WWI Events newscast/podcast

1. After running a Multiple Intelligences Test, the teacher will strategically place students in groups of four. She or he will then assign jobs to students based on their intelligence strengths. Jobs could include, video recording, video editing, news reporter, newscast anchorwoman/man, story writing, sound effects and music composing/editing.
2. Each group will pick a topic within the WWI unit. Topic examples: Propaganda Posters, The Trench Warfare, WWI Technology, The Sinking of the Lusitania, The Eastern Front, The Western Front, The Russian Revolution, Important Battles (Ambiens, Verdun, Ypres). The Last Hours of the War, The Armenian Genocide, The Human Cost of the War etc. Any other topic must be pre approved by the teacher.
3. Students will visit the library and check out books containing pertinent information about their topic.
4. Students will use a mobile lab containing laptops with wireless internet to analyze pictures that relate to their topic. Students will further use the computers to research the library catalog, Google search engine, and Grolier Encyclopedia. Students will use scanners and copiers to collect information.
5. Students will keep an online journal in which they will describe the information collected each day and their progress in the project. They must submit their work to the teacher's e-chalk website every day.
6. Students will collect their information and will write a news article about their topic. The news article must be typed using Microsoft Word on their laptops.
7. Students will create a collage of pictures related to their event.
8. Students will use Microsoft Publisher to edit their work and place pictures and titles in a newspaper format. Students will save their work using a 2 gigabytes flash drive or better.
9. A student will record two others pretending they are a newscast anchorwoman or anchorman.
10. A third student will be standing by at the scene of the historical based incident with a four student which will be a witness to the event.
11. The anchorwomen or anchorman will introduce the news program by displaying the newspaper article on an LCD screen. They will then turn to the news reporter standing by at the scene where he will interview the eyewitness.
12. The location of the event will vary depending on the event (Exe, at the Lusitania, in Moscow, inside a trench in the Western Front, in the Syrian Desert during the Armenian genocide, etc.).
13. Students must create the proper background according to their location including also the TV newscast studio, or use a picture on an LCD screen as background. They will also be required to dress up according to their character.
14. Students will use Microsoft Movie Maker or other related program to edit their recordings from their digital camera.
15. Students will add music to their newscast and sound effects to their scenes using ITunes software or a CD player.
16. Student will also turn this recording into a podcast.
17. Each newscast recording will be presented in an assembly at the school theater using an LCD projector and loudspeakers. A panel of Instructors will grade each presentation based on a rubric.