1. The Mystery of Technology
Integrating Tech in a LA Classroom
by Jamie Dannenberg and Stephanie Ainsworth

2. The Mystery Project
The Framework
This project is a culmination of a mystery unit. Before we get
to the major project, we work through a literature unit that
stresses plot structure, theme, setting, foreshadowing, etc...
While we use technology in many places, the goal is to keep
technology as a tool rather than the focus.

3. Three Skeleton Key
•Begin by playing a few minutes of old radio play (available on-
line). Use this to introduce the idea of creating suspense.
•As we read, students summarize every few paragraphs on
Pages. Discuss the difference between copying and summarizing.
•Students find 10 vocab words they don’t know. They create a
Keynote with the words and definitions. These Keynotes are
shared in small groups. (A master list of words is created and
used on the test).
•Students keep track of examples of foreshadowing on their
Pages notes.
•Students fill out the first copy of the Examining a Story sheet.

4. Examining a Story
Student Name:___________________
Story Name: ____________________
Who is the main character? This is the protagonist. Describe him or her using 3
sentences:
Who is the antagonist? This is the person who gets in the main characters way or
causes trouble. Describe him or her (or it) using 3 sentences.
What is the setting of the story? Give details about what it looks like, where it is,
and a guess at the time period.
List 3 clues that the author gives about how the story is going to end
(foreshadowing).

5. Examining a Story
Theme: Every story has a theme. What do you think the theme of this story is?
Plot Diagram: Fill in the diagram with details from the story.
Climax
PP3
PP2
PP4
PP1
Intro Resolution
Introduction:
Plot Point 1:
Plot Point 2:
Plot Point 3:
Climax:
Plot Point 4:
Resolution:

6. Examining a Story
Describe the mood of the story:
What is the point of view of the story (choose one):
! ____First person (The character is also part of the story and uses I, etc...)
! ____Second person (The author refers to one of the characters as “you,” making
! ! ! you part of the story.
! ____Third person objective (Tells the story without letting you know of any
! ! ! characterʼs thoughts. The author uses words like “he” or “she,” but
! ! ! not “I” or “you.”
! ____Third person omniscient (Tells the story with he/she, etc... but also tells you
! ! ! what everyone is thinking.)
Tenses: Which tense did the author use?
! ____ Past Tense - The author is telling a story that takes place before this point
! ! ! ! in time.
! ____ Present Tense - The author is telling a story that is taking place right now.
! ____ Future Tense - The author is telling you a story that will take place in the
! ! ! ! future.

7. After Twenty Years
O’Henry
Before reading this story, students respond to a journal prompt in Moodle. The
prompt asks them to reflect on what they would do if they knew a friend was
doing something wrong.
Students read through this story in small groups. They are all members of the
same Google Docs. Here they write a short summary of the story and list 5
questions they have. Each student must contribute one question. They also share
this doc with me. This is also where they record vocab for the story.
The story is confusing, so we also look at it as a class and fill out the Examining a
Story sheet together.

8. The Stranger
Chris Van Allsburg
I scan this book in and create a Keynote so everyone can see
the pictures.
This is an excellent example of how to describe a setting,
create the mood, include foreshadowing, etc...
Students fill out the Examining a Story sheet again. They
submit this on Moodle for a grade.

9. Mystery Project
Based on Harris Burdick by
Chris VanAllsburg

10. Begin by having students look at the directions for Phase 1
on Moodle. Don’t print these out.
Mystery Writing Project
create the mood of your story for your audience. To do this, you need to
Phase 1: Writing the Story
use colorful adjectives. Your story should be between 500 and 1000
words. This is meant to be a short story, not a novel! You may want to
The Basics:
write your story on Google Docs so that you are able to communicate with
You will be writing a mystery that includes the various plot elements that
we have studied in class this year. This is a large project, so please take it your partner outside of the classroom.
seriously. Make sure you look over the rubric before you turn work in to
be graded. You also need to work hard to stay on top of things. If you fall Step Four:
behind, it will be difficult to catch up. Now that you have your first draft finished, we are going to do some
revising. You will be paired with another group. Spend 10 minutes on
Step One:
each story. Don’t worry about spelling, etc… Instead, focus on content.
Before any good writer sits down to write a story, they think through what
Work through the Partner Revising Sheet. You will need to turn this in, so
type of story they would like it to be. You are going to do the same thing.
Look at the story starter from The Mysteries of Harris Burdick you chose.
please work through it carefully!
Spend a few minutes jotting down ideas of what could be happening. Each
story could be written many different ways. Try to come up with a basic Step Five:
plot outline in your heads. You don’t need all of the details at this point. Sit and make revisions based on the feedback you were given on the
Jot down any ideas that you have so you don’t forget them as you write. Partner Revising Sheet. Think through other things that you might want
to change. Can you add detail? Once you think your story is perfect, run it
Step Two:
through Criterion.
The next step is to get your ideas organized on paper. This is the final
prewriting step we are going to do. Fill out the Examining a Story sheet
that we have used for other stories this week. Try to add many details and
Step Six:
descriptive words. Before you turn your story in, you need to sit and read it out loud to
yourself. It’s amazing what you may notice when you hear your own story.
Step Three: Is there anything that you want to add or change? Would a different
Now you are ready to write. You are going to use the basic outline you adjective paint a better picture? You want the reader to be drawn into
planned during your prewriting. You will definitely need to add more
your story. Once you are positive that it is perfect, print it out and turn it
details, though. For example, you want to paint a picture of the setting and
in. Please make sure your name is on your story. Also, put the title on top!

11. Look at the rubric with the students so they know what is
expected of them.
Mystery Writing Rubric
Phase One: Writing the Story
Writers’ Names: ____________________________
Points Possible: Points Earned:
Did you have a clear 6
introduction that set
the tone of the story?
Did you use strong 10
adjectives that painted
pictures?
Did you have at least 9
three pieces of
foreshadowing?
Did you a strong plot 10
structure based on the
diagram you created
during pre-writing?
Was your final version 5
different than your
first version?
Did you have perfect 15
spelling and grammar?
Did you have an 5
appropriate title for
your story?
Final Grade: 60

12. Next, have students sign up for groups using the
notecard system. Have students write their names in
the center of a card and 4 students they would like to
work with in each corner. I assign the groups from
these suggestions.
Make a Keynote of the Harris Burdick slides. Go
through the slideshow twice so they can get ideas of
which story they would like to use for their project.

13. Use Moodle Choice for partners to pick their story.
You can set limits so only one group in each class can
choose a story. This prevents students from fighting
over stories.
Give each group a photocopy of their prompt. They
have 10-15 minutes to brainstorm possible plot ideas
while I circulate.

14. The next class period (Day 2 of the project) is spent
with students filling in the Examining a Story sheet for
the story they are going to write. This must be
approved before they can move on.
At this stage, I introduce Google Docs. Students write
their stories together in class and at home. They have
two days to complete their stories.
The next day (Day 5), students meet with another
group to edit. Then they run their stories through
Criterion for grammar corrections. I do check for
significant revisions.

15. I always collect the stories (on Google docs)
on a weekend. This gives me time to edit. I
copy and paste the rubric directly on their
Google site. I also add comments, but I don’t
make corrections for them. This is a great
way to be able to check and see if they have
made corrections.

16. Phase Two
Students are given directions for the project, but I allow them
to use different programs or formats as long as they meet the
requirements listed in the rubric.
This part of the project is very independent. Students also
grade their partners at the end of the project so I know if there
were any issues I didn’t notice. I also circulate and take notes
on what I observe happening in the groups.

17. Mystery Writing Project
Phase 2: Creating a Keynote
The Basics:
Now that you have written your story, you are going to create a Keynote
with illustrations, sounds, and text. All of the directions are written
clearly below. Please follow the steps one by one in order to meet all of the
criteria!
Step One: Open a Keynote document and choose the style of the project.
Think about the mood you would like to create as you make your selection.
Step Two: The first slide should be a title slide. You need to write the
name of your story using correct capitalization. Below the title, you should
list your names.
Step Three: Create ten more slides. This will be where you put your text
and illustrations. Look at your story and break it into ten sections. This
should be done with a great deal of thought. Try to think about natural
breaks in the story and what the illustrations could be for each section.
Once you have divided the story into ten sections, type or paste the text on
each slide. You may select a fun font that creates the appropriate mood.
Please make sure that it is easy to read, though.
Step Four: The next step is to create illustrations for your story. This can
be done in a few different ways. One way is to draw the pictures and take
pictures of your drawings using PhotoBooth. Another way is to use a
computer program such as Pencil (in your Zextras folder). If you know of
other programs, you may definitely use them! Be creative and have fun.
You DO need an illustration on each of the ten pages. You may not use

18. pictures you find on-line, but you may use photos of yourself or other
photos that you have taken. If you are using photos, try to alter them
using Seashore or another program.
Step Five: After you have inserted all of your text and illustrations, you
are ready to add sound. To do this, go to Garage Band and follow the steps
below for each slide. You will do this ten times!
• Create a new project, choose podcast.
• Label the project Slide 1, Slide 2, etc… and save it in a Mystery
Project folder inside your Language Arts folder.
• Start by creating the text. To do this, click on the either the
male or female voice. Click the large red dot on the bottom of
the screen and start reading your text. Make sure you set the
tone with your voice and speak clearly. When you are
finished, click the red dot again. (If you hear a tapping sound
as you are recording, go up to the Control tab and turn the
metronome off.)
• Now you are ready to add sound effects. You should have at
least one sound effect per slide. This can be music (from
Garageband) or another noise that fits with your story. To do
this, first look at the bottom right section of your screen.
Make sure that the eye is blue (turned on). Once you see the
Loop menu, click on Sound Effects. You can listen to various
sound effects under each category. When you find one that
you like, drag it onto a new track. You can adjust the volume
for each track so that you are able to hear your words. You
may have more than one sound effect per slide if you would
like.
• Once you are sure that the sounds for the page are perfect, go
to the Share tab at the top of your screen. Choose the “send
song to iTunes” option. The first time you do this, you will

19. need to create a playlist called Mystery. Leave the rest of the
settings the way they are and hit “Share.” Eventually you will
have 10 files in iTunes under your Mystery playlist.
• Back in Keynote, go to your first slide with writing. Open the
Media Inspector, find your file in iTunes and drag it onto your
slide. Do this for each of your ten story slides.
Step 6: Add a slide at the end giving credit to Chris VanAllsburg for the
story starter (The Mysteries of Harris Burdick) and any other sites or
programs that you used.
Step 7: Now we need to work on timing. To do this, you are going to look at
each slide. Start with your title slide. Open the Inspector and click on the
tab that looks like a slide. Choose to start the transition automatically.
Then adjust the time to be 4 seconds. For the rest of the slides, do the same
thing. The only difference is that you need to set the time for the slides to
be one second longer than your sound file. You can find these times by
looking at the file in iTunes.
Step 8: You’re almost finished! The final step is to export your project. To
do this, go to the Share tab and choose “Export.” Choose the QuickTime
tab. Set the Playback Uses to Manual Advance and set the format to CD-
Rom Movie. Make sure you have checked to include audio and click
“next.” Save it to your desktop.

20. Mystery Project Rubric
Name _________________________
Total Points (out of 40) ________
4 3 2 1
Spelling: The story was The story had The story had 2-4 The story had 5 or
perfect with no only one spelling spelling mistakes. more spelling
spelling mistakes mistake. mistakes.
at all.
Grammar: The story had The story had The story had The story had 5 or
perfect grammar. only one grammar between 2 and 4 more grammar
mistake. grammar mistakes.
mistakes.
Title Slide: Your title slide Your title slide Your title slide Your title slide did
was perfect. It had only one had a couple of not follow the
had your story mistake. errors. directions given.
title with correct
capitalization and
your names.
Illustrations: Your illustrations Your illustrations Your illustrations Your illustrations
were very were very nice. were OK. You did not follow the
carefully done. You obviously could have spent guidelines given,
They showed time worked very hard more time on or appeared to be
and creativity. on them. them. very hastily done.
Verbal Text: You did an You did a nice job You had several You did not follow
excellent job with the text. You issues with the directions as far
creating a mood. may have had an text. It was very as text.
Your pacing was issue with pacing hard to
perfect and it was or volume or the understand.
easy to mood might not
understand. have been created
perfectly.

21. Sound Effects: You had at least You did a nice job Your sound Your sound
one sound effect with the sound effects had effects were not
per slide. The effects, but you several issues. complete or did
effect was may have missed not fit the story.
appropriate, at a a slide or they
good volume and didn’t add to the
added to the story.
story.
Story Line: Your story line Your story line Your story line Your story line
showed a strong was nice. You had was not needed more
plot development. the necessary completely work.
A feeling of parts but could developed. A
suspense was have used more strong feeling of
created and there detail. suspense was not
was a clear climax created.
and resolution.
Details: You had You had many You had a few Your story lacked
wonderful details details, but at details, but details.
that added to your times you could needed many
story. have added more. more.
Timing: Your slide show Your slide show You slide show Your timing did
was perfectly timing was nice, timing was OK, not meet the
timed. but there was a but had issues in criteria given.
place or two some spots.
where it could
have been better.
Credit Slide You included a You included a Your credit slide You forgot to
slide giving credit credit slide, but had many errors. include a credit
to all sites used. needed to pay slide.
This was done closer attention to
thoroughly. some details.

22. Applications Used...
Google Docs ArtRage
Criterion iMovie
Moodle Pages
Garageband Photoshop
Keynote

23. Student Examples

24. Literature Unit Project
specifically for
Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
The Framework
This unit is a small unit on a realistic fiction book entitled
Summer of the Swans. It teaches students how to work with
vocabulary, character traits as well as how to monitor their own
reading and thoughts. While we use technology in many places,
the goal is to keep technology as a tool rather than the focus.
This unit works toward teaching students to use parts of
technology in a simple way so they can later use it on their own.

25. Skeleton
•Begin by reviewing ways that people read and what works for
comprehending.
•Alternate reading whole class, partners and at home individually.
•Students record vocab words as they read. Students can record
words they’re questionable about, but also use the words from the
master list of words. For each vocab word (or selected ones, use
Inspiration to web the words - definition, example (sentence), way to
remember the word, and a simile. Students also use Inspiration to
create a character web for character traits of the main characters.
•Model reading strategies like questioning, predicting, inferring etc.
through whole class reading. Use stickies to record thoughts.
Students practice at home. and share some thoughts during the next
whole class reading.
•Students also summarize every few chapters on Pages in which
they later upload to moodle.

26. Character Chart Model for Inspiration

27. Vocab using Kidspiration

29. Choice Project Summer of the Swans: Sara’s Life at a Glance Project.
Title Page: Name of book, Author’s name, your name (3 points).
Identify the following Character’s in Sara’s Life (who are they, describe their actions in one part of the story, and what is Sara’s relationship with them at the beginning and how
does it change at the end). (6 points per Character).
•
Wanda
•
Charlie
•
Aunt Willie
•
Joe
•
Father
Explain Sara’s Life at the beginning of the story (first describe her self-esteem and then tell me how it was like a kaleidoscope). (6 points)
Why couldn’t Charlie talk, describe what happened to him as a child (4 points).
What significance did the Swans have in the story? (2 points)
Describe the situation of WHY Sara is SO mad at Joe in the beginning (4 points).
Why did Charlie go missing (describe what happened) (4 points).
Describe the following character’s reaction and what they do when they find out that Charlie is missing. (2 points per Character).
•
Aunt Willie
•
Wanda (specifically how she found out)
•
Sara
•
Joe
Describe how Charlie was found 1. what did Charlie experience in the woods, 2. who looked for him 3. describe the events that happened as they looked for him, 4. and how was
he finally found). (3 points per question).
What does Sara realize or learn about her life at the end of the story (at least 2 things she learned) (6 points (3 points each)).
What can you learn about how to treat other people by reading this story (3 things you learned). (2 points per).
Vocabulary Slide: Choose 10 words that were unfamiliar to you in the story and make a Vocabulary Slide with the definition in your own explainable words. (2 points per
word).
At least 5 sentences of your thoughts and opinions of the book (5 points).
Total: ________/105

30. Some Project Choices...
---(Pages)
---(Comic Life)

31. Choice Book and
Project

32. Later in the semester or year students apply what they’ve
learned in reading with a book of their choice. They use the
vocabulary strategies taught, summarizing strategies, ways
to look at an analyze character traits, as well as ways to
keep track of literary elements. Student do this as they read
and then at the end of their chosen books, students do a
project to demonstrate and apply their knowledge.
For the project, students need to create a cover, a short
summary of the book, and choose five projects.

33. The Project...
Students have a choice to do 5 of the following.
20 Ways of Looking at the Book
Complete any five of the assignments below: (Each item should be a minimum of one page
in length, but usually should be longer than that.)
1. Summarize the book in poem form with rhyme (minimum 20 lines).
2. Discuss in depth the relevance of the title.
3. Write a letter to the author.
4. Use two other sources to research and write a report on an issue from the book.
5. Write a one minute radio advertisement persuading the public why they should buy and
read this book. Then, use Garage Band to record your advertisement.
6. Research and write a report on the author.
7. Q & A - Pretend you're interviewing a person from the book. Write your interview in
question and answer format. Then, use Garage Band to record the interview. Use different
voices for the different people talking. Extra credit if you use iMovie to make an actual
television show of the interview.

34. 8. Compare and contrast the book with another you have read.
9. Discuss cause and effect relationships you found in the book.
10. Write an editorial based on a controversial issue in the book. (An editorial is a letter
in which the writer is trying to persuade the reader to agree with the topic written. The
writer addresses the other side, but weighs more into persuading the reader to think
one way.)
11. Design a time-line for events in the book.
12. Write a letter to one of the characters in the book.
13. As a literary agent, write a letter to the publishing company designed to persuade
them to publish this book.
14. Create a glossary of unfamiliar words and phrases. Because it’s a glossary, it must
include definitions of your words written in your words. Each word also must include a
sentence using the word.
15. Choose your favorite passage from the book. Copy it down (with the page number)
and discuss what you found appealing about it.
16. Top 10 List - list ten things you learned from this book.

35. 17. You're the reporter. Write a front page news story or a report live from the scene.
Use Pages to write it. Make it look appealing. Extra credit if you do an audio
recording on Garage Band.
18. Write your own test - a combination of matching, multiple choice, true/false,
short answer, and essay. Include an answer key for your test. (May put in paper form
or use quizlet.com)
19. Journal as you go - As you're reading the book, keep a two-sided reading
journal. The left side should have quotes from the book and page numbers. The
right side should have your questions, thoughts, observations, revelations, etc.
20. E-mail partner - Partner up with some who's reading the same book. Divide the
book into four parts. When you've read the first quarter, write a letter to your partner
about your questions, thoughts, observations, revelations, etc. Your partner is to
respond. Do the same for the next three sections of the book. When you finish, print
out your letters and responses (each partner is to have four letters and four
responses). (Google Docs would work great for this.)

36. Student Examples

37. THE DEVIL’S ARITHMETIC
The
of J Germa April 2011 By Jane Yolen
ew ns
com s. Whe take h
es i na old
wor n n
king , an old ew Jew
Tha ,
ts th Jew goe non- “I loved this book! I
em s ou would recommend
a
cam th of th t.
p. e this book to anyone
who loves action,
Hannah or Chaya? Jews. suspense, and real
page turners.”
-- Madi Brink
JEWS AND GERMANS
In 5701, the Germans had hated the Jews. Any
type of Jew, including Greek Jews. In the
astonishing story of a girl named Hannah she
finds herself at a Seder with her family but she
gets caught up in the moment and falls into a
strange dream when her ancestors were still living
and young. Nazi’s find her family and take her to
a concentration camp. She knows about
everything that happens but know when will
believe her and her guardians make all the
decisions for her. When a cart of Jews comes to
the camp, others must go into the gas ovens. What
will she do? Jewish boys with the traditional shaved heads.
Jewish star
Hitler
In this book, the characters are fake but most of the
actions in the book are real. The writer, Jane Yolen, is
actually a Jew and her grandparents and parents (when
they were young) where held in camps and they told her
stories. She took bits and pieces and created a horror-
filled book.
Reading Level: 6.0 Number of Pages: 170

38. James and the
Giant Peach
This book
has 126
pages
This is for
people who like
fantasy and the
people that
Roald
would want to
leave it would
be someone
Dahl
whoa happy
ending and
people who
would want the
whole book to
be happy
James and the Giant peach tree. The Aunts use it to get
money. One night james found a
Peach hole in the peach and finds a door.
James is a boy from England and He opens it and finds some
his parents died and he has to live friends. The peach separates from
with his mean aunts. One day he the tree and rolls down the hill. It
gets these green candy like things crushes the aunts and ends up in
and drops them on the ground and the ocean. Then sharks come and
makes a huge peach on a very old start to eat the peach.

39. Dear Andrew Clements,
I am .... I am 12 years old and in the 6th grade. For a reading project we had to chose one
book. It could be any book that we wanted to read and many of my friends recommended
The Report Card, so that was the book that I read. After we were done reading the book,
we did three different projects on it, and this was one of the ones that I chose, to write or
email a letter to you. I really, truly think that you are a great author and I am starting to
read another one of your books. I really like how you put in how Nora was thinking in
between times. I also liked that you made it a secret. I think that when there are any major
secrets in a book that many readers want to know when “the beans might get spilled” so to
speak. That is what I liked about your book. I also liked that you made Nora friends with a
boy because in most stories there are normally either a boy friends with a boy or a girl
friends with a girl and that I think that is another thing that makes your book really unique.
I really liked your book and so far I really like your other book. I am glad that I had a
chance to read a few of your books and I really look forward to reading a few of your other
books. It would really mean a lot to me if you could email me or send me a letter. My email
address is ... and my address is:...
It would really mean a lot to me if you could do that so I hope to hear from you soon.
Thanks,
..., 6B, 12 years, 6th grade

40. Simple Ways to Integrate Technology
in a Language Arts Classroom
Use Moodle to upload extra worksheets, communicate homework expectations,
allow students to collaborate in forums, and submit journals.
Criterion is an on-line editing site. Students submit writing and are told when
they have sentence or paragraph structure issues, essay structure problems, as
well as simple grammar problems. It’s a great way for students to start the editing
process as well turn in quick writing assignments for you to evaluate. (They are
also given a score from 1 to 6.
Google Docs is a great way for students to collaborate with each other. You can
also grade student work if they share it with you.

41. Moodle Choice is a great way to allow students to choose projects without
“fighting” over ideas. You can set a limit so only one group in a class can choose a
topic. It automatically resets for the next section of a class.
You can use Moodle to review MAP style questions. Set this up using Moodle
Choice.
Students can use Easy Bib to complete their Works Cited page.
Students can create examples of their oral reading using Garageband. They can
link the examples to a portfolio so you can track their growth.
Garageband can also be used to establish the mood of a story. Students can add
sound effects, voice alterations, etc... so that they demonstrate a clear
understanding of what mood is.

42. ActivInspire is a great piece of software that allows you to create a slideshow for
your class. As you teach your class, you can store the notes you used to make on
the whiteboard. These notes can be added to Moodle with a voice over so that
parents and students can review what happened in class. (This is especially
helpful for students on vacation or those that need a little extra help).
Inspiration and Kidspiration are both great programs for brainstorming/
organizing writing before students begin.

43. Need Handouts?
To access our handouts, go to
https://sites.google.com/a/hollandchristian.org/
integrating-tech-in-a-la-classrrom/home