So, a light bulb went off and I thought Technology, English Learners, Listening, Speaking, Writing and visuals..... Yes Yes Yes and Yes these all fit together. To add an extra piece of connection electricity the theme of the English Learner Summer School was National Parks. ZZZZZZZ that is the sound of electricity in case you thought it was sleeping.
We learned about Yosemite and The Grand Canyon these two National Parks are close to us in Cali but not close enough for a field trip. How on earth could I take these kids to these places and show off the science and language learning??? Da da duummm GREEN SCREEN. I quickly did a little research to find an app or something to make this work I found this app in the itunes store it is $2.99 it is called Ink Do Green Screen.
I bought it with one of the itunes cards I received as a gift last year from one of the teachers I was working with (Thank you). I then went to the lovely lovely amazon prime and tried to find an inexpensive green screen set up. I could not find one in my summer budget but I did find a screen screen and some clamps for under $20.00 worth a shot!!.
I was ready to Green Screen. Since it is a 3 hour 3 week program the little people were not going to be able to draft and revise their own writing at the level needed so we created a piece for each park together they provided the info from their learning and we drafted it on chart paper together. I was a little hesitant to do this because I really prefer them to own their own work but I refocused the objective of the lesson. I refocused the lessons into a close reading and fluency lessons. We worked on phrasing and reading with expression in fluency and for Close reading the students annotated their typed pieces (I typed up our collaborative writing pieces) they underlined tricky words, scientific words, parts to read with expression. They also put notes about what photos should be on the green screen during different parts of the pieces. Okay, I saw the value of this and to allow them choice I allowed them to choose either Yosemite or the Grand Canyon. They took their pieces with notes home and rehearsed. The turn around had to be quick so I found images that night and had them ready for filming the next day. So Lights Camera Action 2 days worth of 30 min ELA lessons, one days worth of homework and here's what they came up with.
I usually do not put up names and photos but this little gal and family gave me permission. I was totally impressed with this sweet potato she did a great job and coached some of her peers. That is how I used Green Screen in Summer School? I am super excited to further use and develop curriculum for next year using Green Screen. In my new position!!!! I think I may even invest in a kit.
Happy Teaching!
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