Multimodal Writing Implementation Plan

This blog outlines the implementation plan for including emergent bilinguals and using multimodal writing in a second grade English Language Development (ELD) classroom. In creating this plan, I reflected on the research and ideas I posted in previous blogs.  In order to create an effective implementation plan, I used the Planning Elementary Digitally Supported Disciplinary Literacy Framework (PEDDL) (Colwell, Hutchison, & Woodward, 2020). The PEDDL framework has six phases with guiding questions to help teachers prepare for digitally supported disciplinary literacy.  One key question the PEDDL framework outlines is the consideration of the core disciplinary practices supported by the standards. The disciplinary practice in this implementation plan is to recognize and comprehend multiple text types. The outline in this blog post includes the choice for standard alignment, topic, materials, and timeline for implementation.

I work in a large urban district. The District English Language Department outlines the standards for instruction in the pacing guide which we are to follow. This pacing guide closely aligns with what is expected in each grade level general education class. The second grade standard of finding the main idea and supporting details is the one outlined in the pacing guide. This is the reason the main idea standard was incorporated into our digitally supported disciplinary literacy journey. In reviewing the core disciplinary practice, recognizing and comprehending multiple text types, I added fiction and nonfiction texts. In reviewing the second grade standards, I also added a multimodal standard that supports what we will be creating.  The specific standards used are found in the infographic.  

The implementation plan for my second grade ELD students includes a topic of high interest chosen by them. In our first class meetings on-line, during get to know each other activities, I discovered the students were curious about sharks. They identified this animal as their favorite. Although they didn’t know a lot of information about sharks, they were excited and curious to know more. This is the reason I decided to focus on sharks in our digital disciplinary literacy exploration. Get ready for Shark Week in our second grade ELD class! In a previous post (October 17), I described how including families in literacy is an important aspect in literacy engagement. I realized in my draft implementation plan, this piece was missing. Although I am still deciding on the best way to include families, the current plan is to share our KWL chart with our families before, during, and after our disciplinary literacy journey.

In my draft PEDDL implementation plan, the materials chosen for this lesson only include digital formats. We are transitioning from distance learning to in-person learning in November.  This will not change the format of the materials chosen. I described in a previous post (October 24) how using digital tools, such as iPads and laptops, allows emergent bilinguals to express themselves with the use of different semiotic systems. Each second grade student has an iPad which they will bring to my classroom. They will access the books chosen for this lesson on the EPIC website. These texts include fiction, nonfiction, and audio books, as well as one shark blog. We will use digital graphic organizers to sort our information found in the multiple text examples. For our final artifact for the lesson, students will use Chatterpix to create a multimodal representation using pictures and voice recordings of the information they gathered from our digital graphic organizers. A suggestion from a colleague in reviewing my PEDDL plan was to include a lesson on using Chatterpix. This is now part of my implementation plan. The infographic shows the specific book links and Chatterpix link. 

Since we are on a hybrid school schedule (A/B), the timeline of implementation might have to be adjusted as we transition to in-person learning in November. With the return of students, I will only see groups two days a week instead of four. The current timeline is for these lessons to occur over three weeks. Week 1 will include a KWL chart and reading fiction and nonfiction texts. Week 2 will focus on a blog post about sharks and an audio book about a marine biologist. Week 3 will be the creation of our multimodal representation using Chatterpix and our digital graphic organizers we created. 

Once I begin implementing this plan, I will be reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses of incorporating multimodal writing with emergent bilinguals. My final blog entry will summarize my reflections, include what changes I would make, as well as suggestions for others. Shark Week, here I come!

Click to view my draft PEDDL Plan.

Colwell, J., Hutchison, A., & Woodward, L. (2020). Digitally supported disciplinary literacy for diverse         K-5 classrooms. Teachers College Press.