Code an 'About Me' interactive book. Design pages, record voiceovers, and code animations to creatively introduce themselves. Perfect for back-to-school fun!
Pacing
1 class · 36 min
Grade
Grade 3
Opens a private practice project in the Studio — no account needed.
Introduce themselves through creative and engaging storytelling.
Record voiceovers to add a personal touch to their book.
Code animations and background music to enhance their interactive book.
Key vocabulary
objectexhibitrecord
Assessment
Formative
Use milestone checks, organizer responses, and daily test evidence to guide feedback.
Summative
The title protects privacy, and the introduction uses one specific detail plus a clear explanation of why it matters. The recorded words match the drafted text, the character animation supports the message, and music does not cover the voice.
The student journey
This is a build — not a worksheet packet
Every lesson runs like the story students are about to make: read it, write it, build it, polish it, publish it. The printables scaffold each stage — the published Elementari project is the destination.
1
📖
Read
Students read a short, high-interest passage — a real-world hook, not a dry textbook definition — to spark ideas for what they'll make.
📖One Hundred Objects to Tell One Huge Story
The British Museum in London keeps about eight million objects. In 2010, the museum's director, Neil MacGregor, took on a wild challenge: tell the whole story of human beings using only one hundred of them. Millions of years. One hundred th…
SourcesBBC Radio 4 — A History of the World in 100 ObjectsThe British Museum
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 / 4
Create your title page
Get started with the title page of your interactive All About Me book. You'll be adding a nice Text Effect animation to your title.
Key words — tap to learnobject block
Each step checks off & advances on its own
All 4 studio steps · dynamic to the project
1Create your title page~10 min
2Record your voice~10 min
3Customize & animate~8 min
4Add music & make it pretty~8 min
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!
A couple of things to gather, a few quick steps to prep — then you're ready to hand it to students.
What you need
A device per student or pair
Internet connection
A microphone (for recording or speech-trigger activities)
Headphones or speakers
Prep · about 10 min
1Print the student kits
2Assign this lesson to your students
3Skim the build steps
Teacher background
What you need to know
Students learn that identity is communicated through selection — a few specific, meaningful details (an object, a memory, a skill) say more about a person than an exhaustive list. They apply this by curating the details of their own interactive book and matching image, motion, and sound to each one.
Key terms
object
a thing you can see and touch
exhibit
a group of things a museum puts on display together to tell a story
record
information someone wrote down so it would not be forgotten
Watch for these misconceptions
✕
Students list many favorites without explaining any one of them. →Have each student circle one detail and add why it matters.
✕
The recording, text, image, and animation communicate different ideas. →Ask students to name the one idea the page should communicate, then remove or revise anything that distracts from it.
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 · ELA4CSTA4ISTE93 frameworks · 17 standards · DOK 3
CCSS · ELA
Common Core — English Language Arts
4 standards
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.3
Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and clear event sequences.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.4.5
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.4.6 · CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.4.5
CSTA
CSTA K–12 Computer Science
4 standards
1B-AP-15
Test and debug a program or algorithm to ensure it runs as intended.
Also addressed1B-AP-13 · 1B-AP-11 · 1B-AP-17
ISTE
ISTE Standards for Students
9 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 1.6.c · ISTE 1.5.c
Full task-by-task mapping — including Depth of Knowledge — is in the answer key.
Differentiation & accessibility
Built to reach every learner
One lesson, three built-in paths — with accessibility baked into the materials, not bolted on afterward.
Extra support
Emerging readers & writers
Read-aloud and multilingual support in the Elementari build
Studio Compass highlights one task at a time — including the coding
Sentence frames and a word bank so it is never a blank page
On grade
The core lesson
The passage and storyboard exactly as written
Model answers and “look-fors” in the answer key
Self-check chips at every milestone
Ready for more
Extension & challenge
Challenge vocabulary and a real-world extension question
Deepen one existing page or interaction — without changing the required mechanics
A longer, evidence-based reflection prompt
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 need to know how to code?
No coding experience needed. Studio Compass guides students through Guided Steps — each names the exact block and checks itself off — while you facilitate.
What devices does it work on?
Any modern browser — laptops, Chromebooks, and tablets. Nothing to install.
Do my students need an account?
No student email addresses required. You roster your class in a couple of clicks, and students join with a simple class code.
Is it standards-aligned?
Yes — each lesson shows national frameworks and supported state codes from your Standards setting, with specific standards and DOK levels called out in the answer key.
Can students work at different levels?
Built-in read-aloud, sentence frames, and task-level word suggestions meet students where they are, and the self-checking steps let each student work at their own pace.
How do students share their work?
They submit to you for review; you publish the best to your class showcase, each with a public link.
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.
