The Revolutionary War Meets The Green Screen

Did you know, The Battle of Trenton was the first great American victory of the Revolutionary War? Or that the British Army was supported by German mercenaries who were nicknamed Hessians?

These are just a few interesting facts the 7th grade students of Mrs. Fender’s Social Studies classes researched and learned to prepare for their own green screen battle reenactments of the Revolutionary War. In class, the students worked cooperatively in groups to research one of the four assigned battles. These battles included: The Battle of Trenton, The Battle of Saratoga, The Battle of Cowpens, and The Battle of Yorktown. The students had time to prepare for their battles by writing a script that would enable them to retell the story of the battle. Their scripts incorporated important events of their battle, including key players from both sides, what strategies were used, and where the battle took place. The students also portrayed how their particular battle had an impact on the Revolutionary War. Finally, the students were ready for battle.

File_001.jpeg
Students recording their battle reenactment
 using the green screen.
The students reenacted their battles in front of a green screen, allowing them to select proper pictures to be displayed behind them during their performance. Not only did Mrs. Fender’s students have fun playing the roles of generals, military men, or even the narrator of their battle story, but they learned the importance of standing up for one’s belief and how the morale of each battle influenced the Patriot’s victory of the Revolutionary War.


Screen Shot 2016-05-11 at 11.42.27 AM.png
A wooded scene taken from the Battle of Saratoga reenactment.





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Journey to Jamestown through Minecraft

Image
Mr. Van Wyk put a new spin on teaching " A Journey to Jamestown " with his 7th grade students this year.  For this lesson, his students had to take on the role as John Smith and create their own Jamestown colony using Minecraft. To help get started, the students watch the short video, " A Life in Jamestown " to better understand what it took to be a settler in the early-American colony of Jamestown.  They discussed some of the main problems the first settlers of Jamestown encountered, and would could have been done differently.   After learning the backstories of leadership in Jamestown and the impact the Native Americans had, the students were assigned to take on the role as the newly appointed leader, John Smith.  Their goal?  To rebuild Jamestown.   As John Smith, they not only had to build Jamestown, but also had to defend it from the Native Americans, develop a central meeting place to plan attacks, and also provide shelter and a food source for the colony
Read more

Hands-on Approach to Celebrating Earth Day

Image
Hands-on Approach to Celebrating Earth Day   What better way to teach 1st graders about the Earth than to have them experience what it means to reduce, reuse and recycle. In one of the elementary schools in which I teach I created stations for hands-on learning to teach important concepts to the students in hopes that by providing concrete examples they would walk away with a stronger knowledge of why we celebrate the Earth and how each of them can care for it. There were four stations set up in the Makerspace. Each student completed each station by the end of the class period. Students used recycled water bottles to build planters. Each student added soil and planted seeds to start the growth of a new plant. This activity not only showed students how they can repurpose materials but gave them something to care for. When students create things themselves it gives a deeper meaning to their learning. Students also created cheerio bird feeders. Using pipe cleaners, they strung
Read more

Blog #2 Poem in the Pocket

Image
There are so many fun poems out there to read, but honestly, I never really like poetry growing up.  I was never into the famous poets like Elizabeth Browning or Walt Whitman, although they are amazing writers.  It was hard for me to understand the meanings behind their words and understand their imagery.  I "wrote" off poetry and had no interest in it what so ever. And then I became a teacher in April...National Poetry Month!  Oh no!  What was I to do?  I couldn't hide, I wouldn't lie Oh no, what was I to do?!  Corny, I know, but the feeling was true!  It wasn't until I began teaching Dr. Seuss, Jack Prelutsky, and Shel Silverstein that I realized how funny it could be.  Then I began to enjoy poetry.  One of my favorites as a kid and even now is Shel Silverstein's "Sick" and my favorite line is the following: "What's that? What's that you say? You say today is...Saturday? G'bye, I'm going out to play!"
Read more