jump to navigation

Steps in creating a Podcast based on Movie Review

Steps to creating a Podcast about a Movie Review with 5th & 6th Classes.

  1. Children in both classes work in groups to produce a Review on a Movie.
  2. We refer to the Resource sheet ‘Movie Review Terms’ & discuss these terms first to ensure that all children understand the terminology & what is required in writing a movie  review.
  3. Discuss the language required for writing a Movie Review making use of some scaffolding templates e.g. ‘Concept Map for Writing Movie Review’, ‘Sequential Words’, ‘Movie Revie Terms’, ‘the 5 W’s’.
  4. We also discuss the various genres of movies (drama/action, thriller, sci-fi, adventure etc) & also which style of movie the children enjoy watching.
  5. At this point we also discuss the narrative elements of a movie e.g. plot, characters, theme / moral, action, events etc.
  6. Then a variety of newspaper & magazine reviews are read, discussed & summarised under the following headings Title, Actors / Characters, Summary of Plot, Possible Theme/Moral, Opinion of Movie, Score/Rating system. This work could take up to 2 weeks or depending on how experienced the children are with this type of writing. We  look at various publications, examining each under above headlines & also using the 5 W’s – Who, what, when, where & why.
  7. Children look at ‘The View’, a programme on RTE Player, which allows them to see & hear film critics give various reviews.
  8. They also look at  film reviews which feature on www.rte.ie/arts/filmreviews
  9. With the help of a ‘Movie Review Template’ each group drafts a review based on a recent Movie Release which they have seen, or they may choose to review DVD of a movie shown in class.
  10. Each child in the group uses the Review outline created by his/her own group to write his/her own review. These are read, discussed and compared.
  11. Reviews are revised, redrafted, edited and typed using a wordprocessing package or a desktop publishing package – i.e. ‘Open Office’, ‘Creative Writer’ etc.
  12. An IWB may be used to work together on the revision of some reviews while other groups do this work themselves.
  13. Completed collaborative reviews are printed and displayed.
  14. Children then use ‘Audacity’ to record their Podcast.
  15. Recordings are then edited. Children can cut clips of recording or insert clips. (If they’re not happy can re-record clip, without having to re-record entire piece).
  16. Introductory music, background music, voice-overs, soundscapes etc. can all be added at this stage.
  17. When file is complete it is exported as wav. or MP3 file for uploading to school blog.
  18. Children write accompanying post on school blog & upload Podcast, leaving it open for comments & feedback.