This is intimate work that will ask students to take a leap of trust in each other and in you. Depending on where you are in your year and with your group, this may be a first flight or one that builds on the bond in an already tight knit class. And of course, you may be applying this to a group of students who have only ever met each other on a digital platform like Zoom. Wherever you are, I encourage you to have faith in yourself and your students to make this leap! However, there are preparations that will be necessary to keep this space safe, and therefore positive, for all. Before beginning, I strongly suggest you create community agreements with your group. Even if you already have these in place, this is a good moment to review. You can also adapt your class agreements to a set specific to this project. Here is a sample list of community agreements, and there are a wealth of resources online for how to create a set of agreements with your class. Because all the variations of this lesson include sharing work in public and allowing for public comments, it will be essential to create a set of agreements focused on how to do so in a respectful, inclusive manner. For those using social media, that emphasis will be especially important. Take time to outline “Content Sharing” agreements. Though the time spent on these agreements might seem an aside to the curriculum itself, in fact those conversations will help create a shared trust that will facilitate powerful creative and academic learning.

Subject Areas

• Journalism
• Filmmaking/Visual Art
• English • History
• Current Events
• Social Justice
• Sociology
• Psychology
• Health

Grade Levels: 8 - 12
(can be scaffolded for Higher Education)

Objectives

In this lesson, students will:

• Learn ethical interviewing tools and techniques.
• Explore journalism ethics and analyze questions that inform interviewee choice.
• Participate in a digital process of executing and archiving interviews.
• Create a recorded interview with visual and oral components.

Materials

• Films and equipment to project/screen the films.
• Physical or digital space for charting student discussions. (Whiteboards, chalkboards, poster paper, digital whiteboard, etc.)
• Note taking materials: Pen, pencils, paper, or relevant assistive technology for students who use electronic devices for note taking.
• Personal recording devices, one per student: Smartphones, laptops, tablets would all work.
• A private Instagram account created by the teacher for each class section; teacher and students share account admin capabilities through a shared username and password.

Time Needed

2-3 sixty minute sessions