This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
"If you want to tell the untold stories, if you want to give voice to the voiceless, you've got to find a language. Which goes for film as well as prose, for documentary as well as autobiography. Use the wrong language, and you're dumb and blind."
-Salman Rushdie
My 5th and 6th grade film students are bright, curious, and ambitious.
They come to our arts magnet school due to a passion for artistic mediums such as dance, band, strings, and theater. However, eighty-five percent of our predominantly African-American students come from a low income background and receive free and reduced lunch. As a result, many of the students have been cut off from opportunities afforded by the students at other schools.
Every day the children come to school seeking to overcome boundaries and challenges that have been unfairly placed upon them in life. Children and parents view education as a way out of poverty. They need lessons and resources that provide the kind of culturally responsive teaching that inspires them. I hope to lead them to a path that transforms their daily habits and mindsets about learning.
My Project
This year I will teach my students history/science through photography and film. This will inspire them to recognize and value their own point of view. If they can find their point of view, they can learn to advocate for themselves beyond the classroom. Students will take part in project based learning that integrates the material and the use of the camera.
For example, 5th grade Social Studies students will begin the year with a unit about the Civil War in which they will thoroughly investigate the ethics of Matthew Brady's early documentary war photography. They will also explore the techniques used in Ken Burns' film "The Civil War" in order to understand how a historical narrative can be captured through film. Students will then venture to create their own film projects centered around the battles of the Civil War. They will storyboard these narratives, write their own narration, and capture their own footage.
My classroom hinges on the success of this project.
Due to limited technological resources, students will not have the opportunity to create their own films if I do not have generous donors to help provide these iPads. In a world where technology rules, low income students need to be introduced to the same resources as those students from other backgrounds, or we are doing them a large disservice for their future. Students lives will be changed for the better because of your donation!
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Clinard and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.