Lisa Pratt, Prince Elementary

Special Education (fourth grade)

Create a background for their stories

Note: I did this two times. The first time I had the students write the story before doing the picture and the second time I had them write a story about the picture. Both ways worked but many of my students had a easier time with writing a story about a picture.

Academic: After this lesson the students will have to write a story. They are now creating the picture for their stories.

Technological: They will learn how to use kidpix to create a picture use the toolbar and stamps.

All of my fourth graders had been on kidpix before so they were familiar with the program. This was good because they had already played around so they were more willing to follow a specific plan.

Computers with kidpix and the CD-ROM that goes with it.

Make sure the your special education students are sitting close to someone who can help them spell or repeat directions.

1. Have them open up the program.
2. I told them before hand that they could make the picture as silly as they wanted but they would have to write an equally silly story.
3. I review with them little tricks as a group and then go around and show them others individually and then they have to teach everyone else. Some of the things that I showed them were how to:

• Draw a line across the whole page so you can have the top blue (sky) and the bottom green (grass).
• how to make your stamp bigger (Control and then shift) and change the stamp set.
• Put in a house and roof with the bricks, clouds, sun, rainbows and trees

The neatest thing about the lesson is the students were showing each other how to do things.

1. Then we printed it out
2. we got together as a group and shared what they did and how they did it. We also discussed possible story ideas that could go with it.
3. Then they wrote their stories.

Assessment: I do visual assessments. If they are following along and starting to develop more independence then I know that they are learning.