Digital Movie Making in the Classroom

If another ninth grade English teacher in my building asked for my advice in designing a movie-making project, I would first recommend some fun projects that her students might enjoy. For example, if the other teacher's class is reading "The Cry of the Beloved Country," which is set in South Africa, I might recommend that her students make their movies about the South African culture and how different races are viewed in that country. This could provide background information for the novel. If they were reading "Les Miserables" about the French Revolution, I might recommend either a news story or documentary on the French Revolution, which would help the students understand that time period.

Another option would be to take "Les Miserables" and have students make a movie about a pressing theme or virture that they see throughout the novel. Not only would this help students think critically about the book from beginning to end, but it would also meet requirements in character education, if our school required virtues to be incorporated into the classroom. In Australia, a project on a virtue worked well for younger children as indicated in our reading, but it would be neat to make it more sophisticated for high school students.

As far as structuring the project, I would recommend that the teacher require the students to brainstorm ahead of time on the computer and show the teacher their plans before actually filming/putting together their movies. This could be part of the grade. Also, a basic background in emotional intelligence, such as using the color red or jagged lines to evoke excitement would be useful. Lucas describes these principles in his article. I would also recommend that the teacher score students on concepts to be sure they are not only included but that they are also in a logical order. There would need to be some assessment of teamwork so that everyone in the group contributed to the project. Additionally, I would recommend that students be given a list of technological features to include in their movies. The movie-making process would begin with brainstoroming and background information on both concepts to include and technology skills; then students would begin putting their projects together. The final step would be to allow students to present their movies to each other.

Finally, I would caution the other teacher to be sure he or she has "hard scaffolding" or clear guidelines for students to follow as indicated in Professor Hofer's study. He or she should also be sure to learn technology skills and have someone else available to call on for help. Finally, the teacher should make sure the class stays on target and that the project does not get too out of control.