On behalf of Mr. Davidson and Mrs. Peterson, thank you for all the work you did last week to prepare for yesterday’s videoconference with Ken Burns. All the Vista teachers were proud of you yesterday. Our only wish is that more adults could have seen how serious you take things that are meaningful to you.

Here’s what is up for today:

Go back to Discovery Education (remember to use the username and password we gave you last week)  and view at least two more documentary segments. Take notes about craft and content. You may choose a Ken Burns documentary or entirely different one.

Check out the Websites listed below to see other examples of documentaries.

Click on the About link to learn about Frontline

Frontline: Thought Provoking Journalism from PBS (Public Broadcasting System)

NOVA: Science-based documentaries from PBS

Remember, take notes in your geography/history journal. Use a T-chart format labeled craft and content

ON AIR AND ONLINE

A small group of committed people can change the world, and indeed, it is the the only thing that ever does.                                                                           -Margaret Mead

Look around you, at the world you live in.  What do you observe about the United States that makes this a strong country – what are our strengths as a nation?  Now look around and observe the challenges we face as a nation.  How can we keep what we have worked hard to obtain, and how can we successfully face our challenges?   Can you make a difference in the world?  The teachers on Team Vista think you can. We believe the future of our democracy lies with the young people in school today. We know that democracy relies on the participation of its citizens:  citizens listening to each other, sharing ideas and opinions, and making decisions to improve our country.  We believe that your voice can make such a difference; we believe that your participation is necessary for our country to advance.   The problems facing our country and the world presently are too grave to wait until you are adults to fix, and we believe you take these problems seriously. We take you seriously. This project and the World Wide Web can give you a voice with the push of a keystroke. We challenge you to make a difference now.

Other students have made a difference by taking the world, themselves, and their audience seriously.  Eighth graders—remember how you felt after you saw the film Invisible Children? You all were moved by the story told by the three young filmmakers, Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey, and Laren Poole, about the child soldiers of northern Uganda. You saw the passion the three young men had for this story and the difference they wanted to make and were making in the world. Maybe one of you can follow in their footsteps. Here’s your chance.

One of the world’s premier documentary filmmakers, Ken Burns from Walpole, NH joins us for a video conference on Monday, Oct. 26 at 1:00 p.m. During the conference call, we will have the opportunity to pick the brains of this talented filmmaker as we kick off Team Vista’s documentary film project for the 2009-2010 school year. The best films of the year will once again be showcased during the film festival’s portion of our night of academic celebration sometime in April.

Check out this conversation Ken Burns had with a group of school kids about the making of his documentary about Lewis & Clark.

Once again, we will be using C-Span’s topic for the making of your documentary. Here are the basic requirements—more information will be coming soon.

Create a 5-8 minute documentary showing:

One of our country’s greatest strengths

or

A challenge the country is facing.

In your table group, compile a list of possible topics for each list. Justify your inclusion of the topic on each list with a three to four sentence explanation of the topic. Post your table group response below. Follow the format for posting a response. When your table group is finished, read your book. We will reconvene for a whole team  meeting to take a look at what the results are.