Story Mapping : Great idea for a lesson plan...

Just came across a great online resource that may be used to incorporate visual mapping concepts into English lessons; specifically for analysing central themes of books or to be used in conjunction with student book reports. The link is provided below:

ReadWriteThink Online Learning
http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/storymap/index.html

Story Map is an interactive application students may use to explore texts that involve themes of conflict and resolution. I've included some screen shots of my own practise session that demonstrate how it works.

1) The student types in the Title and Author of the book they are reviewing.

2) Students type in answers to questions specific to the characters of the novel. Describe the main character; how does he/she act; how do other characters respond? This forms part of the Character Map.

3) Students are asked questions related to conflict in the book. What was the conflict; why does it occur; how could it be resolved. This forms the Conflict Map.

4) Students are asked questions involving conflict resolution. How can conflict be resolved; what happens when conflict is resolved; how might conflict be avoided. This forms part of the Resolution Map

5) Students are asked questions relatong to the setting of the story; the place, time and environment. This forms the Setting Map.

I'm already having ideas on how this sort of exercise could form the base of great lesson plan. I think the value lies in how it relates to each of the 3 VELS strands; conflict and resolution themes may be considered part of a students personal development (Physical, Personal and Social Learning), it incorporates reading and descriptive/emotive writing within the English domain (Discipline Learning) and obviously involves use of ICT (Interdisciplinary Learning). The final product is a printout of each individual component map. This provides a means of assessing the students interpretation/understanding of the book and its central themes.

A key benefit in using ICT for an exercise like this is the interactive nature which provides for a more exciting learning environment. It was always a drag to get the pen and paper out and fill in one of those traditional 'bookreport' worksheets. The program is user friendly and facilitates instruction among younger students, though considering it touches upon conflict and resolution themes and given the nature of some of the questions may be best suited for level 3 and 4 students.