Digital Video Project

Last year I created a Social Studies unit on the Kentucky Derby. On day seven of my fifteen day unit, I had students work in groups of three to create a video project where they had to use what they learned about the Kentucky Derby, horses, and advertisements, to make a commercial to advertise the Derby. The age level of my unit was 4th grade. Students were already shown how to properly use the video cameras and we spent a day learning how to use Microsoft Movie Maker. If I was teaching this unit, there are many things that I would have to do to prepare for this lesson. First, I would have to make sure that I was familiar with how to use Microsoft Movie Maker and be able to teach my students how to use it. I would also have to have placed a request to the library to check out all of the video cameras for students to use, and know how to use the video cameras so that I could teach my students how to properly use them. Before teaching this lesson, I will also have to have all of my materials ready to teach students about advertisements.

The most challenging thing about this project will be teaching students how to use Microsoft Movie Maker. Students will not be graded on the effects or music that could possibly be added to each groups video. Instead, students will only be graded on the information used in their video. The hardest thing will be showing students how to import their clips and how to edit and cut their videos to show only the parts that they want to.

I would create a checklist to use to prepare myself for this lesson:

1. Sign up for the computer lab for day eight of my unit

2. Make sure that each computer has Microsoft Movie Maker on it

3. Check the book I will be using in my lesson out of the library

4. Sign out the video cameras from the library

5. Make sure I have enough tapes for the video camera

6. Find examples of commercials advertising the Kentucky Derby to show the class

7. Have groups of students already picked out

8. Upload all of the videos so that I can access them on my computer and project them to the class

Here is a copy of my lesson plan that I used for my unit. I made a lot of changes to try and focus the lesson specifically on the commercial that students are creating for their video project.

Lesson Plan: Kentucky Derby Advertisements

Student Teacher: Amanda Givler Unit: Day Seven

Grade Level: 4^th Grade Subject: Kentucky Derby

PRELIMINARY PLANNING

PA Standards:

· Art:

9.1.3 Production, Performance, and Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theatre, and
Visual Arts

A. Know and use the elements and principles of each art form to create works in the arts
and humanities

· Economics:

6.2.3 Markets and the Functions of Governments

B. Identify ways businesses compete to get consumers

6.2.3

K. Identify forms of advertising designed to influence personal choice

· Reading:

1.6.3 Speaking and Listening

D. Contribute to Discussions

1.6.3

A. Listen to others

1.6.3

B. Listen to a selection of literature (fiction and/or non-fiction)

Pre-assessment:

· Students already demonstrated the ability to know what the Kentucky Derby is and give the Kentucky Derby a definition

· Students are able to properly identify the “points” of a horse with a 95% accuracy

· Students have acquired a strong vocabulary associated with horses, the state of Kentucky, and the Kentucky Derby

Objectives:

· Students should use what they have learned about the Kentucky Derby, horses, and advertisements to successfully make their own commercial, advertising the Kentucky Derby

Materials:

· Book: “Bernstain Bear and the Trouble with Commercials” By: Stan and Jan Bernstain with Mike Bernstain illustrating

· School Video Camera (one per group)

· Pictures of horses or anything else that students can use for their commercial

LEARNING SEQUENCE

INTO

· *Students will meet on the carpet, and the teacher will read the book “Bernstain Bear and the Trouble with Commercials”

§ Questions to ask:

· Explain why brother bear and sister bear like commercials so much.

· Why would the fact that commercials are so fun make brother and sister bear want to buy the products they are advertising?

· What lesson did brother and sister bear learn by the end of the book?

o After the story, the teacher will draw the attention of students to the power that advertisements have and how they are used to persuade individuals to purchase something.

· The teacher will then give the students the proper definition of an advertisement- “a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service. Many are designed to generate increased consumption of those products and services through the creation and reinforcement of "brand image" and "brand loyalty". Many things are used to deliver these messages, including television, radio, cinema, magazines, newspapers, videos, or posters.”

· The teacher will then show the class a number of commercials and advertisements relating to the Kentucky Derby

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrjcRvmSbbI
(commercial)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5OaEMbagQ4
(Hilary Clinton- speaking about the Kentucky Derby)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4s_SMqMWs4
(Radio Station Advertising the Kentucky Derby)

Students will then be told that they will be placed into small groups and given the opportunity to create a commercial, and make their own Kentucky Derby Advertisement.

THROUGH

What to do (Guided Practice):

· The teacher will place students into groups of three and they will each be given a video camera. Students have already been shown how to use the video camera, and gotten to use them once before on a project. The teacher should refresh student’s memory and explain to them how to use the cameras.

· Students will be given 45 minutes to film their commercial. There commercial should only be about 30 seconds to 1 minute when complete.

BEYOND

· The teacher will restate the important parts of the lesson by asking students to describe what an advertisement is. The teacher will also ask students to name some of the different ways that something is advertised.

· The teacher should explain to the class that tomorrow they will be editing their video in the computer lab and that he/she will be there to help them use Microsoft Movie Maker in case they forget how to use it.