My Access! Prompt Title:

Grade Level:

Type of Writing:

(1)  Go to My Access! and find the prompt. Add the prompt. In step 2, click over to iSEEK. What query is automatically populated into the bar?

(2)  Use your iSEEK ELA “cheatsheet” and brainstorm other topics or questions that may be of interest to a teacher using this prompt. Does it have any interdisciplinary elements? How might you incorporate those? Try 5 different queries. Write the queries and any notes below:

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(3)  Working in pairs, brainstorm a teacher’s “user story” incorporating at least 3 resources that you found using the queries above. Use the back of this sheet of paper to write your user story in several steps, just as you would use it in a presentation.

Animal Testing User Story

Queries: animal testing, animals should be used in testing, persuasive writing, writing a conclusion

  1. Because I know about the importance of the reading-writing connection, I want my students to read 2 articles with opposing viewpoints before they start writing.
  2. “Animal testing” query gives me http://www.hsus.org/animals_in_research/animal_testing/.
  3. “Animals should be used in testing” query gives me http://www.actionbioscience.org/biotech/margawati.html .
  4. I add these 2 resources to step 6 of prompt set-up.
  5. Before my students start writing, I want them to review persuasive writing through an activity. I go to iSEEK and type “persuasive writing.” Using my iViews, I narrow my results to “Intermediate (5-8).”
  6. The second result is perfect: http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/writing/index.asp?topic=Persuasive
  7. My students write their first drafts and submit in My Access! I notice that focus and development seem to be weak spots and I wonder why. I review a few of their drafts and it’s true: most of them have forgotten conclusions. I go back to iSEEK and type “writing a conclusion.” Using my iViews, I narrow my results to “Intermediate (5-8)” and “Activities.”
  8. I find a site with a great activity: http://www.powa.org/content/view/266/110/. I’m going to try this with my students before we write the second draft.

Do You Want Fame? User Story

Queries: price of fame, famous people who died young, MLA Citation, compare and contrast, vivid verbs

1.  In my eighth grade classroom, we are studying persuasive writing. As an introduction to “Do you want fame?” I want them to read something that depicts fame in a negative light. Right now, it seems like they all crave celebrity status and I want to make them think.

2.  I go to iSEEK and type “Price of Fame.” I quickly see an article from Harvard University Press that is at my students’ reading level. During step 6 of adding a prompt, I add the link for my students to access: http://www.etext.org/Zines/Critique/article/whatpricefame.html.

3.  I also instruct my students to use at least two examples of famous people from the past in their essays. Out of curiosity, I type “famous people who died young,” into iSEEK. Sure enough, I find a great list. I’ll give my students this resource, too: http://www.grumpychimp.com/stuff/famous-people-who-died-young.php and then I’ll ask them to research at least one person on the list.

4.  My students write their first drafts. They’ve done a great job of researching famous people, but I realize that some of them are having difficulty with MLA citation.

5.  With an “MLA Citation” query, I quickly find this resource on iSEEK: http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citmla.htm. It is the first result and the iViews tell me that it will be appropriate for Intermediate level students like mine.