To begin the project unit, I spend a day going over two different types of storytelling styles: The Basic Plot Chart and Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey. Teaching the students about these storytelling styles and showing them examples of it in film and literature ignites the students' interest in how they tell their stories. They especially love learning about The Hero's Journey and how it applies to so many different stories. I then give my students a blog assignment where they take a film, show, video game, or novel of their choice and break it down using either the basic plot chart or hero's journey stages.
On our second day into the project, the students are then introduced to the Day in the Life project and review the criteria and gracing rubric. I update the document I use below for every semester, so please feel free to make a copy of the document and modify for your classroom.
To give the students some inspiration for planning out an inanimate objects' story, I give the following presentation and we watch a YouTube playlist of other Day in the Life films to begin brainstorming for our film. I tend to wait to show my students other student films until the project is done to make sure they really tap into their own creativity rather than imitating other's work, which middle schoolers like to do to play it safe.
To help them plan out their character's story, I give them the following document and ask that they submit to me either using Google Classroom or their blogs before beginning to film so I can give feedback and suggestions.
The timeline for this project is about 2 1/2 to 3 weeks, and I find that whether the students work at home or at school, they need the time from start to finish. This project always delivers some of my favorite films from the semester, which I have put together in a playlist below. I hope your students enjoy this project as much as mine do. A Day in the Life always delivers beautiful storytelling and I look forward to it every single semester.
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