
A: Plan and implement learning activities. Students will learn about the Human Interest Genre, its structure with a focus on characters developement through a variety of classroom activities.	A few weeks before the students begin writing, you should implement a variety of Introductory activities that introduce the genre and the skills required. (View all the information in a single document to print.) Brainstorm and contirbute (via the coordinator) to a list of Human Interest themes. The project can give rise to interesting writing activities in each of the writing stages. Here are some ideas from experienced teachers. We will document other strategies from this year's experience. Show your students the student area of this web site. Show them what each part is for. Give them "tools for autonomy" so that they can find the site and navigate its different parts. Print and have students use the material designed for them in "Writing Tools".
B:Our Partners and us Your class will be asked to begin creating it's web site. (The Web form you fill in makes the page for you automatically) In it, you are asked to present yourselves to the other classes in the project. The web page can also be used as a project portfolio with pictures and comments about the project unfolding in class. The class Web Pages are used to send and receive messages - from parents, from other participants. Visit yours and others often.	Involve the students: work on the class web page through the student area. The presentation could include the following elements: our class, our school, our city or area, who we are, what is important for us... Other aspects can be included also. Be creative! You could make it a straight forward presentation, but better still, you could try to build some interactivity into it (More) Create your personal "mascot" or class representation to replace the default one. Or choose one in the Writing Links collection. Don't type message directly in the Web form. Prepare it in a word processor over a period of time, then copy-paste it in the Web form when you are ready to post it. See Help & FAQ for instructions.

Let's Write - the heart of the project	Procedures
Plan and implement the Writing Activities. Part 1 Plan activities that will lead to writing a beginning for the story. Send In the student area, using the web form, students post their part of the story. It is a good idea to alert the teacher via email so that the next class can start on its part.	Select a Human Interest Theme. The beginning will include presentation and development of the characters, the setting and the problem. Make sure that the problem is set in such a way that there is room for the next class to develop it. Read Writing Activities and Part 1 for procedures adapted to this context. (View all the information in a single document to print.) See Instructions in the personal teacher area to learn how your story parts will be posted.
Part 2 View the story on the Web site and write the middle part. Each group views the story where it stands and adds a middle part. Using the Web form, students post the second part of the story.	Read Writing Activities Part 2 Make sure you identify where your part begins and ends. Use some of the writing techniques shown HERE to help students make sense of the story received so far and to decide where they can take it. Help your students keep tabs on their progress by viewing "Building our stories" in the student area.
Part 3 Complete and illustrate the story. The class to write the last part of the story completes it, gives it a title and posts it on the Web site. Then the students create illustrations and place them in the finished story in the appropriate places.	Read Writing Activities Part 3 Make sure you identify where your part begins and ends. Part 3 can be coordinated with an Art Class. Illustrations are scanned and sent to the project co-ordinator. Please see Help and FAQ for instructions on scanning, modifying images and saving in an appropriate format and size. Pictures are added via the story Web form.

Project Conclusion	Suggestions
Print and Read the completed stories Finished stories with pictures are automatically published On the project Web Site under the heading "Read our Stories"	Print and use the stories for class follow-up activities. Celebrate the writing and that of all participants. Take class time to view the results on the Web. Write to your partners. Inform parents and invite them to visit the Web site Use the contents of Class Web page to reflect with the class on what the students did and learned throughout. Post their reflections.

4- Give Feedback
Respond to an E-mail questionnaire to tell the project co-ordinator about your experience.