Shin Dong Hyuk Digital Storytelling Video Photo Credits

The sixth grade class is continuing to learn about human rights violations in WWII and current event stories that describe how these violations still occur in our world today.

For the next month the sixth grade world history classes will be creating digital stories to capture the stories of real people in modern time that are still facing the atrocities of human rights violations.

Digital stories are a powerful tool for teaching one another. Digital stories use multi-media (video, pictures, audio, music) techniques to artistically tell a story. Stories are important; they can inspire, challenge, and unite us. Sixth graders please see the following video as an example of a digital story. You will each be creating your own digital stories.

This digital story below describes the story of a defector from North Korea named Shin Dong-Hyuk. Shin is the only known person in the world to have escaped a prison camp in North Korea and live to tell the story.

Sixth graders, you each will be capturing your own story on a person or group of people that are facing human rights violations today. We must continue to stay aware of the human rights violations that are occurring today if we want to be a generation that fights for our country’s and the world’s human rights and freedoms. You will share these digital stories with peers and the school community at large.

Steps to Complete Digital Story Assignment:

1) Your first task will be to find a current event story that describes a human rights violation.

2) Next you will research about this person, group, or country that is facing these violations.

3) Following, you will fill out a graphic organizer in which you will record your research findings about the government of the host country, biographical information about the people/person that faces the violations, and the repercussions of the violations.

4) Next you will begin to write a rough draft about the story you have discovered through your research. This is not an assignment in which you summarize facts but rather you will write a real story that incorporates all elements of a story: character, setting, plot, and conflict.

5) Once your draft is complete you will share your paper with a peer and have an editor’s meeting as you share and receive feedback on your story. Lastly you will share your story with your teacher for feedback.

6) Afterwards you will work on making your story into a script that can be read and recorded for the audio portion of your digital story. This script needs to also be reviewed by your editing peer and teacher.

7) You will then fill out a storyboard where you will brainstorm how you can bring your story to life with pictures, video, and music. You will share your storyboard with your teacher and editing peer for feedback. Please make any changes to your storyboard after receiving feedback.

8) Once your storyboard is complete you will begin to collect and save photos, music, and video clips on iMovie. Any form of media you collect make sure to save citation information on it as you will be creating a “closing credits” page with sources at the end of your video.

9) The last step is to record your audio clips of you telling your story on iMovie.

10) Once you have all parts of your digital story complete you will upload the story on our class YouTube channel to share with classmates and the community.

Edmodo Tutorial Video: Small Groups

July 22, 2014 / lyamorfitt / Leave a comment

For our WWII and Human Rights history project you will be using Edmodo’s small groups to share resources, documents, and notes with your group members. Specifically for this project your small group members will be sharing with one another links to websites and videos you find about your topic: WWII dictators, propaganda used during WWII, role of government in protecting human rights (a closer look at the U.S. Constitution), human rights violations committed during WWII, and current events that provide evidence that human rights violations still occur. Once you have shared, read, and taken notes on five creditable research sources you will then begin to work on your script for your podcast recording. The document in which your script’s draft is saved can be uploaded as a post on your Edmodo small group’s page and viewed by other group members. It is your responsibility as a group member to edit one another’s work and check for grammar and spelling errors. Edmodo’s small group page also allows you to simply message group members at school and at home. If you one small group member is absent it is up to the other small group members to send the absent member a note about what work was completed in class and what that member needs to do to catch up. Overall Edmodo’s small groups will be used the most before the project is complete. It is your communication and resource-sharing hub as you plan and prepare for your podcast presentation on your topic.

Students please watch the following video on how to write posts, share files and links on small groups on Edmodo.

When you are done watching the video please sign in to your student account and practice uploading a file, link, and post to the members of your small group.

“Then and Now” News Show Podcast

July 20, 2014 / lyamorfitt / Leave a comment

It is a scary thought to consider our freedoms being taken away in our country. Imagine no longer having the freedom of religion, or the freedom of speech, or the freedom to assemble…

This did happened to millions of citizens in Germany, Russia, and Italy during WWII and it continues to happen to people around the world.

In the United States, a country built upon the ideals of democracy, it is up to us the citizens of this country to hold our government and leaders accountable to protect our freedoms. A democracy can only continue to stand if its people continue to stay educated about their rights and the activity of the government and its leaders.

Ms. Morfitt’s sixth grade class recognizes the importance of protecting and upholding human rights and freedoms.

This podcast was completed by Ms. Morfitt’s 6th grade World History class. The students recorded this podcast as a part of their unit on WWII and human rights. The guiding question for this project was “what is the role of government in protecting human rights?” To answer this question students looked to the past to view the mistakes and violations made against human rights by WWII dictators. Students wondered how Hitler and Stalin were able to get away with such atrocities in Germany and Russia. Students learned that part of the answer lies within the term “propaganda.” Students were exposed to posters, videos, books, and other examples of propaganda used during WWII. Students began to discover that a possible reason for Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini’s ability to get away with human rights violations was due to their power to tightly control the public’s opinions.

For this podcast, students were split up into pairs and given the choice on what parts of the podcast they wanted to work on. The first group worked together to research information about the propaganda used by the dictators of WWII. The second group researched information about current events today that give evidence that human rights violations still occur. The third group put together a class poll on the role of government and researched the U.S. Constitution to find answers about the government’s responsibilities.

Students were encouraged to become experts on their topics and teach the class about what they learned. All student pairs used Google docs to work on writing and editing their scripts. Once they thought their script was ready they would share it with classmates for feedback and more editing. The students then had a few days to practice reading their sections. Once ready to record, students used Audacity to record their sections of the podcast. Finally students voted on sound clips and introduction music to add to the news story.

Ms. Morfitt’s 6^th grade history class hopes you enjoy the podcast and implores you to continue to be aware of your rights and freedoms and the role of government in protecting those rights.

6th Project: Human Rights and WWII

June 24, 2014June 24, 2014 / lyamorfitt / Leave a comment

The sixth graders in World History are about to embark upon a new project concerning human rights and WWII. In class we have been studying about the ending of WWI and how it was a direct cause for WWII. Many countries had to pay war reparations and were left destroyed and in an economic depression. Because of their desperate place, the citizens of these countries were ready for any leader to pull them out of their suffering and rebuild their country.

Dictators like Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Joseph Stalin all came on to the scene in Germany, Italy, and Russia when their countries were at low places of desperation.

In these places of desperation the people of these countries were willing to make many sacrifices, even losing some of their rights, to assist in rebuilding their countries into military powerhouses with stable economies.

6th grade students you will be comparing human rights violations that occurred during WWII with modern day human rights violations.

Please watch the following video to start thinking about these questions…

What are my human rights?
What government does the best job protecting human rights?
What are some countries today that don’t protect, but abuse or violate the rights of their citizens?

Syria Attacks 2013 Video

Middle School Flash Mob!

June 24, 2014June 24, 2014 / lyamorfitt / Leave a comment

Parents and students, take a look at the middle school students’ flash mob performance during Rattler Road. It was a great success!

Flash mob

It was an honor teaching the students the dance with Mrs. Chambers. The song we chose for the dance is titled “Me Without You” by Toby Mac. It is a song by a Christian artist that talks about how different our life would be without God’s love, presence, and grace.

These Christian songs and dances have become a part of the culture and life of Redeemer Middle School. The students remember these dances and teach the new sixth graders at the Middle School dances in the fall and winter.

Intention

As teachers, our intention behind teaching the flash mob dance was not only to have fun, but to show our students a new way to glorify God, and give them exposure to positive music they may not have heard before.

It is a joy to teach in a school where faith can be talked about freely with our students.

Charge

I hope as parents of these students you can ask your children about the music they are listening to and help set up boundaries around the exposure to secular music.

Opportunity

In Biblical times dance was a form of worship. Today we often don’t see this type of dancing in our lives, on TV, or in movies. Our Middle School Dances are a great time where students can learn what it looks like to have fun and dance in safe ways within the confines of God’s boundaries for their freedom.

This fall I will be offering a dance elective. The students will be encouraged to learn dances to new Christian music and create their own dances. The students in the class will then teach the dances they have created to their peers at the Middle School dances. If you are interested, sign up for the elective during the second week of school.

Welcome

June 24, 2014June 24, 2014 / lyamorfitt / Leave a comment

Welcome to Ms. Morfitt’s classroom blog. I am excited to have you in my class this year! This blog will primarily serve as a hub for classroom project videos, pictures, and events. It will also be a place where parents can come and check out what their students are learning and doing in history, art, or religion class.

This school year will be a great year! I hope you have had a good and restful summer and are ready to learn. In all my classes I encourage my students to grow a love for learning. Despite you admitting to it, you love to learn about something… maybe baseball, video games, recipes, crafting, party planning, or traveling. Learning is a process that you should enjoy the rest of your life. Learning helps us to grow and live fuller lives. Even if you don’t like history, religion, or art classes I hope these classes serve as a safe place to ask some hard questions about life, who we are, and why we are here.

Please check out our school website for events, calendars, and school contact information.