Recording History

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Lesson

Objective(s):

Students will learn the skills of a good listener. How to take those listening skill and convert into skills that can help their communities and have their voices heard.

Overview:

This lesson encourages the students to take an active role in their communities and in their families. The lesson also begins to transition the learning and interactions from a purely internally focused (physical class and school) to a learning environment that is all inclusive (communities and realms in which the students reside).

Expected Lesson Duration:

Lesson is expected to last 1 day.

Interdisciplinary Connection(s) to Common Core

Preparing to Teach this Lesson:

Student Handouts:

  • Students should be directed to the resources provided in the lesson prep section.

Lesson Procedure:

Introduction/Gain Attention

  • Sound of the Day: The class will begin with an activity that will require students to write a brief story about the content or relation of a sound presented by the instructor.

Project

  • The students will be producing stories that will be listed in the storycorps national archive.

  • Prior to starting the archival process the students will begin with research and significance of the StoryCorps platform.

  • After the students have researched the platform each student must find 3 stories in which they can relate to and define how they related to them. The types of questions that asked to get stories that they used to retrieve a story that is worthwhile.

  • The students will select a subject outside of the school, within their community to interview.

  • After the students have a subject in mind the students will begin to develop an interview process utilizing:

  • After the students have completed their scripts the students will have to do a reading and time their scripts prior to the actual implementation/recording of their radio shows.

Outcomes:

  • Understanding of the StoryCorps mission and purpose

  • Demonstrate effective implementation of skills obtained from Digital Storytelling class in real world situations (e.g. utilizing active, good listening skills and StoryCorp interviewing skills during interviews with members of the community)

  • Strengthen and exercise creativity during the development/selection of the interview topic

  • Increase presence and awareness in the community, including the people and issues within it

  • Formulating interview topics and effective, unbiased interview questions

  • Ability to conduct professional, effective interviews

  • Ability to incorporate, compile, and analyze several interviews into one final product

  • Utilize and strengthen Audacity skills

Content of Lesson

  • Acquiring Key Concepts: gaining the skills of a “good listener” by covering strategies and practices to be used when listening to audio, conversations, etc. Implementing skills gained to complete an independent project, such as the StoryCorps submission. Becoming familiar with creating and deploying the interview process. Interacting and getting involved within the students’ communities.

  • Engaging in Experiential Learning: creating and developing a submission for StoryCorps’s national archive by implementing newly gained skills regarding in depth listening and interview techniques to address a subject relevant within the community.

  • Building Proficiencies: practicing recently acquired in-depth listening skills by interviewing members of the community, recording interviews, analyzing responses, responding to interviews, and developing the complete story utilizing multiple audio recordings.

  • Connecting with STEM Professionals: view a video or listen to a few StoryCorps stories, or interviews with the founders or workers at StoryCorps

  • Assessing Learning: have students justify their selected subject/interview topic and explain why it is pertinent. Ask students what they have gained from their conducted interviews and from the interview process as a whole.

Closure and Review

  • Expectations of projects and their due date.

  • Explain the importance of diversity in the storytellers and writers due to experiences and how it shapes our stories.

Higher Level Thinking Skills Noted

  • Answer the essential questions thoroughly and discuss.

Relevance/Rationale:

The art and skill of storytelling that will be practiced in this class will help the students reasoning skills, cognitive constructive capabilities, and develop character. The creation of a narrative requires the student to develop a logical order from a sequence of events. In order for the student to develop a meaningful arrangement of events the student must begin to grow their narrative reasoning skills. These skills can evolve through the consumption and dissection of narrative literature, of a mixed medium. While developing of their narrative reasoning skills the students should/ will become more empathetic to others, wise to deciphering the true purpose of the story, and become comprehensive thinkers of their own circumstances. The students are finally at the age in which they are beginning to construct their own narratives. We, as educators, want them to be exposed to a great diversity of narratives in order mature those narrative reasoning skills. The more developed their narrative reasoning skills are the more they get from a story (deeper perspective). The more advanced their skills, the more likely they are to rationalize why this character chose a particular path, place themselves in the characters shoes, and develop their own character.

Explorations and Extensions:

What was meant by the question, “Why does music move us?” Can the term, move be replaced with a more scientific term? If so, what term?

Assessment Criteria for Success:

Content knowledge, student knowledge, and appropriate resources are aligned to instructional outcomes. student learning will be assessed throughout the lesson via question responses and correlation to the project.

Students will have successfully met the outcomes when fundamental questions about the importance of storytelling and its role in imagery can be observed through their writing and reflections of their peers work. Also questions about their current disposition are taken into consideration when they see media should begin to arise. Also a fluid and respectful use of time, along with an essay that is fluid, easy to follow, and retains its essentials as an ELA.

Modifications/Accommodations and Access for All:

A simpler version of Imagery and storytelling is already prepared if there are students that need to re-review the information. Also, if students need an alternate assignment due to their personal disposition to the material, alterations will be easily made.

Implementation Feedback:

Students can receive feedback on their completed stories from their peers and instructor. Students can then share how they felt about the project with their instructor; as well as what they gained from it, how it could have better benefited them, etc.

Reflections:

To be completed upon the end of lesson.

Other Important Course Development Information

Best Practices:

Exemplary Previous student work: