Literacy Practices and Assessment

I did this activity, during my CFE for grade 10 biology class, In the presentation I used one of my student`s work but now I wrote the similar story here. I asked my students to make a story on the following website: http://www.storyjumper.com/

Students can add pictures and make changes as they like.

The digestive story:

Here , this story was presented as a storybook format and cross genera with the biology topic digestive system. The story we’re about to tell is of stormy seas, acid rains, and dry, desert-like conditions. It’s an arduous journey that traverses long distances and can take several days. It’s one in which nothing comes through unchanged. It’s the story of your digestive system whose purpose is to turn the food you eat into something useful — for your body!

Just to have a background and to bring the interest of students into this activity I will start up with something like (Dramatic) :The story we’re about to hear is of stormy seas, acid rains, and dry, desert-like conditions. It’s the story of your digestive system whose purpose is to turn the food you eat into something useful — for your body![http://discoverykids.com/articles/your-digestive-system/] Once upon a time, a chocolate pie enters into a mouth.It all starts with that first bite of pie. Your teeth who are your supporting friends tear off, that big piece of pie. Your saliva glands start mixes the food with extra fluids  in your saliva starts chemical reactions.And just like a magic, starch in your pie begins to turn to sugar!  A trap door opens, and there it goes, down your gullet!
Now the wet ball of a pie is rolled  down a tube called esophagus.  Then, it reached to the main gate called the valve to the stomach opens and pie mush lands in your stomach!
[Inside your stomach]

Imagine being inside a big pink muscular bag — sloshing back and forth in a sea of half-digested mush and being mixed with digestive chemicals.[http://discoverykids.com/articles/your-digestive-system/]

Every wave of HCl mixes and churns the food and chemicals together more–breaking the food into even smaller and smaller bits. And now it reaches to another gate to enter into the small intestine.

Inside the small intestine; where all work in a group, as chemicals and liquids from your other friends such as kidneys and pancreas break down and mix up the leftovers pie. All friends did the hard work so they need  to absorb tremendous amounts of nutrients from the food you eat.
Next, they’re pushed into the large intestine. You find that the leftovers getting smaller, harder and drier as they’re pushed through the tube.
Where Food Turns Into Poop

PS: At the end of the presentation, we did Bollywood dance with entire class and I taught them couple steps …IT WAS FUNnN!!