Grade Span: 6-8 / Subject: Reading/Language Arts, Social Studies, Geography, Technology
Assignment Type: Individual, Small Group
Recommended Time Frame: Approximately 1 week
Summary of Project
The students will use available technology to make a short multimedia project about themselves and their heritage. While completing this activity, the students practice both oral and written language skills while using technology resources available in most classrooms.
Materials and Resources Needed:
Whole class / Per Group / Per StudentComputers / Photographs
Digital cameras / Music selections
Interviews with family
Key Vocabulary
Family / Heritage / ImmigrantBorder / Tradition / Voyage
History / Interview / record
Engaging Questions:
1. What makes you “you?”
2. Did events happen in your life that influenced who you are today?
3. (For ELL students) How is your life different in the United States than it was in your home country?
4. What do you know about your family heritage?
5. What are 5 facts about the country your ancestors came from?
6. What kind of music is traditional in the country your ancestors came from?
7. Are there any special foods or traditions that are celebrated in the country your ancestors came from?
Implementing the Activity
1. Explain to the class that they are going to make a “movie” about themselves and their family history.
2. The students, working in pairs or small groups, write questions they will ask in the movie. The questions must be handed in to the teacher for assessment and approval before continuing with the interview.
3. Students interview each other using audio-editing software (there are some free ones available). Depending on the technological proficiency of the students, the audio may be recorded as a whole, or the students may edit the responses into a coherent soundtrack. It may be easier for some students to write out the answers to the interview questions and allow the subject to read the answers while recording rather than do sound-editing in the software.
4. Students gather photographs or short video segments that illustrate their interviews. They may bring photos from home, search the Internet, or take photos themselves. Students should be reminded to cite all sources. Permission to use family photos must be obtained before using them in the project. Citations may be added to the end of the projector or handed in to the teacher as a hard copy.
5. Students gather appropriate music to include in their project. Using movie-making software or PowerPoint, the students assemble their project. It helps to put the audio track in first and then add in the photos that match. Depending on the technology proficiency of level of the students, a soundtrack can be added.
End Result
As in all project-based learning, the finished product may vary considerable from student to student. The finished product should be a short multimedia project about the student’s heritage.
Rubric
Who Are We? Rubric
(1) Below Basic / (2) Basic / (3) Proficient / (4) Advanced / PointsQuestions / One to two questions. / Three to four appropriate questions / Five to seven appropriate questions / More than seven appropriate questions
Conventions / More than six mistakes / Four or five mistakes / Two to three mistakes / One mistake or less
Photographs / One to two photos / Three to four appropriate photographs / Five to seven appropriate photographs / More than seven photographs
Citations / Some work is cited, citation format incorrect / Some work is cited, citation format is correct / All work is cited, citation format incorrect / All work is cited, citation format correct
Finished Project / Project incomplete, missing narration/caption / Project incomplete but included narration/captions match / Project complete, narration/captions do not match / All photos and narration/captions match
Music included in project adds 4 points.
Total______
For Differentiated Instruction
ESL/ELL: These students may need more direction both in language and technology. Vocabulary should be introduced at the beginning of the activity, and the students may be given the questions to answer in the interview rather than construct them. The number of required questions for the interview may be limited. A more English-proficient student may be paired with a less proficient student.
Gifted: Gifted students may be required to include a soundtrack of music that is appropriate to the country they are discussing. They may also be required to include video transitions and special effects.
Special Education: The number of questions to be answered in the interview may be limited. When ready to make the movie, the photos may be imported into the software program or put into a folder by the teacher so that the student just needs to drag them into the timeline or copy and paste them into the software program.
Additional Notes
This activity can be adapted to fit the technology available. Some classrooms have limited access to computers, microphones, etc. External microphones for computers are relatively inexpensive. Movie software programs are included in most PCs and Apple computers. If it is not possible to download an audio program or use a microphone, the answers to the questions can be written as captions to the pictures in the movie software programs or PowerPoint. All software programs usable in this project are user friendly.
If students want to include music in their productions, the music must be saved in a .wav format. Music in other formats can be converted and saved in a .wav format.