Overview

To culminate a unit on the novel, The Cay, students will use Kidspiration to plan, organize, express, and share their thoughts and opinions by using various graphic organizers.

New York State Standards

English Language Arts

§ Standard 1 – Language for Information and Understanding

§ Standard 2 – Language for Literary Response and Education

§ Standard 4 – Language for Social Interaction

Skills

1. Inference

2. Organization and inquiry

3. Integrating information using technology

Materials

1. Kidspiration

2. Novel, The Cay

3. Class notes

4. Each student should have a floppy disk

Preparation

1. Assemble resources needed to read the novel, The Cay (charts, maps of Curacao, background information sheet, information about the author, Theodore Taylor).

2. Provide students with instruction on creating diagrams and outlines using Kidspiration.

On the Computer

1. Students will complete various pre-reading activities in Kidspiration. These activities will prepare them for the novel The Cay.

2. After reading the first chapter of the novel, students will work in Kidspiration in order to foreshadow using the graphic organizer template.

3. Students will complete characterization charts for each of the main characters. The students should complete these charts more than once because the characters do take on different views throughout the story. Students should save these to a disk. Upon completion of the book, students will explain how a character has changed and support their opinions with events from the novel.

Follow-up Activities

1. Students can use the information gathered in order to create a change of opinion sheet. During the pre-reading activities, students may have felt one way and their opinion(s) have changed. This information, with supporting details, can be used to write an essay.

The Cay-Kidspiration Maps
Characterization	Characterization (2)
Foreshadow	Surviving on a Desert Island
Pre-Reading Activity	Pre-Reading Activity (2)

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