It is finished!
The process:
Please go to my blog to read my reflections on the process of making this particular episode. http://ripplingpond.wordpress.com
Anticipation:
My work has begun on our final podcast for the school year. With only 12 days left of school I have decided to create a project which will permit my students to act out a scene they have watched all year long. They will perform a Cheetah Channel morning show. The Cheetah Channel is our wonderful morning news production. Last year our principal dedicated a room for multi-media and TV production. Our Media Specialist Diane Briggs manages the station with assistance from our Gifted and Talented teachers. Every 5th grade student has the opportunity to appear on the show or act behind the scenes as a technician. They do a remarkable job. My kindergartners once did the flag salute but they yearned for more.
In order to plan, I asked the students to tell me about the sequence of events and the different parts of the show. We came up with four distinct parts. 1)the anchors who announce the show 2)the students who lead the pledge 3)the special guests, and 4)the singers. I asked students to give me their top two choices of roles and then I made the assignments. I met with the special guests and they shared their ideas with me. The anchors sat in front of the classroom to practice. I was amazed how much of the morning script they had memorized just from watching and listening! They didn't want to leave anything out. My plan is to practice in LA small groups this week. I will divide the groups by job assignment. The anchors will write up their lines and so will the guests. The pledgers will recite the pledge from a written copy of the text. We will talk about each of the phrases and what is all means. The singers will practice their lyrics and hand motions. We will work on diction, energy and expression.
Next week I plan to spend one hour of Language Arts whole group filming the show. I will not tape an hour of film! I will only record what I need which will be no more than 8 minutes. I will try to crop as I go to avoid lots of back-end editing. Once I post the podcast I plan to let the students watch it and respond to it in writing/journaling. I also plan to ask their parents to write comments on the podcast. I've never even thought to ask before this! A note will go home with the URL, maybe the students can write the note? As I write I am getting excited about this project. They can't wait and neither can I. I think I will even grab some standards to include, for those of you who like to see how all of this fun can actually tie into the curriculum!
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