This lesson is for : Grade 11:
Summary
This is a culminating lesson for an unit featuring nonfiction articles relating to the need for educational reform. During the unit, students read and annotate several articles to identify rhetorical appeals (pathos, logos, and ethos), as well as discover and debate about the topics of educational reform. For the final project, students select an area of education reform they want to produce a short film about. The teacher shows “Race to Nowhere” as a model for the product, and the students compose a film review to help frame their thinking for creating their own films. Based on personal interests in the roles of film making, student are grouped to form teams with varied talents. Groups research, survey students, interview experts, shoot and edit video, and promote and premiere their short films. The final product incorporates sound, expert interviews, students voice, appealing visuals, and video transitions.
TIPC Ratings
Research & Information Fluency
Rating: Approaching – Explanation: In researching existing information and producing new data from surveys and interviews, students are constructing questions to guide research, selecting appropriate tools, and powerfully displaying their learning.
Communication & Collaboration
Rating: Ideal – Explanation:
- Students choose a role (Producer, Director, Camera, Editor, Publicist or Crew), and formed teams consisting of members with varied interests in the process of filmmaking.
- The group members work as a team to play out their individual roles, establish group norms for communication, and collaborate on elements of filmmaking that involve teamwork.
- Student groups select the most appropriate tools to communicate with each other; email, group chats, texting; with experts: email, video, handwritten notes; and with the audience: Movie Maker, Adobe Premiere Pro.
Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
Rating: Approaching – Explanation: Students are asked to select roles and digital tools to respond to purposeful questions; How do we persuade people effectively? What aspects of education in America need reform? Students apply digital tools to produce their short films showing their understanding of how to address these open-ended question.
Creativity & Innovation
Rating: Ideal – Explanation: Students are asked to work as a team to produce an authentic product, an educational reform short film. Students choose digital tools to powerfully display synthesized existing and self-generated learning in the topic of educational reform of their choice.
Lesson Materials
