My online class is designed to help elementary students improve their reading and critical thinking skills through the process of transforming stories based on academic concepts into drawings and digital animations using code. The process I take students through leverages the power of visualization and retelling activities, which is a well-established reading comprehension instructional and assessment practice (Brown & Cambourne, 1990; Morrow, 1985). Additionally, the coding activity, which is used to animate the stories, provide a fun way to strengthen students’ critical and computational thinking skills.

Sign your student up for one of my online classes. Due to my schedule, there are a limited number of slots available.

• Five 45-Minute Online Group Sessions.

• Improve Reading Comprehension Skills Through Drawing Activities That Teach Visualization.

• Strengthen Critical & Sequential Thinking Skills By Using Coding To Animate Drawings.

• 1000’s of Students Taken Through This Learning Process.

• I’m Cleared For Student Contact & Activity Badged By Orange County Public Schools.

Session 1

Storytelling: Concept Introduction

Students will receive a highly visual reading passage on an academic concept. Students are asked to create an initial sketch that visually articulates the passage. Students will present their work and receive feedback. The goal of this session is to introduce students to the skill of visualization, which is a key component that allows successful reading comprehension.

Session 2

Drawing: Final Drawing & Presentation

During this session, students will produce a final drawing that incorporates the feedback they received and any other additional learnings and understandings. Once completed, each student will present their final work. The goal of this session is to strengthen students’ visualization skills and further embed the concept into their memory through the retelling activity.

Session 3

Coding: Tool Introduction

Students will be introduced to Scratch, a free online coding program. Scratch is the tool that students will use to transform their final drawings into an animation. The goal of this session is to introduce students to basic coding concepts and the sequential thinking process that’s required to create step-by-step instructions that tell the program how to animate their drawings.

Session 4

Coding: Animation Work

During this session, students will begin the process of creating the instructions (code) required to animate their drawings in Scratch.

Session 5

Coding: Animation Work & Presentation

Students will finalize their animation and present finished work to the group.

Grade-Level: 3rd or 4th Grade Only

Class Length: 5 45-Minute Sessions (M, T, W, Th, F)

Class Size: 8 Students Max

Class Delivery: Online (Zoom)

Cost: $99

* Note: I’m Holding One Slot In Each Group For Students Who Qualify For Free or Reduced Lunch.

Currently Available Classes:

March 30 - April 3, 2020

• Group A: 12PM EST - 12:45PM EST

• Group B: 1PM EST - 1:45PM EST

• Group C: 2PM EST - 2:45PM EST

• Group D: 3PM EST - 3:45PM EST

April 6 - April 10, 2020

• Group E: 12PM EST - 12:45PM EST

• Group F: 1PM EST - 1:45PM EST

• Group G: 2PM EST - 2:45PM EST

• Group H: 3PM EST - 3:45PM EST