Whew! We did it! By the end of
September, fifty-nine 6th graders at Albany Middle School had made
their first film! Talk about concentration--the students' faces and
effort showed their commitment to their project, as they downloaded,
uploaded, spliced, panned, dissolved, and per-fected their "Where I'm
From" digital film. The Pearson professionals (Michael and Claron-and
occasionally, David) were the maestros--with patience and good-humor,
they guided, instructed, and rescued. Both the students and the teacher
(me) learned new skills and tapped reserves of creativity.
"Such
Concentration!"
One of the things I learned: get
volunteers to
help! At least twelve parents participated at one time of another over
the two weeks that the students worked to gather their assets and/or
integrate assets into their films. One retired parent came every day of
the project, and scanned, took photos, and downloaded students' emailed
assets to their folders (thank you, David Diaz!)
A couple of
(hopefully) helpful ideas:
- Create two classroom email
locations to whcih students can email assets their assets (one alone
will become too full!)
- Write down instructions for asset gathering for students to review at
home --otherwise they flounder. (Modify and use our version
if
you want--it's on the 'recent discussion page'. I'm trying to figure
out how to make it more accessible. )
Here are a couple of the students poems.
They were
written individually, but later rewritten as group poems to use as the
voice over for their films.
"Where I'm
From"
by Teo M
I am from the mosh pit where
someone
from the
punk rock band
dives
into
the
crowd
I am from the parents who translate from one
to the other
from
Spanish to English
and
such
I am from the ollies, kick flips, heel flips
and 50-50s
I am from the unfinished yard work waiting for
my parents’
backs and hands
I am from the punk because of my dark
clothes and bleached
hair
I am from the carne asada burritos because
of my late night
dinners
I am from the pick ups that collect the
sound out of my bass
and
shoot
s
them
through
my
amplifier
I am from the soul of my band when we play
together.
(Here's
another:)
"Poem" by Jane
I am made of knitting
needles
Wooden, strong, and thin.
And soft yarn and sockinette
stitches
From Loud screaming,
Smiling faces, of
six-year-olds.
Listening far beyond beyond
To my father’s er-hu
play
Soulful, imperfect songs,
Like
Life.
Of black paint, wet in a bottle
Not
yet in its true form
Mixes of blue, gray, silver, and
mystery
What is life anyway
It’s wondering
Wandering
Laughing
Hoping
Life has no meaning
If you know everything.
So leave
some questions to ponder
# - Department: Pearson residency - 10/8/05; 8:17:34 AM -
