Wildcat Workshop @ Chester Arthur School
GRADE 6
LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!
Essential Questions
What tools and strategies do cinematographers and filmmakers use to craft video stories?
How can I use design thinking to create something that is useful and meaningful to others?
How can I craft arguments to persuade others to support something I care about?
What does it mean to be a good digital citizen?
Key Projects
Mobile app that recommends movies based on user interests
Digital movie that can be entered into a film festival
May 2023
We edited our food commercials in iMovie and Final Cut Pro. We also gave and received feedback on our food commercial footage. We also did some reshoots. Check out a draft of one of the commercials. Don’t be fooled. It’s not ice cream you see: it’s instant mashed potatoes!
Many of our grade 6 students are also active in the afterschool WHYY Media Lab program. Students wrote interview questions and news scripts, filming school events, and editing video news stories. For instance, members of our WHYY Media Lab team interviewed attendees and filmed the community meeting where our school’s new name was announced: Marian Anderson Neighborhood Academy.
April 2023
We set up our food commercials for filming. We worked to get everything looking and moving right. We used green screen backgrounds to help with editing later.
March 2023
We analyzed videos of food commercials and researching some of the methods companies use to sell food. For, instance, they might put lipstick on a strawberry to make it redder and shinier or use glue in place of milk. We also learned that robotics may be used to set up complex shots with cameras and food.
We began planning to shoot our our commercials. We selected robotics components and food we want to use. We started building and coding the robotics components using LEGO robotics kits.
February 2023
We continued using App Lab on code.org. We brainstormed the kinds of things apps like Netflix might use to make recommendations for users. For this project, we used a YouTube tutorial to help us create a Netflix recommendation app. The app used a database with information about movie genres, release dates, and titles. The app allowed users to select a release date or genre and would then list recommendations.
We began using App Lab on code.org to create a prototype quiz about ourselves. We used the example quiz from last week and the wireframe diagram as a model to work from. We wrote questions about ourselves and added four choices. We also discussed what kinds of information we would and would not want to put on the internet. Some kinds of information may be used for identify theft purposes.
To make the apps work, we had to connect the screens using code. For instance, most of the time, to move from one screen to the next, the user has to click a specific button.
January 2023
We began to explore App Lab on code.org using a free play approach. For instance, we added elements like labels, buttons, checkboxes, dropdown menus, and images. We also changed the properties of the elements we added, like background colors, text color and size, and button colors and size.
We also used a wireframe diagram to analyze an example quiz app. The wireframe diagram is something designers use to create prototypes that show the basic designs of different screens and also shows how screens are connected to one another. For instance, clicking one button might take a user to one screen. Another button would take a user to a different screen. We used arrows to show the flow between screens.
To develop our digital literacy skills for designing things with digital tools, we designed buttons and movie posters using Adobe Express. In creating our designs, we had to pay attention to:
Sizing of our canvas;
Margins around our designs to ensure the design would show up properly when put in the button maker;
Fonts and text alignment; and
Whether there was enough contrast to read text placed on top of images.
We printed our designs and pressed together the buttons using a button maker.
We played Interland to review important Digital Citizenship ideas about passwords, being kind online, and protecting privacy.
December 2022
We finished editing our stop motion movies in iMovie. We added audio, titles, and transitions.
November 2022
We returned to capturing more photos for our stop motion movies. We realized we needed a lot more photos than we thought we did at first.
We started editing our first clips for our Lego stop motion movies. We needed to download the photos from our cameras and import them into iMovie. We’re noticing that it’s very important to keep the camera stable when taking our photos for stop motion.
October 2022
We started filming our first scenes. We're taking still photos and are moving our characters only a little bit between each shot. When we put the images together, it will give the illusion of motion.
We planned our first scenes. We built sets and created created. We’re using materials like Legos, cardboard, paint, printed images, and other materials to create our sets.
September 2022
We’re learning about cinematography and filmmaking. We’re beginning to craft stop motion Lego movies by thinking about genre, characters, and setting. One thing we’ve been especially excited about is combining some of our favorite genres (e.g., horror and romance!)
We’ve been analyzing example videos to figure out what kinds of materials (e.g., Legos, clay, wire) and moves (e.g., zoom, panning, transitions, sound effects, establishing shot) we might use to make our movies. We’re also starting to create storyboards for our initial scenes.
