Creating the Connections
Session plan 5: Proposing and planning the project
Time
2 – 2 ½ hours or 3 – 4 hours with language support activities, depending on need.
Aim
Students will propose and begin planning their community-based projects.
Preparation
§ Confirm the participation (and contact details) of the organisations and individuals nominated by the teams. If necessary find alternatives so that all teams will know what they are planning.
§ Students will prepare to negotiate interview times and dates for getting information for their community-based digital story project. With some student groups, it may be necessary for teachers to accompany the teams to these interviews. If so, prepare times and dates when you are available and make sure students negotiate their interviews at times suitable to both you and the interviewee.
§ Computer access is not essential for this session, but if you choose to work on ICT skills in the final step of the session:
o Check ICT requirements are still in place
o Check student / teacher storage devices and folders are still accessible.
§ If you choose to work on narration skills in the final step of the session:
o From Samples, choose a digital story familiar to students. Print the images used in making the story and its script. Cut up the text to match the image. Make a set of images and cut up texts for each team.
o Alternatively (or in addition) prepare sets of images for teams to sequence into a ‘story’ e.g. a recount or information text. The images could be photos taken on a previous class excursion, copyright-free photos from a website such as ‘flickr’ – see Web Links – or photos from Gallery.
Procedure
10 minutes / Introduction: Project portfolios
Introduce the Project Portfolio as a tool for planning and documenting the project. / Student Task: Project Portfolio / Review the teams and make sure their projects focus on those who have agreed to participate. Suggest alternatives if necessary.
Give each student their Project Portfolio. Explain its component parts and their purposes.
30 minutes / Project Skills: Proposing a project
Students finalise their teams and complete the Project Brief section of Project Portfolio. / Student Task:
Part 1: Project brief (in Project Portfolio)
Student Handout:
How to use the White Pages on line / Team members work together to complete Part 1: Project brief of their Project Portfolio. Students can follow the Student Handout: How to use the White Pages on line to find addresses and phone numbers.
Check and sign students’ completed project briefs (and signed permission forms, if required). To provide a model for the next step, also complete and tick off the items in the Plan section of Part 2: Roles and responsibilities in the Project Portfolio.
20 minutes
(Overlapping with previous step) / Project Skills: Planning the process
Students negotiate responsibilities for project tasks and think about the timelines. / Student Task:
Part 2: Roles and responsibilities (in Project Portfolio) / Teams begin thinking about who will be responsible for each of the tasks in the Prepare section of Part 2: Roles and responsibilities and write the name(s) in the appropriate column.
Assist students to think about the timelines by providing a visual timeline and completing known parts of it, e.g. they will design the storyboard this session; they will finalise interview times before the next session.
30 - 45 minutes / Project Skills: Planning images
Teams plan essential photos other images. / Discuss with students that although they can take photos spontaneously when they are out doing their interviews, they need to plan some essential ones (e.g. a photo of the person) so that they don’t get forgotten.
Review the photos they used in their trial digital story and brainstorm possible photos and the purposes they might serve, e.g. scene setting. Students can think about whether close-ups or long shots, portraits or landscapes would be best.
The teams write a description or draw the essential photos for their project and add the list / drawings to their project portfolio.
Students think about what other images would be useful (e.g. from brochures, internet, student art work) and record as above.
20 - 30 minutes
(1- 1 ½ hours for language students) / Project skills: Organising interview
Teams prepare to make contact by phone to arrange interview time and date.
Note: To fit the timeframe of the project, interviews need to be made for between sessions 6 and 7, if possible.
Note: Depending on their language level, the teacher may need to make the phone calls for some language students in which case, this step can be done as a practice activity.
Note: It is advised that the teacher keep a record of times and dates negotiated in case there are difficulties such as teams wanting to use the equipment at the same time. / Discuss what needs to be said in a phone call to negotiate a suitable date and time to do the interview.
Encourage students to write cues to make sure they get all the info they need. Remind them to jot down the details as they are negotiated, i.e. date, time, and additional information such as come to the first floor/go to reception and ask for …
Students can role play the phone calls (including clarifying and confirming the details and writing them down). ESL students may need to develop a role play script for this.
Discuss what students will do if they get an answer machine or can’t get the person they wanted. Plan what message to leave. Emphasise the importance of calling back or calling at a different time.
After planning and practising the calls, designated team members make the calls. When the task is completed, teams tick it off on Part 2: Roles and responsibilities in their Project Portfolio and note details in comments column.
30 - 45 minutes
(Overlapping with previous step) / Narration skills or ICT skills
While a team member is arranging the interview time, other students develop their understanding of narration as a linked text or engage in a variety of ICT tasks depending on needs, interests and access to computers. / Images used in a digital story and its associated script (from Samples)
A set of images for each team (from Gallery or other source) / Narration skills
Provide each team with a cut up script and a set of images from a familiar sample digital story. Teams match and sequence the images with the script.
Teams sequence a set of pictures to tell a ‘story’ (e.g. a recount or information text) and then tell it to the class group.
ICT skills
Some students may want to practise a particular skill introduced in an earlier session.
Students can catch up on any skills development from previous sessions that has been missed.
Students can look for information on the internet about their chosen community group.
5 minutes / The Next Session
Students will prepare for their interview with their prominent person in the community or their chosen organisation’s contact person. / Stress that all interview times and dates need to be finalised before next session.
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