Digital Video -

Sample 1
 Digital Video - Sample 1
This document contains two sample activities from Chapter 8
of Digital Video. These are two of the 22 Video creation
activities contained in the complete book.

The complete book deals with a wide range of video related

areas as well as containing more than 40 step by step lesson
plans guiding you through video based classroom activities.

For more information or to buy the complete book go to:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/digital-video/id1025275485

These sample materials are the copyright property of Nik

Peachey and permission is hereby granted to print, store,
share and redistribute them freely.

1
POEM READING

Introduction Language focus

In this activity students listen to and reconstruct a poem. They The primary aim of this activity is to get students to develop their
then make a video recording of themselves reciting the poem pronunciation by confidently reciting a poem.
using images as prompts.
Preparation
Rationale
Find a short poem that you think your students will like and
This activity can help to enhance students enjoyment and which is rich in visual metaphors.
understanding of poetry and also help them to read and speak
in a more expressive way. Find or make a recording of the poem.
Reciting poetry can also help students to develop their Make a copy of the text of the poem and mix up the lines.
pronunciation.
I have included an Example worksheet based around
Using the images of some of the words also helps them to Shakespeares Sonnet 130.
remember the poem and helps to make the video more visual.
You can find recordings of many popular poems on YouTube or
Context
other video sharing sites.
This activity works best in the classroom, though the students
can do their recordings at home and upload them online.
You can also get online students recording themselves reading
and illustrating poems based on your own examples, but they
wont have the in-classroom support.

2
Procedure
Start by giving students some of the key imagery words from
the text. Ideally there should be at least one word from each
line. In the case of our Shakespeare poem these could be;
heaven, lips, sun, roses, eyes, hair, cheeks, music, coral, etc.
each line of the poem they should show their image to the
camera to illustrate it.
If students are working in groups they could do this as a group
reading so that they only memorize a few lines rather than the
entire poem.

Check the students understand the words and give them some If you really want each student to remember the poem, ask
paper. them to do the recording at home where they can practice and
where there is less distraction and background noise.
Ask them to draw pictures of the words on each sheet of
paper. They could work in small groups to do this as it may Follow up
save time and paper. Look more closely at possible meanings of the poem.
Once the students have their pictures, either read or play a Get the students to choose their own favorite poems and
recording of the poem and ask the students to listen and put illustrate and record them in the same way.
the images into the order they hear them in the poem.
Collect together the poem recordings and put them onto a
Once they have had time to listen and order the pictures, give school blog or website.
the students the lines from the poem and ask them to use their
images to help them put the lines in the correct order.
Give the students time to order the lines and then let them
listen to the recording again and check their order.
Now that they have the lines in the correct order, ask them to
practice reading the poem.
Ask the students to try to memorize the lines that go with each
of the images.
They can practice by gradually taking the lines away and just
using the images to help them remember.
Now ask the students to use either the webcam or video
camera to record themselves reciting the poem. As they say

3
Related links
Here are some links that may help with this lesson.
Video recording of the poem: http://youtu.be/
xP06F0yynic
The poem text: http://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/
my-mistress-eyes-are-nothing-sun-sonnet-130
You can find more poems on these sites.
PoemHunter: http://www.poemhunter.com/
Poetry Archive: http://www.poetryarchive.org/
You can use this site to quickly mix up the lines of a
poem.
Paragraphy: http://www.byrdseed.com/paragraphy/
index.php
Example worksheet
Sonnet 130 by William Shakespeare
Listen and arrange the lines into the correct order.
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare As any she
belied with false compare.
My mistress eyes are nothing like the sun;
My mistress when she walks treads on the ground.
I grant I never saw a goddess go;
Coral is far more red than her lips red;
And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the
breath that from my mistress reeks
That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
4
INTRODUCTIONS
Introduction
In this activity students introduce themselves to the rest of the
class by recording a short video clip.
Rationale
Particularly in online classes, it can be difficult to get a sense of
who the tutor is and what the other participants are like as
people just through text based interaction.
Getting students to record their own introduction at the
beginning of the course can help to develop a better sense of
rapport and a more positive dynamic within the class.
Using this activity can also give you an example of your
students speaking to listen to and so help you to assess their
ability and their needs.
Context
This activity is best suited to online classes, though there is no
reason why you cant get students in physical classrooms to do
it too and share their introduction clips online.
Language focus
The primary aim of this activity is to help students get to know
each other a bit better and to give the teacher the opportunity to
asses their speaking ability.
The linguistic aim of the activity is to enable students to talk
about themselves.
Preparation
Record your own introduction to share with the students. This
generally acts as a model on which students base their own
introductions.
You could also give a short bullet point list of things you want
your students to include in their introduction. The Example
worksheet has a list, but you may need to edit it for appropriacy
and the level of your students.
5
Procedure Follow up
Tell the students to watch your introductory video and then You could keep the questions and answers going for some
post any questions they would like to ask you about the things time using an asynchronous video tool.
you mention in your video. Watch the videos and make notes about the strengths and
Once you have the questions, answer them and then ask the weaknesses of their language production.
students to post a similar video introducing themselves.
Example worksheet
Give them the list of points to include if you think it will help.
Get the students to post and share their videos online. Record your introduction. Tell other students:
Who you are.
Ask them to watch each others videos and send at least one
question to each of the people in the group to find out more What you do.
about them. How long you have been studying English and why
you study.
What you like doing in your free time.
Some of your favorite things.
A little about your family.
Some of the things you do and dont like.
Something that not many people know about you.
A special place you like.
Your favorite, books, films and music.
A person you admire.
Your hopes for the future.