It's Raining Cats and Dogs

Target Curriculum: English/Writing

Target Grade: 2

SOLs: E/W.2.10   E/W.3.8  
Time: 1 class of about 45 minutes

Objective:
Using a program like Kid Pix, the learner will create a picture that depicts figuritive language and write a sentence explaining it correctly, editing for capital letters, ending punctuation marks and spelling.

Purpose:
To create a class book of figuritive language and possibly a slide show by saving all art and text to a floppy.

Materials:
An LCD display or an In Focus projector; a program like Kid Pix; an overhead projector, a large blank book, and an Amelia Bedelia storybook

Procedure:
Anticipatory Set: Students will look at the big blank book. Then I will share Amelia Bedelia, a favorite storybook character, who takes things very literally. We will look at a list of idioms and share ways to depict them like Amelia Bedelia would picture them.
Guided Practice: Have students take turns discussing how they think Amelia Bedelia would picture some of the idioms figuratively.
Independent Practice: Students should use Kid Pix to show what Amelia Bedelia would expect to see if she took the idioms they chose literally.
Closure: Have students share their slides.

Observations:
If ink is not a concern, have students print their idiom and picture to glue into the big blank book. Observe the finished products. A rubric will be used to evaluate the student's work. Mastery of this objective will occur when 3 out of 4 elements are always evident.

Conclusions:
Rubric: Elements to look for: Always evident or Sometimes evident
Student's Kid Pix slide was: 1.well organized and attractive 2. easy to read 3.words spelled correctly 4.appropriate ending punctuation used

Cautions and Concerns:
When children are creating the pictures in kid pix, the sounds, made by placing stamps and undoing the last thing done on the screen, can become loud in a lab setting, but is easily fixed when students lower the volume.