Making Pictures Come Alive

1. Before the first lesson, use Microsoft Picture It to create a background setting for student pictures. Microsoft Word, Microsoft Paint, or comparable software can also be used.

2. During the first work period, students will share the task of creating their picture by adding to the background. One member of the group works on the picture while other group members watch on the TV monitor. Group members take turns adding to the picture until a final product is created.

3. During the second work period, students will create adjective/noun word pairs based on the computer-generated picture. Before writing begins, teacher should provide a review of adjectives and nouns. Students will then use the picture to write word pairs describing objects in the picture. When complete, students will save word pairs for final work period.

4. During the third work period, students will write sentences / short story using the adjective/noun word pairs. Teacher should initially present a warm-up or review lesson reminding students of the difference between a complete sentence and a sentence fragment, and paragraph structure (if applicable).