By Lisa Carolin
Students from Jordan Miller’s fourth-grade class at South Meadows Elementary School have been learning about some very weighty subjects – celebrating diversity, making healthy choices, and building character.
Miller’s students demonstrated their understanding by creating videos for the Meijer’s Great Choices Film Festival. All of the students who made videos finished in the top 20, and three videos won awards.
Miller said the award winners are, “In the Same Boat” by Sam Blanchard and Jack Orlandi, who won first place in the Celebrating Diversity category earning a $500 grant. “Let Your Dreams Fly” by Pedro Wollmann, Jack Fisher, and Doug Beechey won third place for the Healthy Choices category earning $200, and “Build Others Up” by Zoe Zimmer, won third place in the Building Character category earning a $200 grant.”
The Meijer’s Great Choices Film Festival is a statewide competition in which students create 30-second public service announcements that they put together.
“As a class, we studied and discussed effective and persuasive film and writing techniques,” said Miller. “The students drafted ideas, wrote, rewrote, filmed and edited. They had to make collaborative decisions and I mentored them in how to make a professional looking product with a concise and effective message.”
Miller says that the project taught students to work collaboratively and to think about appealing to a broad audience.
“They learned to be proud of their work and to actively promote it in the community and beyond,” Miller said.
South Meadows Principal Stacie Battaglia says the theme of Great Choices parallels the school’s vision of Respect, Responsibility and Safety.
“Mr. Miller, being the innovative and forward-thinking educator he is, saw it as a great learning opportunity for his students,” said Battaglia. “When I first saw the finished products, I was so proud of what the kids had created. I enjoyed going on the website every day to vote and rewatched them many times when I did. When I heard so many of the videos had captured awards, I was thrilled and so happy that their efforts had been recognized.”
These are links to all the students’ videos:
