I am lucky enough to teach a variety of different classes at Darlington: Upper School theater, cinema, and broadcast journalism as well as Middle School drama. The element that connects these classes for me is storytelling. Whether on the stage or on the screen, fiction or non-fiction, comedy or drama, the core of all my curriculum is storytelling.
I feel strongly about the power and value of multimedia literacy. Students at Darlington are given many opportunities to learn how to analyze and appreciate a story, no matter what the medium. But in my classes I’m fortunate enough to see students actually create and craft stories
of their own. Our students shape stories less than 140 characters, provide narratives with only their voice, and collaborate to tell stories without any words at all.
Over the course of this year, I’ve seen some amazing work. I wanted to share some with you. The following links will take you to some student projects. Represented is an Upper School silent dramatic film, an Upper School puppet project, and a Middle School infomercial parody. All three were completely conceived of and executed by our amazingly creative, and
multimedia literate, students. I hope you enjoy.
The Envelope (5:08)
The Three Little Pigs (1:51)
The Air Curler (1:36)
Sincerely,
John Plough,
Upper School and ELA-8 Storysmith
