Illustrating Student Writing in Grades 1-3

Subjects

• Language Arts
• Educational Technology

Grade

• K-2
• 3-5

Brief Description

In this lesson, students type in Microsoft Word a descriptive paragraph about a person or other creature they would most like to meet. They then draw in Microsoft Paint a picture of that person and/or of their meeting, and insert that image into the Word document.

Objectives

Students will:

• Depict story elements in a visual medium.
• Exhibit creativity through the completion of the drawn image.
• Practice computer skills.

Keywords

Language arts, illustration

Materials Needed

• computer access
• access to Microsoft Word and Microsoft Paint (Note: this lesson plan also can be completed with AppleWorks or other writing and drawing programs.)

Lesson Plan

Before the lesson, make sure both Microsoft Word (Start>All Programs>Microsoft Office>Microsoft Word) and Microsoft Paint (Start>All Programs>Accessories>Paint) are installed on the student computers.

To begin the lesson, discuss with the class the idea of meeting their favorite person in the world. You also might choose to include animals, aliens, and so on. If so, reading a book such as "I Met a Dinosaur" by Jan Wahl and Chris Sheban (Harcourt, 1997, ISBN 0152016449) might help spark ideas and discussion.

After students have decided who (or what) they want to meet and what they would say or do at the meeting, have them go to a computer (as a class in the lab, or rotated on one or more classroom computers) and walk them through the following steps:

• Open Microsoft Word.
• Type at the top of the page their name, date, and any other information you want them to include. Hit Enter/Return.
• Click the Center Align icon and type the title, "If I Could Meet ____". (In the blank, have them add the person or other creature they want to meet.) Hit Enter/Return twice.
• Type 3-5 sentences that tell the reader who/what they want to meet, why they want to meet that person or creature, and what they would say and do when they met.
• Save their work as "StudentNameMeeting."
• Open Microsoft Paint on top of the document -- without closing Microsoft Word.
• Draw a picture of the meeting.
• Save the file as "StudentNameMeetingPic."
• Use the dotted rectangle tool at the top of the toolbar to draw a rectangle around the drawing.
• Click Edit>Copy.
• Minimize the Paint window.
• Click above or below the paragraph and then click Edit>Paste.
• Print.

Assessment

Students will be evaluated on their

• understanding and communication of story elements through both text and picture.
• completion of the assignment based upon their printed work

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Lorrie Jackson

Updated: 04/12/2015