Movies in the classroom

THE PIECE PRODUCED

As teachers, my colleague and I have had numerous opportunities to observe our students fall prey to teenage pregnancy. We have decided to produce a film showing the before and after of teenage pregnancy. We have incorporated pictures, videos and other relevant information that would emphasize the process through this ever increasing epidemic. Our film is intended for teens and mature audiences and the aim is to educate and inform. We also hope that it serves as a deterrent for other teens to delay the process of sexual intercourse and practice abstinence.

For twentieth century students, it is imperative that a constructivist approach to instruction is employed. A wide variety of teaching strategies should be used in order to gain and maintain student’s attention. One very effective way is to use movies in the classroom. Using movies in class can be engaging and helpful for students. Some of the benefits associated with using movies are that learning can be extended beyond the text book. It may be used to emphasize a point which may currently be discussed. It also aids in bringing lessons alive which is extremely helpful for subjects such as history.

Movies can be an effective tool as you are creating your lesson plans. The key to success is to choose wisely and create lesson plans that involve the information learned in the movie.

 Education in the twenty-first century should focus on the development of authentic literacy skills for students. Learning to read, write, listen, speak, critically analyze information and communicate ideas using a variety of modalities is vital for children of all ages. Some of the most frequent complaints of writing teachers, however, revolve around a lack of student motivation to write. How can teachers increase students’ desire to express themselves effectively and appropriately? One very effective   way is through the use of podcasts.

According to WikiPedia, a podcast is “a web feed of audio files that is placed on the Internet for anyone to download. It's usually possible to download the files directly from the website, just as one would normally do; however, special programs called podcatchers exist that let users subscribe to podcasts in order to automatically download and store the media files for later playback. One of the frequent problems with new educational innovations is their expense. Podcasts are relatively cheap to implement.

My group members and I created a podcast entitled “life after pregnancy”. We essentially interview specific individuals who were teen mom to get an understanding of what they had to go through to get past that ordeal. A series of questions were asked and the information was recorded.

Two ways in which podcasts may be used in the classroom are by either giving the students an assignment just as we received where they work in groups to create a podcast on a specified topic or the teacher uses a podcast to deliver here lesson. Both ways are effective because in one aspect the students get a hands on experience in creating a podcast and in the other aspect they benefit from hearing a well executed podcast and hopefully be inspired enough to reproduce on for them selves. 

Why lesson are Plans important?

The importance of lesson place can be categorized into the importance for learners and the importance for the teacher.

For Teacher

• ·         It enables them to be prepared for their lessons and know exactly what they want to accomplish
• ·         They are able to build on previous lesson because you would know exactly where you left off last class
• ·         It allows you to monitor the progress  of your students
• ·         It helps to build your self confidence as a teacher In that you will always be in full control of your class. (Classroom management)
• ·         It enables you to save much time in the coming years, since the lesson plans that you just made can be employed over and over again. Updates will be made minimally.

For the Learners

• ·         They are able to benefit from  a structured lesson and it makes assimilation easier.
• ·         They will be able to appreciate the well organized student centered lesson that was prepared for them.

Lesson plans is vital in teaching, it gives you the guide you need to pull through. Bear in mind that teaching is a difficult since you are dealing with children or teenagers with raw skills, knowledge, and wisdom. Finally, with lesson plans you will be able to impart the things they need to do the best of your abilities.