PEPSICO K-12 Technology Mentor Program

Argh-It’s fun to learn about Pirates and Technology-Ms. Daquano’s 3rd Graders make a movie June 3, 2008

Posted by Dottie Black in : George Watts Montessori Magnet, Projects, Video , add a comment

The inspiration for this project came from Time Warp Trio: The Not So Jolly Roger by Jon Scieszka. My third graders became very curious about the real Blackbeard after reading this book during their guided reading unit. Each of them researched Blackbeard on the computer and produced 5 facts about him. They shared their findings with each other, but still had many questions about him.

This is where the movie came into play. They each wrote down one question they still had about Blackbeard. I researched the answers and wrote it into a script as if the kids were interviewing Blackbeard. A fellow coworker agreed to play the role of Blackbeard (hidden behind a screen).His identity was a surprise. My students asked him their questions and used an Ipod to record the interview.

After listening to their interview, they found pictures on the internet of Blackbeard that would fit their answers. They came up with a script to put at the beginning and made up a song for the end of the movie. They even created their own story about being the last buccaneers to interview Blackbeard before he died. I used Audacity to edit the interview and placed the edited sound and pictures into Frames to make the movie.

Here is the result:

Fun with Claymation May 7, 2008

Posted by Dottie Black in : Morehead Montessori, Schools, Technology , add a comment

I have been working with Ms. Kelly’s 3rd graders on a claymation project. They are creating short animations about fractions. William and Hannah are one of the teams.

Hannah and William decided what their Movie would be about.

Then they drew a storyboard.

They created a set and chose the characters.

They worked together as a team to shoot each individual frame for the movie.Here is their final product.

Save the Lakewood Y did just that! May 5, 2008

Posted by Dottie Black in : Lakewood Elementary School, Projects, Uncategorized , add a comment

Back in September, I met with one of my new teachers,Libby Montagne from Lakewood Elementary. She told me she was working with a group of her students to help save the Lakewood YMCA. The YMCA board was trying to sell the building and Durham would lose a fantastic community resource. I suggested that her students use a WIKI to document what they were doing.

Last week it was announced that the building will be shared by a new Durham Public Schools Montessori middle school and the YMCA. A win-win-win situation for the YMCA,Durham Public Schools and the Lakewood community.

Congratulations to Ms. Montagne and her students for helping be a part of the process.