Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities

Lesson Idea Name: Publish your Opinion Piece

Content Area: English Language Arts- Writing
Grade Level(s): 2nd Grade
Content Standard Addressed: ELAGSE2W1: Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or book
they are writing about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words (e.g.,
because, and, also) to connect opinion and reasons, and provide a concluding statement or section.

Technology Standard Addressed: Digital Citizen: c. Demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the
rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual property.

Selected Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity: Students will publish their opinion piece
to KidPub

URL(s) to support the lesson: https://www.kidpub.com/

Describe how you would incorporate an Online Project/Collaboration Site/Publishing Opportunity in your
classroom:
Throughout the year students will be learning how to write an opinion piece. Students should be familiar
with the format and have had practice writing their own opinion pieces. At the end of the year, one of their
opinion pieces will be published onto KidPub.org.
Out of all the opinion writing pieces they have done this year, the will pick the one they favored most to
publish. Before posting the writing pieces, each student must type, edit and revise their paper. We will do this
process by establishing appointment times. Each student will have an appointment 1, 2, and 3. Appointment
1 students will be in charge of reading the other classmates piece and pointing out any obvious mistakes.
Appointment 2 students will edit the other classmates’ piece looking for grammatical errors. Appointment 3
students will help the other student revise their paper. Of course I will review each students paper. Finally I
will assist the students in publishing their opinion piece into the KidPub. Once every student has published,
then each student will respond to three other classmates writing. This is similar to a class discussion.
What technologies would be required to implement this proposed learning activity in a classroom?
Classroom Laptops or visit the Computer lab
Internet/ WiFi access
Describe how the following features are addressed in this learning experience (note: all of them may not be
addressed in the project, but most should be if you are reaching a high LoTi Level).
a. Collaboration with peers, near-peers, mentors’ outside their classroom and often beyond their
school: Students are collaborating with their peers during the revision process. After students have
published their opinion writing into KidPub, they should respond to three other classmates writing and
provide feedback.

b. Student-centered learning and knowledge creation (creating original data and or producing original
products as a result of engaging in a project): These students are publishing an original an opinion
piece they have writing this school year. Students are assisting other students in the editing/revision
process. Each student will publish their piece for all classmates to read.

c. Higher-order thinking: Students need to respond and provide feedback to three other classmates.
Through these discussions, students should type whether or not they agree or disagree to the others
opinion, provide positive feedback, and ask the student a question.

d. Students’ publishing their original work to others who will use/care about their product: I will use
the writing piece they have published to grade and put into their report cards for opinion piece writing.

Spring 2018_SJB
 Online Projects, Collaboration Sites and Publishing Opportunities

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☒ Evaluating ☒ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☐ Level 4: Integration
☒ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

 Supports ELL students
 Supports Visual learners
 Support Kinesthetic learners
Lesson idea implementation and Internet Safety Policies:
Publishing student work and collaborating with others brings up some safety and privacy issues for
students under the age of 18. Schools and/or school districts have policies and procedures for publishing
student work—for good reasons. We want to keep students safe and teach them to closely monitor their
digital record. Before publishing the students work, I will send home a release form home to parents to get
approval on publicly posting their childs’ writing on KidPub. I will mention that only our class will have access
to post and comment using KidPub. This activity can help me, as a teacher; bring engaging, authentic, and
collaborative learning experiences into the classroom with ease.
Reflective Practice:
After designing this lesson, students will be aware of how to publish their writing using Kid Pub. KidPub
provides teachers and students with a safe place where students can publish their writing and talk to other
students about writing. This site gives students the opportunity to be apart of monthly writing contests,
prizes, discussion forums, and information/support on how to publish.

Spring 2018_SJB