LANGUAGE ARTS ACTIVITIES

Objectives

Students will write, direct, and produce a videotape using persuasive communication skills.

Module Overview - Language Arts

The language arts portion of the "You Make It Happen" module involves students in the development of a video aimed at promoting energy efficiency. The steps involved in this process are designed to enhance student nonverbal and verbal communication skills, especially in the area of persuasion. Students will decide, as a class, on the format of their video. They will then write, direct, and produce the video. Opportunities to present the video to interested adult viewers are suggested.

Materials

camcorder and blank videotapes
videotape of commercials
How to Make Great Videos About Saving Energy videotape
Conducting An Energy Audit videotape
both tapes were produced by .........
available through your local Area Education Agency

Suggested Teaching Strategies

The paragraphs below contain suggestions as to how you might structure the video production process, including the presentation of introductory information and planning. You may wish to alter this approach to best fit your classroom situation.

For this first activity in this module, you will need a videotape of a variety of television commercials. You may wish to create this videotape yourself. Use approximately 15 recent and popular television commercials with appropriate content. Some weeks prior to beginning this module, ask students to tape some of their favorite commercials from their TVs at home. If just three or four students accepted this challenge, you would have enough taped commercials. Make certain that you preview student taped commercials before airing them in your classroom. Ten to twenty recorded commercials would provide excellent material for discussion in the first activity. If you are unable to get students to record commercials, simply record the commercials yourself, or ask your school's media department to make the recordings for you.

Begin the module by showing video tapes of recorded commercials. Ask the class to create a list of the commercial products advertised in the commercials. Then ask students to determine which commercials they liked best and why.

Introduce persuasive techniques at this time. You may wish to include some or all of the following ideas:
Persuasive Techniques
1. Authority: A famous person or someone who has authority in our society pushes a particular product. Examples include commercials featuring a doctor or Michael Jordan.
2. Side-tracking: Discusses a subject that seems to be related, but is not. Examples include a basketball player trying to sell McDonald's hamburgers.
3. Bandwagon: "Everyone is doing it and you should too." This approach appeals to feelings of belonging. Example includes being a member of the Pepsi generation.
4. Slanted language: Uses words packed with emotion to make people feel a certain way. Examples of positive slanted language include use of words like smooth, fresh, and crystal clear. Negative slanted words might include bumpy, overdue, crowded, and noisy.

Show the video a second time, asking students to look for persuasive techniques used in each of the advertisements.

Inform students that they are going to create a video on the topic of energy efficiency. The video should be designed to persuade homeowners that they should use energy more efficiently. Emphasize that one or more of these techniques must be used in the class produced energy video.

Show the KID VID entitled "Conducting an Energy Audit" to the class. Discuss the persuasive techniques used in the video. This video will help give students a clear picture of what a finished product can look and sound like.

Since only one videotape will be developed for the entire class, it is important that students agree on the style or styles to be used for the program. Provide these suggestions, then allow students to decide, as a class, as to what approach their class video will take. Examples include a puppet show, talk show, radio show, game show, documentary, rock video, rap, sitcom, detective story, movie, mystery, circus, and newscast. Remind students that most of the above choices are programs on which "commercials" typically appear. Their production would likely have commercials as well. Ask students to think about which format will allow the greatest variety of interesting approaches to presenting persuasive information to homeowners. Make certain that students do not lose sight of their original purpose...their aim is to use persuasive techniques to convince their audience to adopt as many new energy efficient practices as possible! The most effective approach seems to be the development of separate vignettes developed by cooperative groups with a connecting thread. For example, one class filmed a family "channel surfing" to a variety of traditional television formats and parodies, each dealing with an energy topic.

Before students make the final determination of the style their video will take on, it may be advisable for students to break into smaller working groups and choose energy-saving topics for the video. Student groups may develop their own topics, or may choose from a list of available topics, including the following:

• low flow shower heads
• using fluorescent lighting
• cleaning furnace filters
• insulating the hot water heater and its pipes
• using the clothesline
• insulating electrical outlets
• efficient use of the dishwasher
• faucet aerators
• cleaning refrigerator coils
• closing up leaks in the fireplace
• closing up leaks in doors
• closing up leaks in windows
• using fewer lights
• turning down the water heater temperature
• taking showers instead of baths

The video should contain explanations of procedures involved in making specific changes. If time allows, students can research their selected topics. Creativity is encouraged, including the use of music, props, etc. Given the time constraints of this module, it would be advisable to have an assortment of reference materials on energy efficient practices available in the classroom. The following books offer background information for energy saving ideas. This information could be used by both the teacher and the students. These books are likely available through your local book store.
30 Simple Energy Things You Can Do to Save the Earth
50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth
50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth

One additional reference is the Guide to Energy Efficient Practices shown in Appendix A. The science teacher is likely to have multiple copies of this document which you might borrow.

Preview the video entitled "How to Make Great Videos About Energy" before showing it in class. The important steps in video production, as presented in the video, are summarized below. Show the tape to students reviewing the steps outlined in producing a video. A student worksheet/checklist is also included.

How to Make Great Videos About Saving Energy
Checklist of Tasks

1. What's your idea?
   Purpose: Why are you making this videotape?
   Audience: Who is your audience?
   Length: How long will your tape be?
   Style: What do you want your video to look like? (ex.: talk show, newscast, . . .)
2. Pick your topic.
   What topics have you chosen?
3. Construct a storyboard.
4. Assign all jobs.
   Costume design, Prop assembly, Make-up artist, Graphic artist, Location scout
   Lighting director, Camera person, Director, Actors, Others?
5. Rehearse
   How many times have you rehearsed?
   Have you had a dress rehearsal?
6. In-camera editing
   Point of view: Have you used an interesting perspective?
   Lighting: Did you use as much light as possible indoors? Did you avoid windows? Was the sun behind you outdoors?
   Audio: Did you eliminate all background noise?
   Camera Shots: Did you vary close-ups, medium, and wide shots?
   Camera Movements: Did you keep the camera steady?

Each group develops a story board (as explained in the video) and explains their storyboard to the class. The whole class then decides how to put it all together using the ideas from the "how to" video and keeping consistent with the video style they decided upon. Students plan, rehearse, and film the video aimed at selling efficiency. At this point, a teacher may want to show the assessment instrument to the students so they will know the criteria by which they will be evaluated.

Home Connection:

Have several copies made of the student-produced videotape. Allow students to take the tapes home for family members to view. Route the videos to as many homes as possible. If a family has no access to a VCR, make arrangements for these students to show the video to an adult at school. This might include an administrator or teacher. Each student should have the adult complete the video questionnaire. (See Appendix C for sample letter home.)

Extensions:

• Have students present the video at a school board meeting or to community groups.
• Air the video on your school TV system or arrange to have it aired on local cable TV.
• Give a copy of the video to your local electric utility so they can make it available to the public.
• Exchange videos with other classes in your school, district, state, etc.
• Present a "live" energy program to an elementary class or a parent group using portions of the class script from your class production.

Alternative Approaches

• If the filming is beyond your school's resources, try hosting an Energy Awareness Night instead. Students could do their program "live" for parents and other interested parties, rather than filming the presentations.
• Students could prepare a series of commercials (radio, video, class presentation) aimed at energy efficiency. These commercials could then be shown at school events, or be sent home for parent viewing.
• Students could design and create newspaper advertisements designed to promote energy efficiency. Perhaps a local newspaper could be convinced to run some of the ads.
• Students could design, create, and distribute brochures, coloring books, comic strips, posters, etc. all aimed at promoting energy efficient practices in the home. The brochures could be distributed to parents and other interested homeowners.
• Students could conduct a poster and/or essay contest for the rest of the school. Arrange for a poster display at a local mall. Perhaps prizes could be solicited from the local utilities or other area businesses.

Suggested Evaluation Techniques

Criteria
1. The student will perform an active role in the video presentation.
2. The student will provide data to viewers that will persuade them that the suggested measure is easy to do and will save energy dollars.
3. The student will use correct techniques in the planning, writing, performing, and filming of the video.

Evaluation Tool/Authentic Assessment:
The student-made video is an authentic assessment for this unit in language arts. The following are suggested tools designed to evaluate student performance.
1. Rubric: You may wish to assign a point value to each column of the rubric to help determine each students' grade.
Unacceptable
Enough time spent off task to lower both the standard of your own work and to seriously interfere with the quality work time of others.
Individual make little or no effort to complete task.
Information presented about saving energy is incorrect or insufficient. The viewer was confused.
Presentation does not convince viewer to change.
Storyboard not used. Lack of attention to detail.
Filming/editing techniques were not effectively used.

Acceptable
On task most of the time, but some time lost to day-dreaming or off-task visiting. While not enough times lost to seriously affect work, could have provided more thorough and purposeful work related to the task.
Performed assigned task, but lacked some enthusiasm, conscientiousness.
Several important pieces of information present. Lacking sufficient detail.
While the need to increase efficiency is there, better persuasive techniques are warranted.
Storyboard used, but more attention to detail would have led to a greatly improved film.
Most filming/editing techniques correctly used, but could have been improved upon.

Excellent
On task all period. Purposeful work directed related to the tack. Valuable contributor to group production.
Performed assigned task with enthusiastic commitment.
Many good bits of information are presented clearly. Viewer can easily understand ideas. Good job of presenting details.
Need for increased efficiency is clear, employing good persuasive techniques.
Storyboard efficiently used with careful attention to detail.
Filming/editing techniques correctly used to create a visually stimulating persuasive video.

2. Evaluation form:
Group Criteria:
(5) 1. We have a clear, persuasive technique
(5) 2. Quality bits of information were presented
(5) 3. Solutions to ineffective energy use were presented
(5) 4. Viewers easily understood the ideas
(20) TOTAL

Individual Criteria:
(5) 1. I used good eye contact because I knew my lines
(5) 2. My voice was loud, clear, and expressive
(5) 3. My appearance supported my part
(5) 4. My actions helped express what I was saying
(20) TOTAL

3. Reflective Writing: Reflect on the energy efficiency video. Write a three paragraph paper with at least one paragraph to explain each of the following points:
a. Explain your role in the video presentation
b. Explain the persuasive techniques used in the video.
c. Explain the methods for increasing energy efficiency.

Final tips for developing realistic videotapes:
If students are videotaping, they need practice time using the camera.
It is best to start and stop the camera as little as possible.