Surviving a Zombie Attack and Why Your Students Need to See This

This video is perfect for Halloween. It's fun and teaches a great lesson that hopefully no one will ever need. In all seriousness, this video can be a great jumping-off point to an effective Project Based Learning activity for your students. See below for how to incorporate this type of simplistic digital storytelling into your classroom.



This might be too scary for very young children, but if you feel comfortable showing this to your older students, you might use this very simplistic method of explaining in one of your lessons:

1. Have your students create a similar video on a topic they are currently learning or a book they are reading (they can retell the story or explain a particular portion). 
2. Discuss the importance of creating a timeline and script. In my discussions with Lee LeFever, from Common Craft, I learned that the script is the most important part to providing effective explanations.
3. Put students in small groups to create cutouts of their stories, practice their scripts and then film them from above. 

When I did this with my students, I used a rectangular table or student's desk with Scotch tape to identify the camera area and I stood on a chair over my students' backs while holding a Flipcam. (In retrospect, a cheap tripod would have been much better and safer.) I did this with my fourth grade students (video below) when they were learning about the Water Cycle and again when we studied the seasons. Since students will be required to be succinct in their verbiage, this fits particularly well with the Common Core Standard below:

L.7.3a. Choose language that expresses ideas precisely and concisely, recognizing and eliminating wordiness and redundancy



Disclosure Statement: Common Craft has provided me with a free membership to their service with the understanding of no obligation on my part.