Chapter 3 and Chapter 6

In chapter three, a rural school in Canada is discussed. Within this rural school, we meet Mr. Fisher. Fisher is an eighth grade teacher. In his classroom, the students are completing a multi-media advertising project. The project consisted of creating a website, filming either radio or video commercials, and designing print ads. Overall, his project integrated a variety of media into the classroom.


I really enjoyed chapter three because I think that the project is a good way to teach students a topic that can be difficult, like advertising. The students were able to tackle this tough topic in three very creative ways, Internet, film/radio, and print ads. It was fascinating to see how interested the students became in the project. They spent the majority of their time perfecting the project. Unfortunately, it was sad to see that some students were missing the big picture. They understand the basics of advertising, but they didn't really understand the dynamic of it. I enjoyed this chapter. I think that incorporating media into a unit on advertising would be a great way to engage students. I would like to use this in my classroom someday.


Chapter six takes place in an at-risk school in Montreal. Mr. Rother teaches the "16 plus" program. In this program Mr. Rother incorporates new literacy's into his lessons. Mr. Rother shows films and has students "read" the scenes. The students answer questions about the scenes shown including, color, genre, and music. Rother also has the students make connections from these films to what is going on today.


I found what Rother was doing to be quite interesting. The students appeared to really enjoy what he was teaching them. They spent time analyzing the movies. One student even brought in a movie for the class to analyze. I think that this really shows that Rother's methods were quite effective. The students all really liked Rother and felt that they were learning so much. They thought that he was giving them a chance that they wouldn't have had otherwise. I liked how he taught the kids using media. It was obviously effective and I would like to bring something similar into my future classroom.

I was sad to see that he took another job in 2004. He did such a phenomenal job teaching. I hope that his replacement was just as good as he was!

On a completely unrelated note, I had the chance to read a really good book over spring break. I read Bret Easton Ellis's book The Informers. It contained twelve short stories each taking place in the 1980s. Most of the stories dealt with teens and problems that they had, like drugs and eating disorders. I highly suggest this book, but it does contain some graphic language, violence, and sex. Also, this book is going to come out in theaters on Friday, April 24th. The movie is based on the book and features Billy Bob Thornton and Winona Ryder. I hope to go see the movie this weekend and report back on it!