Students choose three distinct personal symbols, explain each connection, and build a hub-and-spoke app whose navigation lets the READER explore and return.
Pacing
1 class · 40 min
Grade
Grade 7
Opens a private practice project in the Studio — no account needed.
Reflect on personal aspects through symbolic representations.
Write detailed descriptions of the significance of their chosen symbols.
Code navigation paths to design and guide their interactive stories.
Key vocabulary
symbolself-portraitdecodeheritage
Assessment
Formative
Use milestone checks, organizer responses, and daily test evidence to guide feedback.
Summative
Each symbol reveals a different, safe aspect of the AUTHOR through a specific connection and explanation. The title opens the hub, each symbol reaches its matching explanation, and every detail page returns to the hub.
The student journey
From reading to an interactive project
Elementari is a browser-based tool for creating illustrated, interactive stories and projects. Students plan their writing in the Student Kit, then add it to a digital project in the editor, called Studio.
1
📖
Read
The reading provides background knowledge or a model of writing for students to draw on. The lesson plan explains its connection to the project.
📖The Painter Who Wore Her Life
A monkey rests its paw on her shoulder. A dead hummingbird hangs from a necklace of thorns. A black cat watches from behind. The woman at the center stares straight out, calm, daring you to ask what any of it means. Frida Kahlo painted hers…
Students use the Student Kit's storyboard to plan and draft their project. Choose High Support, Guided Support, or Independent to adjust the writing scaffolds.
Student mission
Build an interactive symbols app where three chosen images open the story of who you are.
2Student Kit · sneak peek
High Support
Self-portraits by ___
Key Words from the Passagesymbolself-portraitdecodeheritage
Glossary a kid-friendly definition for every key term
In the studio, students bring the project to life — adding art and following the exact writing and coding steps shown below. The Studio Compass walks them through it, one step at a time.
🧭Studio CompassStep 1 / 9
Create Your App's Title Screen with a Start Button! 🌟
Start off with the ready-to-go title page. Put your own spin on it and jazz it up with a "Start" button. We'll code the button to work later.
Key words — tap to learnobject block
Each step checks off & advances on its own
All 9 studio steps · dynamic to the project
1Create Your App's Title Screen with a Start Button! 🌟
2Designing Your Symbols Page 🎨
3Your First Symbol ✏️
4Your Second Symbol ✏️
5Your Third (and Final) Symbol ✏️
6Coding Your App's Title Screen! 🖥️
7Coding Your App's User Navigation
8Returning to the Symbols Page
9Extension: Lock the Navigation
4
🔁
Polish
ongoing
Teacher and peer feedback pin right onto the project — students revise until it's ready to share.
Feedback on the project2 pins
🍎
Add one more sentence here so readers get the full picture.
👍 2Teacher
A
The interaction is clear — it helps the reader follow the project!
Students finish and test their projects. Work submitted through a class goes to the teacher for review; publishing a project makes it public with a shareable link.
Open these resources as web pages, then use Print to print them or save a PDF. The Student Kit supports the writing; Studio provides the on-screen build steps.
A couple of things to gather, a few quick steps to prep — then you're ready to hand it to students.
What you need
One device per student or pair
Internet connection
Student Kit or printed organizer
A device per student or pair
Prep before class
1Preview the designated builder story.
2Review the ordered milestones and Student Kit.
3Decide whether students work independently or in pairs.
Teacher background
What you need to know
Key terms
symbol
an object or image that stands for a bigger idea
self-portrait
an artwork an artist makes of themselves
decode
to work out the hidden meaning of something
heritage
the culture and traditions passed down to a person
Watch for these misconceptions
✕
The explanation describes the object but not what it represents. →Add the sentence: 'This represents ___ because ___.
✕
A symbol button opens the wrong page or a detail page cannot return to the hub. →Number the hub buttons and destination pages, then trace each out-and-back route.
Standards alignment
Aligned to the standards you teach
Every task maps to a specific standard, so planning and reporting are covered.
Tracking 7 frameworks: Common Core ELA, Common Core Math, NGSS +4
CCSS · ELA4CSTA7ISTE83 frameworks · 19 standards · DOK 3
CCSS · ELA
Common Core State Standards — English Language Arts
4 standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.5
With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
Also addressedCCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.7.6 · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.6
CSTA
CSTA K–12 Computer Science Standards
7 standards
2-AP-17
Systematically test and refine programs using a range of student-created inputs.
3A-AP-16
Design and iteratively develop computational artifacts for practical intent, personal expression, or to address a societal issue.
2-AP-13
Decompose problems and subproblems into parts to facilitate the design, implementation, and review of programs.
3A-AP-19
Systematically design and develop programs for broad audiences by incorporating feedback from users.
Also addressed2-AP-15 · 2-AP-19 · 3A-AP-23
ISTE
ISTE Standards for Students
8 standards
ISTE 1.4.a
Students know and use a deliberate design process for generating ideas, testing theories, creating innovative artifacts, or solving authentic problems.
ISTE 1.4.c
Students develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical design process.
ISTE 1.6.d
Students publish or present content that customizes the message and medium for their intended audiences.
ISTE 1.5.d
Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.
Also addressedISTE 1.2.d · ISTE 1.1.c · ISTE 1.6.b · ISTE 1.5.c
Full task-by-task mapping — including Depth of Knowledge — is in the answer key.
Differentiation & accessibility
Choose the writing support
These are the three support options in the Student Kit. Choose the scaffolds students need while keeping the same project.
High Support
More writing scaffolds
Sentence frames break the response into manageable parts
Supplied words and ideas help students get started
Students still have space to write their responses
Guided Support
A starting point for writing
Task prompts and selected sentence starters
Writing cues and word banks where supplied
Space to develop each response
Independent
Less scaffolding
The same project and required writing tasks
Open response space without the support frames
Students develop their own wording
Accessibility, built inPredictable step-by-step structureOne task at a time · Studio CompassHighlighted response areasLow-stimulation printMovement-friendly pacingDesigned so every student can design, write, and code — with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia in mind.
Questions
Teacher FAQ
Do I — or my students — need to know how to code?
No prior coding knowledge is required to start. Students follow on-screen build steps in Studio. Coding difficulty describes the project's complexity; teachers may still need to help students test and revise. The lesson plan supports teaching, and the Answer Key provides sample writing responses.
How long does this lesson take?
About 35, paced into 45-minute class periods. You can spread it out or compress it — students pick up where they left off, so it doesn't have to finish in one sitting.
What devices does this lesson work on?
Use a Chromebook, laptop, desktop or tablet with a modern browser and an internet connection. The project editor does not support phones. Try the build on your class devices before teaching.
What is Studio Compass?
Studio Compass is the step-by-step guide inside the Studio. It shows students what to do next, identifies the exact coding blocks they need, and confirms completed milestones so they can keep moving independently.
How does this lesson support different learners?
The Student Kit has High Support, Guided Support and Independent writing profiles. They change the amount of scaffolding for the same project. Choose a profile in the kit before printing, and use the lesson plan's differentiation suggestions.
Ready when you are
Bring this lesson to your class
Import your class, assign in one click, and watch them build — the whole kit comes with it.
