Breaking the Silence

Students will think of strategies to improve mental health in their school and society. Student will use multiple forms of media such as, but not limited to, music, videos, posters, public service announcements, magazine covers, podcasts, short films, etc. Students will present their solutions through this media to the rest of the class. (ELA, IM, GM, ICT)

Students would be assessed based off of a rubric that the they will help create. Students reflect on their own participation within their group and other group members. They will also offer feedback to other groups through discussion. 

The following are a little more indepth explanations of examples students could choose to do. 

 

Music - Song or Music Video

Over the course of 7 class period, students will create original music and lyrics for a song, presented either live, in performance, or recorded, in a music video. Students’ songs and videos will feature in the final celebration of learning, where it is hoped that a few groups will be brave enough to perform their songs live. Here, the mental health connection need not be so explicit. The simple act of playing and recording music is enough. This activity is very open-ended then, but it is hoped that students will create solution-oriented songs and music videos touching on mental health concerns, from combating depression to creating happiness.

Using Garageband or a similar program, the Music teacher will guide students through the various stages of song development, beginning with rhythm and melody, and continuing through the creation of verse, chorus and bridge. The musical arrangements need not be complex, and here would be a great opportunity for students with musical talents to shine.

Students could also create and record live music using a recording program. Students would have the option of performing the song live in the classroom as well as at the Celebration of Learning. 

 

Print and Broadcast Media Public Service Announcements (PSAs)  

Over the course of 5-7 class periods, students will create a PSA that delivers a forceful message about a mental health issue, either delivered as a print, radio or TV spot. With the broadcast spots, the PSA will either be 30 or 60 seconds, although there will be some leniency in this regard as there has been a trend to feature longer PSAs. The two separate streams will have their respective consultants who will guide students through the process of creating an effective media message. Our focus here will be on creating a video.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 1 will introduce the topic by presenting some effective PSAs, classics of the genre, from such organizations as Partnership for a Drug-Free America (“This Is Your Brain On Drugs”), Mothers Against Drunk Driving (“Glasses”) and National Association of Broadcasters (“OK2Talk”), as well as individual contributions such as “Cyber Bullying PSA - A Film of a 13 Year Old”. Other examples can be found on The Observer.ca list, “16 most memorable PSA commercials from back in the day”. 

 

Students will ask such questions as: What’s the message? Is it effective? Why? How did it make you feel? What human emotion does it trigger? Would it have the same impact on everyone? Explain. Did it make you rethink your own behaviour? Explain. What makes a PSA effective?

 

Students should have some previous experience doing research. Students should have experience working in collaborative groups. Students with digital movie- making and editing experience should be assigned leadership roles within groups.

 

On Day 2, students will set to work on a storyboard and plan their workflow, using a Public Service Announcement checklist. This checklist will plot their individual responsibilities in the group work of constructing a media presentation. For subsequent days, a radio or video consultant will be brought in to help students create powerful performances. With the aid of the consultants, students will produce a rough-cut of their PSAs and then present them to the class. Students will peer-review each PSA using a Constructive Feedback Form. Students will then revise their rough-cuts before publishing their PSAs online and presenting them during the final celebration of learning.

 

Through this task, students will learn that digital video is a powerful medium, that publishing videos requires strong ethical values, empathy, and responsibility, that digital videography is easy, cheap, and can beget extensive public exposure, and that digital moviemaking—even for the simplest projects—requires careful organization and planning.  

 

Pecha Kucha Activity

Students choose their respective streams--media, relationships, and self-care--then, over the course of 5-7 classes, create a Pecha Kucha, a cross between a slide show and a video, that details a solution-oriented approach to the problem. Pecha Kuchas uniformly feature 20 slides, 20 seconds each, with no exceptions. The 6 minute and 40 second format forces students to focus their message, only give the necessary information, and create something more powerful than your average PowerPoint presentation. The enabling constraints also make the students’ task easier, since each slide only contains 50 to 60 words. Divided up among group members, the workload is not too daunting, but the technical aspects can be challenging. Accordingly, the teacher will need to model how to create a successful Pecha Kucha using PowerPoint, iMovie or other video production software, as well as guide the students through the steps towards the final product. As with the other longer activities in this unit plan, there will be numerous opportunities for formative feedback. With this activity, students will be assessed on their outlines and the rough drafts of their scripts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Breen, K. (2013). 16 most memorable PSA commercials from back in the day. Retrieved       from http://www.theobserver.ca/2013/12/11/16-most-memorable-psa-commercials-from-back-in-the-day

 

Educational Foundations and Research, University of North Dakota. (2014, January 17 {of video post}). How to make a pecha kucha [Video file}. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32WEzM3LFhw

 

Geissler, C. (2013, July 25 {of video post}). National association of broadcasters PSA on mental health visit OK2Talk.org [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrHMCqenzYA

 

MADD Canada. (2007, November 20 {of video post}). Glasses: public television campaign [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrhV3QTkNyw

 

RetroPile. (2010, August 3 {of video post}). This is your brain on drugs (originial) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ub_a2t0ZfTs

 

TeamFallsAlot. (2013, February 2 {of video post}). Cyber bullying PSA: a film of a 13 year old [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4gitDm3byQ