Eighth grade students at Baird Middle School participate in StudentCam, C-SPAN's annual national video documentary competition that encourages students to think critically about issues that affect our communities and our nation. In three years of participation they have earned four honorable mentions selected from over 4000 video entries and the C-SPAN mobile studio bus visited the school. Spanning about two months, the Project Based Learning (PBL) style project addresses three quarters of the English and History standards for 8th grade. Elements include researching an authentic question; finding and interviewing experts in the field; recording interviews, narration, and b-roll footage; selecting appropriate CSPAN clips; adding supportive visual elements; and sophisticated video editing. You will view some of the the mini lessons presented to students on writing and responding to professional emails, writing good interview questions, creating a storyboard, and filming techniques, as well as get a brief overview of equipment. The session will be led by the school librarian, the eighth grade English teacher, and the eighth grade history teacher who collaborate to create this unit with a specialized reading teacher and special education teacher.
Note: There is an optional follow up playground session using WeVideo online video editor. This session is best for grades 8-12.
Slides:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WwNUtaEtu9QmvE_2kpnTy-mbsyV6NJXK2RppjgVyhCM/edit?usp=sharingDocuments Folder:
bit.ly/mslacspan
