Life history slide show

Students will use photos to create a slide show of their life. They will plan a presentation based on significant episodes of their life and describe their personal experiences in writing.

A lesson plan for grades 8–9 English Language Arts

By Mary Lou Faircloth

Provided by Teachers Connect

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Related topics

• Learn more about The House on Mango Street, language arts, personal experiences, and writing.

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Learning outcomes

Students will:

• write for an audience
• edit student writing for grammar and mechanical conventions
• use technology to publish writing
• respond creatively to personal experience
• allow students to relate and interact on a personal level

Teacher planning

Time required for lesson

6 hours

Materials/resources

Personal photos at different life stages (student and teacher photos)

• A picture or photo of you at age 5 (about kindergarten age)
• A picture of you at age 10 (about the 4th or 5th grade)
• A picture of you at your current age
• A picture or drawing of what you will be like at age 35 (probably established in a career, possibly with a family of your own)
• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Technology resources

• Computers
• Scanner and/or digital camera if available
• PowerPoint Presentation software

Activities

Day 1: Modeling/demonstration

1. Read chapters from The House on Mango Street, or similar works, to demonstrate writing about different life stages. Read titles of chapters, ask students to predict the focus of each chapter.
2. Teacher will say:
   
   Imagine that you are an adult. You are giving a slide show composed of pictures taken of you at various stages in your life. Write the narration for the slides, telling what you are doing in each picture, who the other people are in the picture with you, and how you were feeling at the time. You may include any other description or information that you choose to share.
3. Model a “thinkaloud” in which you plan your own slide show. First, show one of your photos and model how to brainstorm possible titles for this chapter of your life story.
4. Students will plan their presentation and select a focus and title for each slide. The presentation should be formatted in the following manner:
   • Introduction
   • Slide One: A picture of you at age 5 (about kindergarten age)
   • Slide TwoA picture of you at age 10 (about the 4th or 5th grade)
   • Slide Three: A picture of you at your current age
   • Slide Four: A picture of you at age 35 (probably established in a career, possibly with a family of your own)
   • Conclusion

Day 2: Guided Practice

Teacher will model writing an introduction (using examples from Cisneros). Student will write first draft of presentation and work on art work or digital photographs.

Day 3: Revising and Conferencing

Teacher will model writing a conclusion (using examples from Cisneros). Students will work in small groups to peer edit compositions, revise, and use computers for typing, scanning, and insertion of graphics, photos, and artwork into papers.

Day 4: Revising and Conferencing

Students will work in small groups to peer edit compositions, revise, and use computers for typing, scanning, and insertion of graphics, photos, and artwork into papers.

Day 5 - Presentation

Students will share papers with class, turning finished product in for a grade.

Assessment

Teacher will note the following things from observation of class :

• Ability of students to describe life events in writing
• Level of personal interaction of class members
• Ability of students to write for an audience
• Ability of students to edit for conventions in grammar and mechanics
• Comfort level of students in use of technology

Teacher will note the following things in the writing/drawing/photography/ publishing assignment:

• Evidence of ability to describe a situation and the feelings involved in it
• Evidence of creativity in response to the assignment
• Effectiveness of oral presentation
• Appropriate use of language in written assignment
• Appropriate use of technology in the publishing process

Features of Effective Writing to Assess:

• Focus of each slide and overall presentation.
• Organization: using introduction and conclusion to pull the presentation together.

Supplemental information

Comments

Note: (I use this writing exercise on the first few days of the semester because it gives me a great deal of information about the student’s life, personality, and writing ability. Also, it allows the students to interact, become better acquainted, and have hands-on experience with the computer.)

The time required for this lesson plan: portions of 4 ninety-minute class periods.