Students were given the following things: a lesson description, a timeline, and a rubric to help them make movies about descriptive writing. All of these items are shown below:
Writing to Describe Movie Project
You are a star! Soon, your writing will be star quality, too!
Your mission: To make a movie telling your peers (or younger students) how to write to describe.
There will be several stages – 1) Script writing based on research 2) Costume and shoot location choices 3) Script approval 4) Movie shoot, done with Flip cameras. Each team member will have on-screen time. 5) Computer uploading 6) The Movie Premier
A schedule and time frame will be issued soon. Be thinking about these questions: 1) Can you focus well enough to make this happen, or should we learn the material through traditional teaching? 2) Should I pick teams, or should you choose your own groups? 3) How will be handle situations in which groups are not making progress or there are disagreements? 4) What will we do if we are not running on schedule? Should every group have the same deadline? If so, what happens if a group doesn’t finish?
Writing to Describe Timeline
Script:
Final submission of Writing to Describe script will be Friday, Sept. 17th, at the end of Social Studies. Groups may submit their scripts prior to this time for approval. Groups with approved scripts may begin their filming. Please consult your rubric for requirements and expectations. These must be met to achieve approval.
Filming:
All filming needs to be completed by Thursday, Sept. 23rd. Uploading to the computers will be done as you go along. Please consult your rubric for requirements and expectations.
Movie Premiers:
Movies will be viewed on Monday, Sept. 27th. You may bring popcorn, Twizzlers (or any other movie candy), and a soft drink. We will vote on our favorites! Winners will be shown to the 4th and 5th grade classes at a date to be arranged.
• Groups are encouraged to use lunch recess and afternoon recess to get ahead of schedule. • Another way to work effectively is to set goals for your group that can be accomplished for homework. Then, when you meet back together, you can combine your
The following rubric was created in Excel, and did not translate to this format well. However, all of the text is applicable.
Storyboard- multimedia : Writing to Describe - Video Script
Content All content is in the students' own words and is accurate. Almost all content is in the students' own words and is accurate. At least half of the content is in the students' own words and is accurate. Less than half of the content is in the students' own words and/or is accurate.
Content Writing to Describe is clearly defined. The script keeps this objective as the primary focus. Writing to Describe is somewhat defined. Almost all content is focused on Writing to Describe. Writing to Describe is vaguely described. The script only loosely focuses on this objective. Less than half of the content focuses on Writing to Describe. The script shows mostly deviation from this objective.
Use of Time Used time very well during each class period with very little adult reminders or redirection. Used time somewhat well during most class periods with a few adult reminders. Did not always use time well and required adult reminders on multiple occasions to be guided in the writing task. Used time poorly in spite of several adult reminders to do so.
Cooperation Worked cooperatively with partners all the time with no need for adult intervention. Worked cooperatively with partners most of time but had a few problems that the team resolved themselves. Worked cooperatively with partners most of the time, but had one problem that required adult intervention. Worked cooperatively with partners some of the time, but had several problems that required adult intervention.
Clarity and Neatness Script is easy to read and all elements are so clearly written, that another group could create the presentation if necessary. Script is easy to read and most elements are clearly written. Another group might be able to create the presentation after asking one or two questions. Script is hard to read and understand. It would be hard for another group to create this presentation without asking lots of questions. Script is hard to read and the reader cannot tell what is going on. It would be impossible for another group to create this presentation without asking lots of questions.
Spelling & Grammar Very few spelling or grammatical mistakes and easy to read due to use of nice handwriting or typing. A few spelling or grammatical mistakes and mostly easy to read. Many spelling or grammatical mistakes and somewhat hard to read. Spelling and grammar are quite poor and the writing is almost impossible to read.
Date Created: September 12, 2010
Comments
The kids loved this project! They enjoyed working collaboratively, toward a common goal, and in the process they learned more about descriptive writing than they would have been able to with traditional pencil & paper methods. There was full, active participation from students of all ability levels. Additionally, they shared their work with our 4th grade classes, who learned a lot as well!
Cross-Curriculum Ideas
This project was highly integrated, as students had to write their scripts, read each other's work and edit, practice collaboration and leadership skills, as well as all of the technology components.
Follow-Up
These works could be shown to other grade levels, posted on the school website, shown to partner schools in other countries, and serve as the basis for writing prompts.
