The day’s presenters, Curt Elliott, Bonnie Disney, and Frank Baker introduced themselves, after which Curt stated that one of the day’s objectives was to have fun. As the seminar progressed, we met that objective.
First was an activity called “Burglar.” Participants decided to take the point of view of either a burglar or a real estate agent. During a shared reading of “The House,” a passage rich with details of a wealthy person’s house, we recorded details that would be important to our chosen role. Laughter erupted as people shared their notes and we saw the impressive potential for larceny behind our selections. Bonnie pointed out that this activity was evidence of how point of view has a powerful influence on how we listen and read.
Frank then showed a film clip to clarify the technical aspects of point of view, for example “first person limited.” He noted the “United Streaming” videos are provided by SCETV. They also are holding “Teacher Technology Days” in mid-March; more details are available on their web site.
Curt drew our attention to a hand-out which listed the ELA standards that include point of view. He urged us to use the language of the standards and to notice how early students are expected to demonstrate understanding. Throughout the day, Curt also punctuated his remarks with the idea that “Writing is a powerful tool,” encouraging us to use writing to learn strategies often.
The next step in examining point of view in fiction was a paired reading by Bonnie and Curt of two versions of the same story: “The Three Little Pigs.” One was the original version and the other was the “True Story” as seen from the wolf’s point of view. We used a graphic organizer to record ways the two stories were alike and different and reflected on how point of view affected the plot, tone, and impact of the story.
Having been directed to ponder fairy tales during the break, we were ready to participate in the next activity. Curt asked us to record three titles as he moved around the room asking participants to name as many fairy tale titles as we could remember. We then worked with a partner to review the storyline of one and select a key scene to rewrite from a different point of view than the traditional one. As we later shared our versions with the entire group, we were asked to record how the revisions changed our understanding of each fairy tale. For example, “Three Billy Goats Gruff” told by the troll gave us more empathy for the villain and clarified the plot. Laughter grew with each reading as the readers’ personalities sparkled and everyone demonstrated a firm grasp of how to use point of view to change stories and generate creative inferences.
To debrief this activity, Curt showed several questions that might be used such as “Why did you select that point of view?” and “How did the tone change?” He also noted that “Learning is first social and then cognitive” to remind us of the value of talk.
We then moved to examining point of view in informational text, with Bonnie’s reminder that when using nonfiction, the term changes to “perspective.” We used a complex, provocative opinion column by David Brooks, “Teaching the Elephant,” to test the technique of reading a piece three times, recording our level of understanding using a scale of one to ten after each reading. This strategy is found in Kyleen Beer’s book WHEN KIDS CAN’T READ (p. 110) one of our two professional resource books. To connect the activity to point of view, we were directed to consider using the “It Says/I Say/ And So” chart (pp. 165-66 in Beers.)
Frank Baker headed up the afternoon’s activities with a focus on perspective in film. He gave us a brief background on how he moved from a career in broadcasting to one in media literacy. He bemoaned the scarcity of media literacy presentations and materials at education conferences and urged us to use his web site www.frankwbaker.com as a resource.
Frank stressed that the media is a great way to engage kids in reading and writing, and that one of the objectives is to lead students to create their own media. He then asked us to think of our favorite film and then focus on one scene that stays with us, recording details of that scene to share with the group. We were surprised by the emotions generated by these reflections, leading Frank to remind us of the strong impact film has on our lives.
Recounting how he researched study guides to various films before he composed the first study guide for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Frank reminded us that “all media begins with writing” and stressed the benefits of having students write scripts. He also defined media literacy as “critical thinking applied to media.” Students need to be taught to watch actively and become intelligent consumers of media. He used a Power Point presentation to show endorsements for media literacy, coming from sources like the College Board, NCTE, and the revised S.C. ELA Standards. It’s clear that educators must learn to incorporate media in their lessons if they are to maintain credibility with today’s students.
Frank next explained that we help students “think visually” by explaining things like what camera positions convey. For example, Frank demonstrated how shooting from below implies power to the subject and helplessness to the viewer. He treated us to a clip about how OVER THE HEDGE was produced, with the animators plotting camera angles, lighting, and depth of field (focus) to make the story come to life. When he then showed an actual scene from the movie, our new insights helped us see the action with new appreciation.
Frank also emphasized how music and sound effects are designed to add power and realism to movie scenes and suggested that we replay scenes and ask students to close their eyes to notice sounds. He showed more clips from several films including THE MIGHTY (based on “Freak, The Mighty”) and TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, pointing out camera angles and the use of a narrator to convey first person point of view.
We then looked at the format and terminology (“voice over” “fade in”) of a script and Frank explained that a script was not enough. Movie directors also need a storyboard to help them determine how to recreate scenes most effectively. He noted that we can use the Internet to download stills of scenes from movies and help students analyze how camera angles convey point of view and symbols. For example, during the attempted lynching scene in the film version of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, Atticus Finch is shown sitting under a lamp which implies that he was more enlightened than the mob.
Then it was our turn to be movie directors. Frank gave us the first two pages of the novel BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE and “story board” handouts to use for our assignment: Design that scene from the point of view of the grocer, the dog, or the girl. After sharing, Frank showed us the actual clip of that scene. Having just thought through how we would have shot it, we watched the scene with much more appreciation and understanding.
Frank ended his presentation with a special treat for us. He told how he had tried unsuccessfully to locate an actual storyboard that he could use in his training seminars. Finally, he located and befriended the artist who had storyboarded WINN DIXIE. The artist sent Frank the material, which he showed us with great pride adding that we were the first ones to see it. The drawing of the dog was just as cute as the actual dog in the movie.
Curt wrapped up the day with a sharing session to discuss both the assigned readings (Beers and Culham texts) and “Try Its” the teachers had used since the November sessions. He stressed the value of repetition to help retention, of rereading text for depth of understanding, and of thinking aloud to model how good readers process text. Ellen then reviewed how the themes of each seminar reappear and are interwoven, such as how figures of speech and inference are always important elements. The new twist in today’s session was that we now have a new element to add to the reading/writing connection: media.
Respectfully submitting,
Amy Mikell
WIN Consultant
USC Intern Supervisor