Session 3 for Service Project

The Second Grade Scientists were excited to learn that we would be making a movie.  They all enjoy seeing themselves on video and hearing there voices.  To be able to combine that with learning material was a great opportunity to engage them. As the students did their research, I had them save pictures they found interesting in case we wanted to use them for our movie.  Madison had artwork she did in class showing the life cycle of the butterfly, so she wanted to use it. I asked the students what they found most interesting when discovering about the insect life cycle, and asked them to think of ways they could explain it in a movie.  After the students decided what information they wanted to showcase in the movie, we looked for images that would help connect the information.  Once the storyboard was constructed I had them write out their scripts and practice them.  The hardest part about making the movie was keeping the background sounds out while the students were saying their lines.  My original plan was to videotape them saying their lines, but the giggling in the background from the other students was too distracting.  Voicethread is what we ultimately used and it turned out great.

Session 2 for Service Project

Any chance I get, I encourage Madison to find the answers to question she may have on any topic, on her own.  She has her own iPad so she enjoys having that independence.  As I did my own research on the topic, I look for websites that were geared toward children.  I found websites that had graphics that would be more appealing to children.  I decided to have each child pick which insect the would like to research since we would be learning about life cycles of insects.  The Second Grade Scientists were eager to watch on as the first child started the research.  I had each child use a different search engine for research.  Each child was in full control of the computer, I merely guided through them through to the location.  As they navigated to different website I had them choose one they found most helpful to them.  I explained to them that I would be making a Works cited page to save the websites they found useful to show others.