An update on my latest update
In the spirit of my Masterpiece Monday makeover, I've spent some time over the past few days having my own mini-film fest as I work towards refreshing my Video of the Week website.
I started VOTW two years ago with the idea to help my students improve their listening and critical viewing skills. Last year I folded in some other goals, too. Here's the blurb from the current website that explains a bit about my thoughts behind it:
Forget designing video games -- video games require, gasp, math! -- the new path to success for most of my middle school kiddos is to become Internet Famous. All you do is go viral on TikTok or get millions of Instagram followers, and voila, you get rich! Simple, right?
With our school changing to a double period of ELA for the 2018-19 school year, I thought I'd try to harness my students' love of online video content and pilot a Video of the Week series. Every Wednesday (our late start day), we'd watch, take notes on, and write about a short film.
There are tons upon tons of great short videos floating in the ether, but I want to not-so-secretly build my students' ability to focus, so I tried to find films that were in the 10-12 minute range. I paid special attention to documentaries that explore human diversity, but I also wanted to include narratives, animated shorts, and science and history topics. This is definitely a work-in-progress, so there will no doubt be tweaks aplenty.
I've curated these videos using several sources; use the Links page to explore them and find more great films. I was inspired by Ian Byrd's Puzzlements, The Kid Should See This, and TEDed (those riddles!)....
At the start of the 2019-20 school year, I became a Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms fellow. I see this web site as a chance to help my students increase their global competencies, particularly in the areas of investigating the world and recognizing perspectives. Also, I think it can be a powerful tool to help build empathy; we could sure use a lot more of that in our world.
I now feel even stronger about the importance of those goals, so, combined with the need to keep the content up-to-date, I'm sifting through the dozens of videos I've bookmarked over the past few months and the several short film websites and festivals that have been new to me.
Here's what I have so far, in all of its rough-draft glory:
On the Fence
Cradle (animated, veteran amputee) ~15
Tariq’s Cube (Muslim teen Rubix cuber) ~28
A Recipe for Change (restaurant internship for juvenile offenders) ~5
(Freethink has a ton of videos, but most are 4-7 min long
How I climbed a 3,000-foot vertical cliff -- without ropes (TED talk by Alex Honnold) ~12
(Maybe pair with watching Free Solo)
Fear of Flying (stop-motion birdies) ~9
Instant (photographer takes Polaroids of strangers) ~9
The Mountain of Sganna (animated Haida legend, wordless) ~10
Anaiyyun (traditional whale hunt, few words) ~9
Navajo Son (rodeo roper Derek Begay) ~10.5
Lost and Found (stop motion, knit animals) ~7
The World War of the Ants (animated, science) ~8.5
Stay Close (African American fencer) ~19
Bone Mother (Babba Yagga, stop motion) ~8
Loved by All (Apa Sherpa) ~14
Darlin (Black Honduran family seeking asylum) ~15
Awana (Quechua/Peru scarf-weavers) ~11.5
IVRY (teenage boxer from Chicago) ~9.5
Free Like the Birds (DAPA) ~9
Sky Migrations (raptor migrations...curse word in background song :() ~15
Cristano Street (a boy filming his life in an RV and move to an apartment) ~12
Humans are Smart. Why are Babies so Unsmart? ~10
Quilt Fever (Paducah Quilt Festival) ~15
Chasing Ghosts (ghost orchids and moths in FL swamp) ~15
Spice Frontier (sci fi chef) ~8.5
Smash and Grab (robots break free; wordless) ~7.5
Alike (father/son in washed-out world; wordless) ~7
Ride of the Dead (MTB race in Mexico) ~12
BMX Nigeria (BMX crew in Lagos; bad word 3 times) ~12
LA Roll (the LA rollerskate scene) ~17
Yes!
I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype (TED) ~10
RJ Ripper (Nepali mtn. biker) ~19
Land of the Strays (dog sanctuary in Costa Rica) ~13
Meet Munch Jr. (autistic teen in NZ creates puppet) ~7
(add Loading Docs to links page)
The "On the Fence" list are videos that don't quite match what I'd like. For some the times are off, others have questionable language, and others are good, but I'm not quite sure if they fit. They might get bumped to a no list or to the bonus video section. The "Yes!" list are the ones that I think must be added to the weekly lineup. They'll replace videos that are outdated or didn't connect as strongly with my students as I had hoped. Also, in the back of mind the whole time is the fact that we'll likely be doing distance learning for a portion of the school year, so I want to choose videos that students are able to view and write about with as little teacher-leading as possible.
So that's where I am right now....But, I have seven more videos that are in tabs ready to go for later today! 🤓
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