Rose-Bud-Thorn Action

This has been such the funky week for us. 10th graders were taking the HSAP exit exam all week, so today was the only really normal day we have had all week. Students were able to get in the media center and work on their documentaries some, too, which is good. It's hard to believe we're a MONTH away from our showing. We have so much to do....so much.

Today, we took some time to reflect on our documentary making process by doing an activity called Rose-Bud-Thorn activity. Here's a quick 2 minute video for anyone interested. Huge shout out to Lisa Palmieri (@Learn21Tech) for this great activity! Check out her work here! 



Students reflected on their process so far, from writing scripts and storyboards, to editing and filming, and talked about what their roses, thorns, and buds were. We had some great, open, and honest conversations taking place about where we could celebrate our victories, and where our thorns were.

Surprisingly to the students, most of their thorns were similar. They spoke of a lack of communication, ineffective team work, struggles with time management, and a need to prioritize their work. Mrs. Auspelmyer was insightful enough to point out that (almost) all of their thorns were things that they could control. We didn't have to tell them to write down things they could fix, because apparently all their problems are fixable. They discussed and brainstormed ways to turn their thorns into buds and were able to take away some concrete solutions that they began to institute today. So proud of their reflections!

Mrs. A took it one step further and assigned a written reflection- one of their first grades for her for this 9 weeks. She told them to write a reflection on their group's Roses, Buds, and Thorns. We talked about the concept that a reflection is not a list, or a recap of discussion. A reflection digs deeper into the ideas they talked about as a group. A reflection considers causes and effects, and proposes possible solutions to problems. Three questions should could consider when writing:

How did Roses become roses?

How did Thorns get to be thorns?

How might we develop buds into roses and not thorns?

Writing is due Wednesday, April 9th
Must be in MLA style
Must be a hard copy- written or typed- doesn't matter
Needs a title- can get creative if you like
Minimum 250 words but should be longer
Must address Roses, Buds, AND Thorns

Students should be mindful of their grammar, punctuation, and style. This will be graded for all of those components, in addition to thoughtful content.

Make sure you spend some time going over that. Anywho, here are some pictures and videos from our session. Happy Friday!

                  

It's documentary, my dear Watson.

I crack myself up.

Today we worked in halves.

With Coach K, students were introduced to the idea that we would be putting on a film festival to feature student written, produced, and filmed documentaries highlighting their human right group and violations. Some were more enthusiastic than others but there is SO much potential here for creative license and amazing products, we just can't pass it up. We're shooting for a showing on May 9th to collaborate with D10 and their 'The Other F Word' design challenge on fitness. They are also producing videos and documentaries so we are hoping to offer a double feature and invite the community and school to attend. With a May 9th deadline, this gives students approximately six weeks to plan, write, film, and edit their 5-8 minute films.

Students took notes on the 6 different forms of documentaries according to Bill Nichols, author of Introduction to Documentary. Here are those notes for anyone who did not get them, or needs them again. There is also a page with extra resources and other video examples than the ones we viewed in class.

Students also spent some time with Mrs. A. They finished Part 9 of The Book Thief and she has graciously offered her lunch tomorrow to provide extra help for students who are struggling with their quote analysis. PLEASE take advantage of this opportunity if you are having a hard time, or even just want extra help. She'll be in her classroom during lunch.