"Ben Franklin's Life and Times"
Sample Lesson Plan

Step 7: Group Projects: Polishing & Publishing Stages

Students learn to polish their finished writing by checking for conventions such as spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
Students learn ways to publish their work.

Editing tools built into word processing and drawing software.
Publishing opportunities:
- Original biographies and inventions will be published as collections ("e-zines") on the children's web site Kids on the Net
- Final projects will also be published as a classroom book using desktop publishing software (e.g., EasyBook Deluxe).
- Invention groups can use HyperStudio to create an electronic slide show presentation showing how their invention would work.
- All students' projects and illustrations will also be posted on the school's web site.

Assess students' final compositions using the writing rubric developed by the Northwest Regional Education Laboratory, available in PDF format at: http://www.nwrel.org/eval/pdfs/6plus1traits.pdf
Add students' final work to their portfolios, and compare to previous drafts and initial graphic organizer to assess overall progress.
Students will use dialog journals to reflect on what they enjoyed most about working on the project, and about what was most difficult. These reflections can become part of students' portfolios.

Students will publish their work in a variety of electronic formats so they can reach a broad audience (the school community, as well as people around the world who visit the Kids on the Net web site). Because students will feel proud of their accomplishments, I will encourage people in the school community, including parents, to view their work and offer feedback. The web site Kids on the Net also invites feedback on children's writing. These exchanges will help foster the idea that students are, in fact, real writers who are connected with a wide audience.