Type: Whole class/small group activity

Title: Sam's Survival Tips

Learning Objectives: The student will:

• Identify key aspects of a skill from an informational text
• Work collaboratively to express these visually in an infographic

Description:

This activity involves students creating an infographic to present a skill from an informational text to an audience. If technology is available, students may use this to create the infographic; otherwise they will do this on paper.

Materials:

• Copies of My Side of the Mountain and Pocket Guide to the Outdoors: Based on My Side of the Mountain
• Technology, if available:
• Computer/internet access for each small group
• Computer/projector with internet access for whole class instruction
• If technology not available:
• Poster paper for each small group
• Crayons/colored pencils/markers for each small group
• Whiteboard
• Paper and pencil for each student

Preparation:

• Students will read My Side of the Mountain, and have the chance to peruse Pocket Guide to the Outdoors
• Librarian/educator will identify and bookmark a few examples of infographics for Direct Instruction

Direct Instruction

1. My Side of the Mountain and Pocket Guide to the Outdoors, both by Jean Craighead George, are about living off the land. This is something that many people are interested in, but special skills are required to do so. Infographics are a great way to learn new information in a visual and easily understandable format.
2. Librarian/educator will share sample infographics with the group. What stands out about these? Each of them features basic information, in short sentences or phrases. There are images that work with the words to help the reader make meaning. Today we will work to present information from the Pocket Guide to the Outdoors in an infographic.
3. Librarian/educator will seek input from the group to choose a skill from Pocket Guide to the Outdoors. Some of the broader topics may need to be broken down into sub-skills.
4. On our infographics, we will focus on 4-6 aspects of one of these skills. The librarian/educator will demonstrate how this is done by listing the steps or aspects of the chosen skill on the whiteboard. This should be done in plain language.
5. Next, we think about layout of our infographic. If the skill requires steps to be done in order, we may want to number these. We might try a web-style organization for skills that have aspects that aren't in order. These can be laid out as a rough draft on the whiteboard to show how the space on the poster/infographic will be used.
6. Now, we will choose some graphics or images to help clarify the words. What images would help the viewer? These can be roughly sketched on the whiteboard as well.
7. The final step is making our infographic look great. This is where we use our rough draft to guide the professional-looking product. This will be done by each small group on their independent projects.

Guided Practice

1. Students will be split into small groups of 3-4.
2. The class will choose another skill from Pocket Guide to the Outdoors, and each small group will identify the top 4-6 steps or aspects of the skill to represent in an infographic. These will be reviewed as a class, and the librarian/educator will write them on the whiteboard.
3. Next, the group will discuss layout of the infographic. The librarian/educator will place these on the whiteboard to simulate a rough draft.
4. Now, the class will provide feedback about what graphics/images would best represent the steps. Students will be invited up to the whiteboard to roughly sketch these on the draft.
5. Finally, it's time to complete the final draft of the infographic. This will be done in small group independent practice, for your group's idea only. If technology is available, students may use an online tool such as Canva.com or Piktochart.com to work on this. Otherwise, they may use poster paper with crayons/markers/colored pencils to create their products. If technology is being used and it is not familiar to the students, the librarian/educator will need to allocate some time for student experimentation/guidance from librarian to master this.

Independent Practice

1. Each small group will now work together to follow the same steps as above to bring their own ideas from rough draft to a final product:
• Identify a skill from the Pocket Guide to the Outdoors
• List 4-6 steps or aspects
• Lay out design
• Add graphics
• Create final product via online tool or poster paper, based on rough draft

Sharing/Reflection/Closing

1. When all groups have completed their infographics, these will be shared with the class via computer/projector or gallery walk.
2. The class will reconvene, and the librarian/educator will facilitate a follow-up discussion. Some question prompts include:
• What were some of your favorite infographics that your classmates created? What impressed you? Why?
• How did your group decide on layout and graphics?
• What are the advantages of the infographic format for a reader? What are the disadvantages?

Notes about this strategy:

This making media strategy helps students extract key points from an informational text, and express these visually. The collaborative nature of the project makes use of different skill sets within the small groups. Also, if students use an online technology tool to create the infographic, it helps build awareness and familiarity with these digital resources.