Glogster: Short Story Media Project

Rational

Right now students just started a short story unit as part of our curriculum. Students are required to read “The Yellow Wallpaper” and six other stories chosen by the teacher from the fiction textbook. Along with a final test, group activities, class assignments, homework, and presentations, students are required to complete a final short story project that demonstrates their understanding of a selected text and the literary element of theme. The purpose of this project is not to simply incorporate technology in the classroom, but rather to use technology as a canvas for students to showcase their ideas, creativity, work collaboratively and discover new ways to become 21st century learners.

Resources Needed

Short Story Anthology (one copy per student)
Short Story Poster Checklist
Glogster Grading Rubric
Pre-writing Worksheet (one copy per group)
One Computer for Every Two Students
Internet Access
Glogster.com
Account Prepared to Host Student Assignments
Student Logins for Glogster.com

Overview and Requirements

Students will use Glogster.com to create a poster based on one of the short stories we have read in class. Once the poster is complete, students will share their final project with the teacher and respond to their classmate’s projects. The assignment requires students to include all of the following in their glog:

Poster Elements Check

There is a background
There are at least three images that relate to the theme of the poster/story and they have short captions to explain them.
You cited all information in MLA
There is at least one song or video that relates to the theme of the poster/story
There are at least two graphic elements on the poster that are not images
The final poster is shared with the teacher

Text Elements Check

The name of the short story and the author are on the poster
Your names are on the poster
There are at least two quotes from the short story that relate to the theme of the poster and are explained as to how they exemplify the theme. They also must be properly cited.
There is a short summary of the short story that includes specific references to the theme of the story (minimum ten complete sentences)
There is one character profile on the poster that remains true to the character in the book and that shows how this character exemplified the theme of the story (this also should includes a citation).

Objectives

Students will be able to:

Create a poster which critically interprets the themes within the text
Utilize a rubric to understand and evaluate the requirements of their assignment and determine whether they have met those requirements
Synthesize electronic media as a means to express selected themes from the text

Literary Focus

The assignment also requires students to focus on the literary element of theme. In literature, a theme is a broad idea in a story, or a message or lesson conveyed by a work. This message is usually about life, societyor human nature. Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. Themes are usually implied rather than stated.

Option 1: Choose one of the following stories and chose one theme to use with that story:

Short Story	Theme
“The Yellow Wallpaper” by: Charlotte Perkins Gilman (p. 86)	· Reality vs. Creativity · Marriage and Relationships · Mental Illness and Family Effects · Freedom and Confinement · The prison of routine · The desire of escape
“The Tell Tale Heart” by: Edgar Allen Poe	· Guilt and Innocence · Good vs. Evil · Human Nature · Jealousy
“Everyday Use” by: Alice Walker (p. 363)	· Heritage and ancestry · Education · Tradition
“Eveline” by: James Joyce (p. 131)	· The prison of routine · The desire of escape · Life and Death · The role of religion
“The Man who was Almost a Man” by: Richard Wright (p. 187)	· Power · Social Status · Manhood · Responsibility · Race and Racism
“Desiree’s Baby by: Kate Chopin	· Race and Racism · Marriage and Relationships · Identity

Option 2: Possible themes you can explore – you must choose a story to correlate with the theme.

1. The Individual in Society

Society and a person's inner nature are always at war.
Social influences determine a person's final destiny.
Social influences can only complete inclinations formed by Nature.
A person's identity is determined by place in society.
In spite of the pressure to be among people, and individual is essentially alone and frightened.

2. Human Relations

Marriage is a relationship in which each partner is supported and enabled to grow.
Parents should not sacrifice all for a better life for their children.
There are few friends who will make extreme sacrifices.

3. Growth and Initiation

A boy and a girl must go through a special trial or series of trials before maturing.
Manhood or womanhood is often established by an abrupt, random crisis, sometimes at an unusually early age.
Aspects of childhood are retained in all of us, sometimes hindering growth, sometimes providing the only joy in later life.
A person grows only in so far as he or she must face a crisis of confidence or identity.

4. Death

Death is part of living, giving life its final meaning.
Without love, death often appears to be the only alternative to life.

5. Alienation

An individual is isolated from fellow human beings and foolishly tries to bridge the gaps.
Through alienation comes self-knowledge.
Modern culture is defective because it doesn't provide group ties which in primitive cultures make alienation virtually impossible.

Student benefits

Students can benefit from participating in this project in several ways. One of the first ways that students will benefit from this activity is that they will be required to work collaboratively with one other person in order to complete this project. Additionally, this assessment is designed in such a way that students must engage with the text and the curriculum material in order to complete it while at the same time using a web 2.0 tool that will prepare them to be 21st century learners. Glogster allows students to create, collaborate, embed, and share their ideas all online. Furthermore, students are required to contribute media, images and text that connects with the curriculum and showcases their understanding of a specific text. Students benefit several ways from this activity because they must use critical thinking, research, writing, reading and synthesizing skills in order to complete it. These are all skills that are necessary for 21st century learning.

Assessment/Evaluation

The teacher will evaluate the student posters using the Poster Checklist and Glogster Grading Rubric

CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Use of Class Time	Used time well during each class period. Focused on getting the project done. Never distracted others.	Used time well during each class period. Usually focused on getting the project done and never distracted others.	Used some of the time well during each class period. There was some focus on getting the project done but occasionally distracted others.	Did not use class time to focus on the project OR often distracted others.
Graphics - Relevance	All graphics are related to the topic and make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation.	All graphics are related to the topic and most make it easier to understand. All borrowed graphics have a source citation.	All graphics relate to the topic. Most borrowed graphics have a source citation.	Graphics do not relate to the topic OR several borrowed graphics do not have a source citation.
Required Elements	The poster includes all required elements, text, images, citations, as well as additional information, video or links.	All required elements, text, images, and audio, are included on the poster.	All but 1 of the required elements, text, images, or audio, are included on the poster.	Several required elements were missing.
Mechanics	Capitalization and punctuation are correct throughout the poster.	There is 1 error in capitalization or punctuation.	There are 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation.	There are more than 2 errors in capitalization or punctuation.
Grammar	There are no grammatical mistakes on the poster.	There is 1 grammatical mistake on the poster.	There are 2 grammatical mistakes on the poster.	There are more than 2 grammatical mistakes on the poster.
Overall Appearance	The poster is well-designed and laid out. All elements go together well and are visually appealing.	The poster is fairly well-designed and laid out. Most elements go together and are visually appealing.	The poster shows some thought has been given to design and layout. Some elements are visually appealing but others are not.	The poster is unappealing, hard to read, or visually distracting
Pre-Writing Worksheet	Pre-writing worksheet is completely filled in and all elements and citations are included.	Pre-writing worksheet is completely filled with the exception of 1-2 elements.	Pre-writing worksheet is completely filled with the exception of 3-4 elements.	Pre-writing worksheet is missing several elements (5 or more).

Clilck here to see the assignment on the Glogster website and an example page!

Next up, see Class Wiki