The Epic Project
In Mr. Provenzano’s class the students took on an awesome project where they got to make an actual film about the play Romeo and Juliet. They got to take the play of Romeo and Juliet and modernize it to make it more understandable for them and they got to interpret it in their own way. They acted it, filmed it, rewrote it, advertised it, designed it, and mastered it. The students knew what it felt like to put it all together, just like Shakespeare did, except in their own modern way. This project taught them more than the themes and words in the play, it taught them the inspirations, work, and they got to understand the characters and meanings of things more. Although sitting and taking notes is educational, this project has more value in the classroom.
If they just sat and took notes in class, they would be educated with the play but wouldn’t understand it like they do from doing this project. When they did the movie, the students had the chance for hands on work. They also did have to do a lot of in-depth reading to modernize the entire play and did a lot of discussion online and got to read other student’s answers. All of the students got to be real involved with the project and use their individuality to contribute to this project. The students also had to analyze Shakespeare’s ideas and make sense of them to really understand the meanings of things. They are also more involves with the unit because they get to contribute individually and help each other out. This project not only has value in the classroom, but there was a lot of collaboration involved.
The students had to do a lot of organization to get the project up and running, so there wasn’t just group organization, but there was individual organization as well. They got to exchange and share ideas about how they wanted the project to look and got to understand others opinions. The students also learned a lot of problem solving skills which will help prepare them for the future. They are not going to sit in an office and take notes then go study them, they will have to figure things out on their own and problem solve. This project teaches them real life experience knowledge, and nit just words in a notebook. The students also learned how to build overall group skills. The students had to collaborate to get the project together, and they got to learn some tech tools along the way.
Technology is growing every day, and with this project the students learned tons of new tech tools for the future. Someday in the future, the world won’t be using a lot of pen and paper and will be using online computer programs. The project required the students to use computer programs like blogger, twitter, kid blog, turn it in, etc. This tech use will prepare them for real life experiences in the future and they need to know how to use many computer programs. The students needed this technology use to better understand the today technology to prepare them for the future.
This project has value in the classroom. Every student was involved with the project and learned important skills that prepare them for the future. They discussed and analyzed the play together, and completed this project successfully. This project has also taught them technology tools for future experiences and taught them to problem solve as a group, and individually. The students will always remember this project and the play a lot better than sitting in class and taking notes. This project educated the students and left a smile on their face. Although sitting and taking notes is educational, this project has more value in the classroom.
