Watch these third graders from Bismark, North Dakota advocate for a new school playground. Do you think they would have been as persuasive if they wrote an essay? Why do some claim digital storytelling is the new persuasive essay?
The third graders created the video on their own using iMovie. What do you think of their skills as digital storytellers?
Yet another FABULOUS digital story! I'm starting to realize how these powerful videos can enhance classroom instruction and serve as a platform for student publication :) While persuasive writing certainly is a crucial skill, perhaps it's time to "get with times" as Will Richardson might suggest, and start teaching in ways that are different from how we learned. Here we have students who chose specific music to elicit a certain response from viewers, directed one another to demonstrate facial expressions/body language/movement on the playground, organized widespread efforts to raise funds for a new playground, and identified several convincing arguments to share with their viewers. This seems to take a whole lot more effort, creativity, and collaboration than the typical 5 paragraph, 3 supporting reasons persuasive essay. I'm very impressed :)
ReplyDeleteWow! These kids did a fantastic job persuading and their acting really made it look like they were bored in their old playground. You can see the difference in effect between writing a persuasive essay and creating a video to persuade an audience. I bet the kids had a great time making this video and it allowed them to work collaboratively and share ideas and opinions. I'm sure they were thrilled to watch the finished product and see the reactions of others when they viewed it. The students were able to use different strategies to create this video, including writing for a script and then movement as they had to act out the contents of the video. I thought this was really well done!
ReplyDeleteSo impressive! Such creativity, how could anyone deny them a new playground after that! I am curious to know how much teacher guidance was provided and how much work the students did independently.
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