Field Trip to the Movies
by Allison Zhang
Between February and March, the third grade went on 3 field trips to the Jacob Burns Film Center, which is a cultural arts center that shows films and offers educational programs for kids. Each trip, they watched short films and did a writing activity so that they could learn to write more creatively.
During the first trip, they watched a film called "My Life With the Wave." It was about a boy who went surfing at the beach,and he decided to bring a wave home with him. It flooded his house, and in winter it froze. At the end, he brought it back to the ocean. After the film, each group got a topic to write about. The first person wrote the beginning, and the rest continued the story. Through that, they learned how to put a story in order from beginning, middle to end. It was challenging because all had to work together, and some kids did not like what the person before them wrote.
On the second visit, they watched "Rocks and Chocolate." It took place in Bulgaria, 1924. It is about a girl who replaces her father's money with rocks, and she uses it to buy a bar of chocolate. You might think she is selfish to steal her dad's money to buy things for herself, but, at the end, she gave the chocolate to her dad for a birthday present instead. The writing activity was to pick a setting from the films, such as the girl's classroom in Bulgaria, and write about it. When everyone was done, they were called up to share. They learned how to describe the setting in their story and add unexpected events to surprise readers.
The third trip was about inspiration, passion, and pursuing your dreams. The film was called "Caine's Arcade," which was about a boy named Caine who dreamed of owning an arcade, so he used cardboard boxes to make one. At first, no one came to play his games, but his dad secretly posted it on the internet. The next day, there were thousands of people lined up at the door of his arcade. At the end, Caine became famous, and he now owns a real arcade. After the film, the students got to write about one of their hobbies, why they like it, how it makes them feel, and what makes it hard. From this experience, they learned that it is less difficult to write about a topic you chose.
Usually, a field trip teaches kids about science and social studies. These field trips, however, helped the third graders learn creative writing skills. In addition, the students got to have popcorn every time because it is part of the movie culture. The students had a fantastic time, and they thanked the film center for letting them have extra screen time during school hours!
