Rationale and Context:
• In this proposal, flip cameras will be used by the students to create many different kinds of movies to show their reading comprehension of a particular book, poem or literary genre. This lesson proposes an over-arching framework within which students can make their own choices, thus creating fluid groupings based upon interests and student choices, while enhancing collaboration and communication among all students. (Movie choices discussed below in section entitled “Lesson Plan”)
• This proposal attempts to create a lesson plan that can be used in all academic subjects, however, literacy and reading comprehension will be used as the example in this particular lesson plan..
• The framework is called “At the Movies.” The students will create their own flip movies in response to different books, poems and genres of literature to show their understanding and creativity as they plan, record and edit their own flip movies. The web-site used is http://www.harmonyatthemovies.blogspot.com/
This is the context as posted on our blog:
Do you ever feel that you don't know what to read and you are looking for a creative and engaging book recommendation? Well, you have come to the right place. We will post movie trailers retelling important events, characters and problems in books we read. We will also share movies featuring characters and the authors of books we read. Did you every wonder what a character did before appearing in one of your favorite books? Or, did you ever wonder what happened to a particular character after the book ended? Well, here is your chance to watch just that. The students in Mrs. McCormack's 1st and 2nd grade classroom will release never before seen sequels and "prequels" to some of your favorite stories. They will also share never before seen footage, bloopers and behind-the-scenes-clips as they combine imagination with 21st century technology to bring you the latest in children's literature.
This site is interactive. Please look for our on-line polls to vote for your favorite book, character or author. Please use your google account to post comments on our movies. Perhaps you will get inspired too....Thank you!
• This lesson plan also proposes the creation of a “Flip Movie Library”, a media-sharing file on our school’s shared drive so students can access each other’s movies and use them in new innovative ways, thus increasing the communication and collaboration between classrooms and students. The hope is that this “Flip Movie Library” will also encourage the students to combine different digital tools as flip videos can easily be used in glogsters, Voicethreads, and MovieMaker, to name a few.
• This proposal hopes to create a framework within which students can show their understanding of curricular objectives while providing a high degree of student choice, creativity and innovation. The students are encouraged to work in partnerships or in small group as they plan, record, edit and post their movie creations.
• Lastly, this proposal also attempts to create a framework for collaboration and involvement beyond the classroom walls as the flip movies will be posted and shared digitally, encouraging feed-back and responses from across the globe while creating an interactive platform for celebrations, collaboration and comparisons between different types of literature. The movies will be posted in a variety of ways (discussed below in section entitled “Postings of Movies”) and global communication and collaboration will be sought after at www.epals.com and www.globalschoolnet.org .
Lesson Plan:
• As part of the curricular objectives outlined in the Vermont Frameworks and Standards, students in 1st and 2nd grade receive extensive exposure to the various genres of literature: poetry, fictional narratives, non-fictional writing, fables and fairy tales, to name just a few. Students are expected to not only recognize the various elements specific to each genre in texts, but also express themselves according to these elements on their own. As each literary genre is studied, this lesson plan addresses these curricular objectives through the creation of flip camera movie making.
• Within the context of “At the Movies”, the students choose from the following list of movies to show their understanding within each literary strand:
1. Movie Trailer
The creation of a movie trailer allows students to creatively show their understanding of a particular book or poem. It also serves as a recommendation for other students to read it.
When the students create a movie trailer in response to a specific book, they will be encouraged to include specific elements of the story. First, they can re-tell the story from the beginning, the middle to the end. They can also identify the problem and the solution to the plot while identifying important characters and the setting. In other words, a movie trailer is a summary of the book.
The students are encouraged to be creative in their presentation of the above-mentioned elements. They are encouraged to use sounds and music to enhance their movie, perhaps even through the use of instruments in music class or other digital tools used in the classroom, such as Audacity. The students are encouraged to be creative and create puppets to represent the characters, drawings of the setting in the book, or do research on a particular setting to add more details to the movie trailer. They are encouraged to use inflection and intonation as they use their voices to narrate their movie trailer.
The movie trailer will be posted on the web-site http://harmonyatthemovies.blogspot.com/ , which allows for immediate public feedback. The site is interactive and allows for comments to be posted and periodic polls and surveys will be embedded as well. Parents, other teachers and students from across the globe are encouraged to comment and vote if they are likely to read the book as a direct result of this movie trailer.
2. Meet the Characters
When the students create a flip movie called “Meet the Characters”, they are encouraged to show their understanding of the characters’ likes and dislikes as well as identifying character traits and behaviors.
The students are encouraged to “assume” the role of one, or many, characters in the book they just read. They are encouraged to dress up as the character, or use puppets and present them as if they were real. Perhaps the students want to record an interview so others can learn about their likes and dislikes. Perhaps they wish to create a new situation in which the character finds himself or herself. The students might wish to tell a story about what happens when characters from different books get together, or they might wish to tell a story visually when they met the character at the playground, at school, or at home.
These movies will also be posted on http://harmonyatthemovies.blogspot.com/ . Other students, parents and the wider global community are encouraged to leave feedback and comments. Perhaps they have met the same characters?
3. Meet the Author
The creation of “Meet the Author” movies is similar to the “Meet the Characters” movies, but focuses upon the author instead. The students are encouraged to be innovative as they explore how flip camera movie-making can be used to present the author’s intent and ideas. The students are encouraged to use flip movie technology along with other digital tools used in our classroom, such as e-mail, Skype and blogging to reach out to the actual author and see if he/she wishes to respond and participate.
4. Creation of a movie sequel or prequel
When the students create this movie, they will use their imagination and create their own sequel, or prequel, to the story chosen. Together with partners, they will plan, write, and create the props needed for an entire movie sequel or prequel. These movies will also be posted on http://harmonyatthemovies.blogspot.com/ As more students create these movies, many different versions will appear. Commercials (explained below as another possible flip movie creation), will be used to broadcast that a new movie has been released on our web-site. The hope is that these different versions spark more creativity, innovation and communication about literature.
5. Creation of a movie called “Scenes never before seen”, “Bloopers”, or “Behind the Scenes”
The students are encouraged to think of missing elements and scenes in the stories they read. Perhaps a new twist or situation could fit in a particular story, or what would have happened if a character in a story did not follow the author’s script, but instead said or did something differently? What would have happened to the plot? What would the story have looked like? These flip movies explore these possibilities. The students are encouraged to be creative and utilize connections between various digital media as they record these alternatives.
6. Movie Reviews
When the students collaborate and create movie reviews, the focus is upon the book or poem, not on the students’ own movie creations. A movie review addresses already existing books by established authors. The students create these movies as recommendations, with reasons why they liked a particular book, poem, or genre. The students are also encouraged to address who this particular book, poem, or genre might appeal to and who would like to read it. The students are encouraged to pretend they are movie critics at a made-up newspaper such as “The McCormack Times” or “The Harmony Chronicles.”
7. The creation of commercials
Commercials will be created with two specific goals in mind. First, they will be created and posted to show-case another flip movie created by students to generate interest in the wider school community and among parents. These commercials will go out through e-mails to already existing groups, contacts and other interested parties. They will also be posted on the Flip Sharing Groups and on our Daily Flip Sharing Site (www.thedailyflipshare.blogspot.com) and on our regular classroom blog (http://www.harmonyblog2010-2011.blogspot.com/)
Second, these commercials will be created to ask for the public to vote as we prepare for our annual Award Ceremony, with the 10 most popular books, genres or poems in our classroom. These commercials will have links to polls online, embeddable into blogger for easy access by all. The Award Ceremony will be broadcasted at the end of the year when the students have had a chance to ask others to vote for their favorite books, poems and genres.
Postings of Movies:
The flip movies will be posted in many different ways to optimize collaboration and student involvement and success.
1. Posting on http://harmonyatthemovies.blogspot.com/
The students’ flip movies will be posted on our interactive blog-account. This blog will be linked to our regular classroom blog, through which we communicate with the wider community and parents. This blog will also be shared publicly at epals and globalschoolnet to encourage global collaboration and communication.
2. Posting on http://www.harmonyblog2010-2011.blogspot.com/ and http://www.thedailyflipshare.blogspot.com/
Commercials will be posted here to encourage feedback and comments from other students, classrooms, parents and community members as embeddable polls and links can easily accompany posting. In addition, these are already established sites and parents, teachers and students are already used to visiting these sites, which enhances the capacity for success and responses.
3. Posting on http://kidblog.org/MrsMcCormacksClass/
The students in my class already have their own private student blogs at the above address. This blog is a private group between the classroom and the parents. Students who wish to post their flip movies on this blog, in a more private setting, have the option of posting here as this blog supports flip technologies.
4. Flip Movie Library
The flip movies will be saved on the flip share but also on the shared drive on the school network, to encourage additional collaboration and communication between students within the classroom, but also beyond at our school. The goal is that students will utilize these flip movies and integrate them into other digital tools, such as glogster, Voicethread, and MovieMaker to create new ways to respond to literature and encourage global collaboration.
5. Postings for global collaboration and communication
With the creation of classroom accounts and postings on www.epals.com and www.globalschoolnet.org, we hope to start an international collaboration around literature around the world. We hope that other classrooms will watch, comment, vote on our flip movies and create their own flip movies highlighting books and poems popular in their own countries. We hope that this collaboration will spark interest in new literature as flip movies are used to introduce characters, authors and books from around the world.
Desired Results:
Essential Question: How can we respond to books and poems in different literary genre?
Focusing Question: How can we show our understanding of literature using digital tools (flip cameras)?
Vermont Standards:
Fields of Knowledge, 1.4 Reading a Range of Text
• Students read widely and in depth from a range of texts, R 1-2:18: Reading from or listening to at least three different genres/kinds of text and a variety of authors (e.g., literary texts: poetry, plays, fairy tales, fantasy, realistic fiction; informational and content books).
Fields of Knowledge, R1-2:19 Literate Community
• Literate Community, R1-2:19. Demonstrates participation in a literate community by participating in appropriate discussions about text by offering comments and supporting evidence, and recommending books and other materials.
Fields of Knowledge, 5.13 Responding to Text:
• Writing in Response to Literary Text, W1:6: In response to literary text, students make and support analytical judgments about text by using prior knowledge or references to the text to support a given focus (evidence may take the form of pictures, words, sentences, or some combination).
• Writing in Response to Literary Text, W2:6. In response to a literary or informational text, students make and support analytical judgments about the text by using references to text to support a given focus.
Vital Results, 1.8 Information Technology and Information Literacy: Students use organizational systems to obtain information from various sources. This is evident when students develop an effective search strategy to satisfy their information need, conduct effective searches for information and ideas, synthesize and organize information, present information in appropriate formats.
• Grade Expectation is based upon the new NETS Standards and Scenarios (see attached Vermont Expectations and my own classroom rubric for assessment. Areas assessed in this particular lesson: “Creativity and Innovation” and “Communication and Collaboration”)
Link to my NETS Rubric:
http://inspirefirstgrade.pbworks.com/w/page/28025176/Assessment-Rubrics
