The Media Spot

The following PSAs were created by two third grade classes working in small groups which researched, storyboarded and scripted their pieces working with their teachers, Ms. Cutler & Ms. Kirksey, and me. Once the shooting scripts were ready, the teachers recruited some bigwigs from the New York entertainment community (who also happen to be 3rd grade parents at The Anderson School*) to collaborate on the productions. Students directed the productions, made decisions about shooting, collaborated on editing, and in one case filmed a documentary that I edited with them. The products are pretty powerful. Check them out, starting with "The Documentary Group", then see the summary of the process by Ms. Cutler, and production notes from our early discussion of PSAs.

Super Battery Fairy, a PSA on recycling rechargeable batteries by Class 4-302 at PS 124 will be showing at the Thirteen/WNET, WLIW21 Celebration of Teaching and Learning as a winner of the 2010 Chase Multimedia in the Classroom Awards Competition.

An instant classic, the students at GSS at PS 32 in Gowanus, Brooklyn worked with TMS collaborators, Brian Smith, Jacqueline Arias, and myself, to produce this spoof of reality TV, and corresponding PSA, during our genre study afterschool video production workshop series.

After researching hazards related to the improper disposal of rechargeable batteries, students wrote a script with Mr. Marsano keeping them focused on the problem, and what the students wanted their audience to do about it. To "hook" their audience, students decided to take a serious tone with elements of humor.  Come on in and have a look at their PSA, the "making-of" process-based documentary, and our production notes. 

Here are notes and resources from the panel we presented on with Sherri Hope Culver, Renee Hobbs, and Frank Baker, at the Celebration of Teaching and Learning conference on March 7th, 2009.
Schools are working with a flexible definition of literacy, influenced by established core concepts of media literacy. This presentation showed how schools we work with are approaching the planning and execution of productions that address objectives across their curricula.

Class 4-302 at PS 124 produced a Public Service Announcement (PSA) on the effects of global warming and what we can do about them. After researching this topic as part of a social studies unit, class discussions determined that a class PSA could be effective by creating feelings of guilt in adults over their participation in things that could have devastating effects on the students' future.

The class brainstormed ways of appealing to that specific audience, and once their attention was held, what they wanted to communicate. Their video also includes an introduction that explains their production process.