Read Around Text and Prism

The general idea of the lesson is to add value to an experience the students have already had. They have had experience with finding a source of new, summarizing the main points and sharing it with the class. The questions is: What if we could use this frame to add a dimension of search skills and critical thinking?

We were introduced to an online tool called Prism. The main idea is that you provide the students with a text in the program. The students 'read around the text' by highlighting 3 kinds of words and phrases. The program collects the data on what the students have highlighted to be viewed later.

The students get to see the results and this is the basis of a discussion about the findings from the analysis. Why are certain things bigger? Have we identified the main idea as a class? At the end of the discussion we talk about perspective and how perspective can change how news is viewed and reported. The task for the next lesson is for students to find another source of the same news. They apply what they know about search to find another source and share it with the class. How is it different? How is it the same? Does this type of analysis matter? Why or why not.

It is clear the original lesson outcomes have been extended. It is also clear students need to synthesis previous skills and knowledge to be successful in this lesson. Here is the actual work done by students: Bullies Be Gone

How can this kind of lesson design be applied to other areas of the curriculum or grade levels? Is this an example of IT integration that can be used as a model for others?