note CArd confession
I did my notecard confession video over John Green's book, Looking for Alaska. I chose this book because the main character is very well written, and I felt like I could replicate his language and emotions easily for my video. Another reason I chose this book was because it was one of the most important books I read in my high school English class, and I'd like to somehow integrate this novel into my classroom as well.
My process for this reflection was research, outline, practice, film, edit. My research for this project was mainly rereading Looking for Alaska, both to get a sense of the main character's voice and to remind myself of the main plot points. Then, I made my outline. The hardest part of the outline for me was condensing my material. I wanted to add even more detail and more character voice moments, but I stuck with 75 note cards (and even that made 75 notecards and a 7 minute video). After outlining and making sure I was happy with what I had, I began to practice. I practiced in front of a friend of mine who has a different reading speed than me. I was worried that my notecards would go too slow or too fast, so I found a speed that we both felt was slow enough, but not too slow. After practicing, I filmed the video. I filmed it 3 different times, rewatched them all, and picked the one that had the least mistakes. Then I took that video and made it black and white and added music in iMovie. My tools for the project were notecards and a marker (obviously), my iPad for filming, Looking for Alaska for research, and iMovie for editing. I also used Youtube Capture to upload it to Youtube and get the link. I used this topic, again, because I felt like the main character's voice was strong and because I felt that the story line fit all the criteria of a notecard confession video. I could use this assignment in multiple ways in my classroom. As a writing assignment, it makes perfect sense. A big part of writing is voice. Finding your own voice, copying another author's voice as practice, and deciphering character's motivations. Making one of these videos deals with all of that. I especially love it for writing in a character's voice! As a literature assignment, it's a wonderful exercise in plot summary and character analysis. Plot summary is something that seems easy, but is very hard to do effectively. This is great practice. Character analysis doesn't sound fun to students, mainly because it usually means an essay. This project is a great way to do an in depth character analysis without having to sit down and write a ten page essay. However, this assignment has to be used through the eyes of a character. Asking students to write about an emotional time in their lives is iffy. Some students would jump at the chance and get a great emotional catharsis from it while practicing writing with emotion and their own personal voice. Other students would totally shut down and give up before they began, rendering the lesson moot. When used with care though, I think this lesson could be a fun way to learn both composition and analysis. |