Movies for Mothers

Day 1

Step 1: Discuss with students what Mother’s Day means to them. Ask questions such as Why do we celebrate Mother’s Day? Is it only for women who give birth to children? What makes a good mother? Then explain to them that we are going to use Tool Factory Movie Maker to create a gift for our mothers to show them how special they are to us.

Step 2: Explain to the students that we will be creating a movie for each of their mothers including photos, drawings, and video. We will use photos from home, as well as drawings that the students have created, and videos which we film with the FlipUltra video cameras of each student telling why they love their mom.

Step 3: Send a note home with students requesting pictures of them and their mom/grandmother/aunt/ etc. They should be of whomever they are celebrating with their movie. (Do not tell why we need them, only that we will be using them in a class project.)

Days 2 & 3

Step 4: As students bring in photos, scan them and save them onto the computer into separate folders for each child. (This way, when the child goes to create their movie, all of their items will be in one place.) For older grade levels, the students should be able to do this themselves.

Step 5: Have students create drawings to implement into their movie. I would have them create a drawing for each letter in the word Mother or Mom. For example, “M is for the many hugs that she gives me.” And have the student draw a picture of this. (When creating the movie, these will be placed in between the photos brought from home.)

Step 6: Have the students record one another using the FlipUltra video cameras, saying a sentence or 2 about why they love their mother. Younger students can write a sentence to read aloud on the video. (Upload these, as well, into the students’ folders for easy access.)

Day 4

Step 7: Take the students to the computer lab or use a mobile Netbook cart so that each student has their own computer. Instruct the students on how to import their pictures, drawings, and video into the Tool Factory Movie Maker. Show them how to drag and drop their items into the movie timeline. (Make sure you have them put their images in the correct order, and put their video last.)

Step 8: Show students how to add a title to their movie and use the effects and transitions to add to their videos’ flair. Older students can be more creative with this, while younger students can be instructed to use the same transitions throughout.

Step 9: Students should then preview their movies and have them approved by the teacher. These can, then, be shown at a Mother’s Day Celebration, or burnt on a DVD to go home as a gift.