P.B.I.S.

P.R.I.D.E.

Prepared. Respect. Ingegrity. Determined. Engaged

A lot of schools have enlisted the PBIS (positive behavioral intervention and supports) to focus on the good things that students are doing.  We have currently enlisted these strategies with our middle school students and so far it is off to a great start.

As a school, we have been preparing to introduce PBIS to our students for quite awhile.  A committee was formed to focus on the introduction and implimentation of the program.  The committee worked really hard on deciding how to best bring PBIS to our school and I feel fortunate that they asked me to help along the way. We wanted it to seem as appealing to the students as possible while maintaining simplicity and realistic goals for teachers.  We started by showing a video compiled of various photos of students modeling and instroducing their peers to the new acronym P.R.I.D.E. adopted by our school.  (This is when I got to help) As an art and photography teacher I helped organize the photos and got the students involved in that process.  Since the majority of the photos have the students' faces in them, I have opted out of posting them here but their cropped versions can be seen below. We went over the basics expectations and what it means to have P.R.I.D.E. in our school.  The students seemed very receptive and especially enjoyed our assembly at the end where they got to test their knowledge (and their teachers' knowledge) of P.R.I.D.E.

It's really refreshing to see the positive being acknowledged in our students and I hope that the strategies pan out!

Prepared. Students painted/created this puzzle and others pieced it together. 

 

 Lincoln Logs at their best...a house made with Respect!

 

 "Integrity" was written on a magnetic drawing board

 

 When flipped, the other sides of these papers formed a "D"

 

 

Our "E" was made of lunch trays

 

 Photographed as she manuevered the magnetic poetry around, a student defined each letter/word in our acronym

 

 

Finished version of the magnetic poetry

Toy Story in Windows Movie Maker

Toy Story with Windows Movie Maker

Students Use Writing and Photography to Create an Original Movie

Inspired by Disney's movie A Toy Story, I have created a digital photography lesson plan in which students must create their own toy tale/adventure and turn it into a short video.  After spending some time writing our stories (contact me if you'd like the full lesson plan) we plan our photographs.  Each page of text (written like a children's story so one page is only a few sentences long) needs to have one photograph to go along with it.  The students have a box of random objects and toys I provide or they can supply their own toys.  They take the images they need and edit them to fit their story.  Some students superimpose multiple images together, and other students make due with what they have at hand. 

We type up our story and import all of our text and images into Windows Movie Maker.  The students really enjoy this program and it's exciting for them to see how they can transform still images into a video.  I teach the students how to time each slide, how to add various effects and transitions as well as how to incorporate music using clipping and fading.  I never get tired of watching their finished movies!  They are so unique and strange in the best kind of way! 

Finished examples:

These are the guidelines I give my students:

A Toy Story

Telling a Story Through Photographs

You are going to write a 12-15 page story about a toy that has come to life and had its own adventure/day out.  For each page that you write you will also have to stage a scene and photograph it to go along with the text (If you wrote 12 pages, you will take 12 photographs.  If you wrote 15 pages, you will take 15 photographs).  The “pages” are not full page word documents.  It can simply be one or two sentences that describe what is going on.  This is similar to a children’s picture book, there is not a lot of text, but it gives us just enough information to understand what is happening.  However, you will be using the parts of a story to demonstrate understanding through the use of a beginning, middle and an end.

First, you will write your short story (have fun with it and make it interesting).  You will then be given a toy (you are responsible for these toys and must return them in their original condition) or you can use/provide your own toys to be used in this project.  You can use class time to take photographs or do them on your own.  You may use any editing tools to enhance your images, including altering them as we did with our Surrealism assignment.  Your job is to create a series of scenes in which the toys have become a part of everyday life.  If you have seen the movie Toy Story, then it’s just as though the toys have come alive and are roaming around amongst us.  You will stage them in an interesting manner and take a series of digital photographs to document their adventure.  You may edit your image(s) with www.Pixlr.com/editor if you would like.  Be sure to pay close attention to your angles with this kind of photography.  Have fun!  Be Creative!

We will turn your images and text into a PowerPoint Presentation which we will then convert into a movie using Windows Movie Maker.  These steps will described and taught to you as you continue the assignment.

Writing Practice for Toy Story in Windows Movie Maker

Writing Practice

Creative Writing and Photography to Tell a Story in Windows Movie Maker

Art classes truly are cross curricular in every sense, whether the students realize it or not.  In all of my classes I like to incorporate some sort of writing; often times it is a critique, an artist statement or a short story to go along with a piece of artwork.  In my digital photography course, I teach the 8th graders how to transform a creative writing piece into their very own movie.

We begin by discussing plot, something they have already learned in their English class.  We focus on the need for a beginning, rising action, a climax, falling action and a resolution.  I explain the remaining criteria for their story and how it will be made (setting up and photographing toys in real life settings or superimposing a series of images together-as long as they photograph at least part of the image used for each scene). 

For practice, I show them a series of photographs taken by various photographers (websites provided for each photographer linked under each image) and ask that, as a class, they come up with sentences that would go with the image and where it would take place in the story (either beginning, middle or end).  Below are some of their examples, they are so creative!

 Image ‘Sasquatch Attack’ by Brian McCarty

Middle: Sasquatch Joe sought revenge on Susie for dressing him like a girl all of those years.
 

Image by Brian McCarty

Middle: Trina unleashed her road rage on the innocent bystanders.
 

Image ‘Cammy and Guile’ by Zelevol

Beginning: G.I. Joe and G.I. Jane arrive at the airport; ready to take their honeymoon trip to Hawaii, Canada.

Middle: They just got back from their honeymoon and were mugged.  They walked home sadly.

End: Feeling victorious, they walked home with pride in their hearts after defeating the evil Pigbutt.

Alternative Ending: Barry and Luanne lived happily ever after.
 

Image ‘Oh Noes’ by Chris McVeigh
 

Middle: The chipmunk ate Steve’s friend, Gerald! Steve declared war on all chipmunks and poisoned their almonds!

 

Image ‘GTA III’ by Brian McCarty

 

Middle: Jake was called in for reinforcements to help his friends involved in a catfight.

Image ‘Cheez-It’ by Brian McCarty
 

Middle: Toby got in trouble with Mr. Squeakers for eating his CHEEZ-ITs.

End: Billy Bob Joe finally made his way through the epic maze with Mr. Squeakers and claimed their prize!  YUM!