Did you ever watch something, and think, "I want to do THAT in my classroom!" That's what happened when I watched 'Swim, Fishy, Swim" for the first time. I was amazed that a first grader had made such an inspirational video, at how the music added to the story, and at how great the paintings were at fitting with the details. Well, I was immediately hooked! (Sorry, no pun intended) So, I just decided to try it out in my classroom. You know what I discovered? Kids LOVE digital storytelling! Along this little journey, I have learned just as much from my students as they have learned about making a movie.
How Red Foxes Got Their Names- A Porquoi Tale: This was a project where students had to write a Porquoi tale. Everyone in the class wrote their own story, and then students were given the option to create a digital version using Windows Movie Maker. This video was created by drawing pictures, taking digital photos of the pictures, then adding music and voice using Audacity. This final product was the very first digital story ever created in my classroom. It's kind of like when your baby loses their first lost tooth...I'm keeping it forever! I can't take the credit though, the fourth grader who made it did all the work! | Launch in external player |
The first example, from Abraham Lincoln's point of view.
Abraham Lincoln's Civil War Diary (3.79 MB, Windows Media Video)
The second example, from a Confederate soldier's point of view
A Confederate Soldier's Diary (2.85 MB, Windows Media Video)
A Pioneer Story: This project is the story of a pioneer families journey to head west. The story was created after students did research online, at the library, in their Missouri History text book, and even after we watched a documentary from unitedstreaming.com. They compiled all of their notes and turned it into a first person account of the journey. The movies were played for the entire class at a red-carpet premier in our classroom.
The Luckiest Pioneer (4.3 MB, Windows Media Video)
Claymation: We attended a workshop on how to do Claymation with students. You can do claymation with a collection of recycled junk, a little clay, a digital camera, and Windows Movie Maker! It takes quite a while to take the photos, but that is longest part of the project. Add some music and voila! Below is an example. It takes a LONG time to open, as the file is huge.
The Verminator (.AVI)