October 2004 — Web/Net
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The Software Picture Book: The Complexities of Teaching Informational Text to Elementary School Children
Another group created a picture book about weather. They animated both the snow and the snowman. An example of this work is below:
The above card was created by Elena Abbate, Alexzandra Richardson, Angela Portelos and Christine Mormile.
Another group concentrated on shapes. Their work example is below:
The above card was created by Annamarie Simione & Nicole Hosein.
HyperStudio's Weaknesses. The participants found animating their illustrations difficult and somewhat cumbersome. Setting time for the animation and the path for a desired movement caused a great of deal of time and numerous revisions. Formatting illustrations and moving them into a desired position was also difficult for participants. Finally, each group experienced problems saving completed work on 3.5” floppy disks because of the size of their files. Please note that CD burners will be available the next time we attempt a similar project.
Conclusion
Based on the completed work, observations, surveys, grades and the climate of the classroom during the project, I believe the project was successful. The workshop process, the multiple measures of performance, the project-based use of picture books, and the utilization of technology offered the preservice teachers the variety of approaches in literacy instruction that was referred to at the beginning of the article.
Many of the S.A.M. E. Project participants have already started their own teaching careers. Through informal discussions, they related the need to develop and implement a literacy program that builds on the needs and interests of their students. They feel that this can only be possible when the instructional strategies and activities employed are varied and engaging. That was the message of the S.A.M.E. Project and the belief we want our preservice teachers to carry with them into their own classrooms.
References
Calkins, L. 2001. The Art of Teaching Reading. New York: Longman.
Cullinan, B., and L. Galda. 1998. Literature and the Child (5th ed). New York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.
Cunningham, P. 2000. Phonics They Use: Words for Reading and Writing (3rd ed.). New York: Longman.
Gunning, T. 2003. Creating Literacy Instruction for All Children (4th ed.). New York: Pearson Education.
Fleck, T. 1999. HyperStudio: Simple Projects, Intermediate. California: Teacher Created Materials.
Hoffman, J., and C. Roller. 2003. “Teacher Prep Deemed Crucial: Results of IRA Commission Study Provide Compelling Evidence.” Reading Today 20 (6): 1, 3.
Hoyt, L., and T. Therriault. 2003. Exploring Informational Texts: From Theory to Practice Edited by L. Hoyt, M. Mooney and B. Parkes. Pages 52-58. New Hampshire: Heinemann.
Isbister, S. 1999. HyperStudio: Simple Projects, Primary. California: Teacher Created Materials.
Parkes, B. 2003. Exploring Informational Texts: From Theory to Practice. Edited by L. Hoyt, M. Mooney and B. Parkes. Pages 18-25. New Hampshire: Heinemann.
