Project+Ander+Josh+Kara

"ImagineNation Matters ' virtual tour' modules are like storybooks come to life, in which upper elementary students can explore the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, experience the human drama of the Underground Railroad, or traverse the history of Mackinac Island."

 We were called upon to modify a more contemporary story in which an elementary school student learns valuable lessons about living a healthy lifestyle. The modifications had to answer two sets of demands. First, as a new collaboration with the Project Healthy Schools program based out of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, this module needed to be aimed at their sixth-grade audience rather than the fourth-grade audience that the original ImagineNation Matters module was intended for. Second, Project Healthy Schools wanted this new module to include an additional instructional element centered on the idea of student empowerment.  Thus, the module would both review the basic Project Healthy School concepts (eating more fruits and vegetables, making better beverage choices, being active, eating less fatty foods, and spending less time in front of a screen) while allowing their program to encompass a topic area that wasn't addressed before. While the module is inaccessible to those without an account with ImagineNation Matters, we've created a screencast so that you can see what we created.

Bear in mind that this story is intended to be experienced interactively by students. They read a page at a time and then correspond with the 'protagonist' (who is, in actuality, a student in the UM School of Education) through a discussion board at the bottom of each page. The discussion is guided by the questions in bold.

In addition to the interactive module, we developed a lesson plan that extends the health literacy component of the program.

We hope you enjoy our project as much we enjoyed creating it!