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| Middle school students rehearsing their Stick Figure Anime |
If your learners struggle to understand storylines, settings, and character development, move away from the typical class notes and worksheets and step toward project-based learning.
Project-Based Learning is a collaborative process used to engage learners in understanding the complexities of key concepts. It has proven to be a highly effective learning strategy. To learn more, click this link Edutopia-Project Based Learning.
Understanding the different parts of a story arch, setting, and characterization can be challenging. One way to approach this is to provide learners with an opportunity to create their own stories.
Providing the right support and a grading rubric at the onset sets the stage for success.
Prepare learners by providing a storyline framework and Just in Time Learning (JiTL) videos, which are quick, target instructional videos they can easily access, to explain a storyline framework, setting, and characterization.
Audio-visual examples are a strong reinforcer of learning and JiTL videos give learners an opportunity to re-watch difficult concepts as often as needed to cement their learning. To learn more about Just in Time Learning click this link to My eLearning World.
Preparation is key. Gather the materials you will use to teach the various parts of storytelling. You can use a story map, a plot map, a character sketch, a conflict-resolution graph, or scripts - there are many ways to set up your project-based learning activities to meet any identified curriculum standards. For more ideas and resources for teaching literacy click on this link Literacy Ideas.
A fun and easy example is Stick Figure Anime. This is a highly creative process and does not require more than popsicle sticks, colored pencils, glue, a recording device (cell phone, camera, tablet, or computer), a script template, a character framework, and learner imagination.
Seen in the pictures are middle school students who created their original storyline and characters. They were assigned an additional element, acting and voicing their script for a short three-minute video for a class movie shorts presentation. Their level of perfection exponentially increased as they knew they were to watch and rate peer presentations.
Imagination at play allows for multiple learning modalities and learning styles and encourages physical collaboration. These learners engaged in authentic conversations and participated in a little conflict resolution of their own on their way to a united storyline.
Providing learners with time to develop their project, providing support elements, and a clear rubric helps put them in charge of their own learning and ultimately their collaborative achievement.
If you would like to read more about the use of play, particularly in the middle grades, click on the link to Learning Through Play: Perfect for Middle School.
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| Stick Figure Anime Original Stories |
If you have any great project-based learning experiences you would like to share, please use the comments to let us know. Happy planning!