Lesson Plan - VoiceThread

Subject Area: English

Cycle: 3 Grade: 6

Subject specific competencies related to the lesson and its key features:
English Language Arts

Competency 1: To read and listen to literary, popular and information-based texts

Key Features - To construct meaning by applying appropriate reading strategies
- To use a response process when reading and listening to literary, popular, and
information-based texts
- To construct her/his own view of the world through reading and listening to
literary, popular and information-based texts
Essential Knowledges - Use of different reading strategies according to the text type
- Recount of the story and, with guidance, outline of information in a text
- Knowledge of familiar text types transferred to own writing by using
known structures and features
- Suggestion of alternative endings or actions in a literary or popular text

Competency 2: To write self-expressive, narrative and information-based texts

Key Features - To use writing as a system for communicating and constructing meaning
Essential Knowledges - Specific structures and features of familiar texts incorporated into own
writing
- Selection of ways to influence a familiar audience in self-expressive and
narrative texts
- Syntax that is chosen in order to add meaning to a text, given purpose,
audience and context
- Experimentation, at a beginner’s level, with different syntactic structures
that are appropriate to purpose, audience and context
- Some control of the following linguistic features: tenses, verb/subject
agreement, voice
- Sharing own writing with peers

Competency 3: To represent her/his literacy in different media

Key Features - To apply appropriate strategies for constructing meaning
- To follow a process to respond to media texts
- To follow a production process in order to communicate for specific purposes to
a specified audience.
Essential Knowledges - Use of familiar structures and features to respond to and produce media
texts
- Collaboration with peers in pairs, small groups and whole class to
clarify, decode and respond to media texts
- Making meaning of a media text by brainstorming, drawing on prior
knowledge, sharing responses with peers, returning to text, using
structures and features of the medium and text type in order to clarify
meaning and explain his/her response, in collaboration with peers
- Identifying and discussing some of the ways in which pictures,
illustrations, popular symbols and signs and images enhance the
 message(s)/meaning(s) in media texts designed for young viewers
- Use mixed media (and multimedia resources)
- Exploratory planning in a risk-taking environment that promotes trial
and errors and includes: a familiar audience and writing of a script
- Production of the texts in groups with peers that function as a narrative
text type

Competency 4: To use language to communicate and learn

Key Features - To use language (talk) for learning and thinking
- To interact in collaborative group activities in a variety of roles
Essential Knowledges - Writing, producing and reading together.
- Brainstorming
- Collaborative talk
- Sharing ideas
- Rereading and discussion of relevant texts
- Communicating with others
- Adding to the contributions of others
- Disagreeing cordially with others

Cross-curricular competencies:

Intellectual competencies
Competency 1: To use information
To gather information; to recognize various information sources; to put information to use
Competency 4: To use creativity
To imagine ways of proceeding;

Methodological Competencies
Competency 5: To adopt effective work methods
To begin the process; to analyze the task to be performed; to perform the task
Competency 6: To use information and communications technologies (ICT)
To master the information and communications technologies.

Personal and social competencies

Competency 8: To cooperate with others
To interact with an open mind in various contexts; to contribute to team efforts

Communication-related competency
Competency 9: To communicate appropriately
To carry out the communication

Objectives:
• Students will listen as the story is being read in class.
• Students will discuss the story with a partner.
• Students will create an alternative development of the story, Jack and the Beanstalk.
• Students will create a script.
• Students’ titles will be reflective of their story.
• Students will create a storyboard with at least 2 images.
• Students will follow the expectation guideline handout.
How I plan to incorporate VoiceThread into my lesson:
I will begin by giving my students a handout (please refer to Appendix A). We will read
the story aloud as a class. On the handout, the story of Jack and the Beanstalk ends right
before the reader discovers what became of Jack’s magic beans. The students are left to
ponder the question, “And what do you think he saw?” The students will brainstorm ideas on
their own and jot them down in their journals, during an inventive writing session. Then students
will be paired with a partner. Students will exchange their ideas regarding what they think
happens next.
I will then regroup, and explain to the students that their ideas are what is called an
alternative ending. I will briefly summarize the original ending of jack and the beanstalk, and I
will encourage the students to return to their small group discussions where they will elaborate
upon their ideas.
Students will be asked to write a script, which they will eventually read on VoiceThread.
It will not be the first time that the students have used the VoiceThread ICT, so they will be
familiar with it and its features. Each group will be asked to collaborate on one alternative
ending to the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.
Students will create a VoiceThread, following the guidelines provided on the handout
sheet in Appendix A. As a way of peer review, once all groups are content with their
VoiceThreads, each student will be paired with two individuals in their class. They will have to
listen to their VoiceThreads, and offer a comment. Each group will then be given the opportunity
to use the comments and add on to their original VoiceThreads.

Resources:
• Handouts (Appendices A and B)
• VoiceThread 



Here is the link to my VoiceThread sample of what my students’ work will look like: https://
voicethread.com/share/11627987/

Appendix A

The following is a copy of a handout that I will be providing to my students. It is a version of the
folktale, “Jack and the Beanstalk” from https://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/beanstalk/story.htm

Old English Fairy Tale - version written by Leanne Guenther

Jack and the…

Once upon a time, there lived a widow woman and her son, Jack, on their small farm in the
country.
Every day, Jack would help his mother with the chores - chopping the wood, weeding the
garden and milking the cow. But despite all their hard work, Jack and his mother were very poor
with barely enough money to keep themselves fed.
"What shall we do, what shall we do?" said the widow, one spring day. "We don't have enough
money to buy seed for the farm this year! We must sell our cow, Old Bess, and with the money
buy enough seed to plant a good crop."
"All right, mother," said Jack, "it's market-day today. I'll go into town and sell Bessy."
So Jack took the cow's halter in his hand, walked through the garden gate and headed off
toward town. He hadn't gone far when he met a funny-looking, old man who said to him, "Good
morning, Jack."
"Good morning to you," said Jack, wondering how the little, old man knew his name.
"Where are you off to this fine morning?" asked the man.
"I'm going to market to sell our cow, Bessy."
"Well what a helpful son you are!" exclaimed the man, "I have a special deal for such a good
boy like you."
The little, old man looked around to make sure no one was watching and then opened his hand
to show Jack what he held.
"Beans?" asked Jack, looking a little confused.
"Three magical bean seeds to be exact, young man. One, two, three! So magical are they, that
if you plant them over-night, by morning they grow right up to the sky," promised the funny little
man. "And because you're such a good boy, they're all yours in trade for that old milking cow."
"Really?" said Jack, "and you're quite sure they're magical?"
"I am indeed! And if it doesn't turn out to be true you can have your cow back."
"Well that sounds fair," said Jack, as he handed over Bessy's halter, pocketed the beans and
headed back home to show his mother.
"Back already, Jack?" asked his mother; "I see you haven't got Old Bess -- you've sold her so
quickly. How much did you get for her?"
Jack smiled and reached into his pocket, "Just look at these beans, mother; they're magical,
plant them over-night and----"
"What!" cried Jack's mother. "Oh, silly boy! How could you give away our milking cow for three
measly beans." And with that she did the worst thing Jack had ever seen her do - she burst into
tears.
Jack ran upstairs to his little room in the attic, so sorry he was, and threw the beans angrily out
the window thinking, "How could I have been so foolish - I've broken my mother's heart." After
much tossing and turning, at last Jack dropped off to sleep.
When Jack woke up the next morning, his room looked strange. The sun was shining into part
of it like it normally did, and yet all the rest was quite dark and shady. So Jack jumped up and
dressed himself and went to the window.

And what do you think he saw?

Appendix B

The following is a copy of a handout that I will be providing to my students. One handout will be
provided per group. This handout with outline my expectations of their VoiceThread. I will
require students submit this handout the morning after they finalize their VoiceThread
presentations. The students will be asked to place a checkmark next to the boxes in which the
expectation has been met.

Here is a list of what I am expected to include in my VoiceThread.


We, ___________________________________________, have placed a check mark in the

boxes of all expectations that have been met.

We have completed the phrase, “Jack and the…” !




We have created an alternative ending to the original story “Jack and the beanstalk”. !



We have created a script for our VoiceThread. !

We have included at least two sentences of dialogue in our story. !




We have each spoken an equal amount in our VoiceThread. !




We began our storyboard with the title and the names of the authors of the story. !

We have illustrated or found at least two images for our storyboard. !

We have referenced our images in our scripts. !




We have each watched/ listened to two VoiceThread presentations of our peers. !

We have each commented on the two VoiceThread presentations of our peers (At least one of

them done as a voice recording). !

Appendix C

Here is an example of a script, followed by a reference page for their storyboard images. This
group decided to find images online, but another group could have decided to illustrate images
themselves. The teacher would then help them (if help is needed) to scan the illustrations and
save them as PDF files which would then be put onto their VoiceThread storyboard.

Jack and the Cow Tree




Written By Alexandra Di Fruscia and Oriana Bellissimo

Jack could not believe his eyes. “I must be dreaming”, he thought. He squeezed his eyes
shut. He slowly opened his left eye, and then his right. “This can’t be!” he exclaimed.
Jack ran downstairs and opened the front door. There, growing not too far from his
bedroom window, was a tree. This was not just any tree. This was not an apple tree, or a pear
tree, or even a fig tree. This was a cow tree. Growing from one of the branches, Jack saw
exactly 2 cows. They were growing very quickly, too. Jack rubbed his eyes. One of the cows
was so big it looked like it could be life-sized. Slowly, the branch started to grow downward.
Jack thought it was going to hit him! He covered his head. He looked up just in time to see the
branch gently drop the cow onto the grass. “Mom!”, yelled Jack. “Come see this!”.
Every day, Jack and his mother were greeted by two cows. Jack and his mother had so
many cows, they were able to trade their cows for whatever they needed. They were able to get
a huge piece of land where they would give milk to those who could not afford it. Jack and his
mother never had to worry about money again.

References

Photo 1: http://www.stockphotos.ro/jack-beans-image30711866.html

Photo 2: https://udderstupidity.com/2017/05/15/the-cows-have-come-home-to-roost/
Photo 3: https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/424046/view/worker-with-glass-of-goat-s-milk-
on-farm

Reflection

At first, I didn’t think I would like VoiceThread as much as the Sutori presentation.
However, after using VoiceThread and testing out its features, I think it’s really great. Although
my VoiceThread was supposed to be done as a sample project that a sixth grader would have
done, I still found myself redoing my voice recording over and over. I think this is such a great
tool. Listening to myself repeat the same few lines multiple times, I picked up on errors that I
would not have caught had my script been submitted solely on paper. Also, I feel as though
students will do as I did. I really believe that this can encourage students to practice, and review
their writing since it is something that they are saying aloud.
I love the feature of commenting. I used it as a way to peer review, but I also think it can
be done to simply comment on a finished product. This is a great way to have students practice
proper classroom etiquette, as well as how to communicate with others in a respectful manner. I
also really liked the option of using a storyboard. I really think students can get creative with it
and create their own illustrations if they have a certain vision in mind.