During July 2008, Jon Robson of Cafesociety.org undertook a speaking and listening project at Sidmouth Primary School - Hull.

The project entitled ‘Fantasy Worlds’ was funded by Creative Partnerships - Hull and tried to answer the enquiry question - “Can new technology be used to improve speaking & listening skills in a year 1 class where over 50% of the pupils have English as a second language ?”

We decided to use digital story telling and film making as a vehicle to improve speaking, listening and written work. We themed the project around 4 areas. - Under the Sea, Castles, Space & Pirates.

The pupils developed their stories orally and created story boards to visualise the scenes, after the stories had been craeted, time was spent developing the characters before designing puppets and background scenery for filming.

Here are the finished films :-

They showed persistence and engagement with the making of the puppets and scenes.

The children very much enjoyed the artwork process… Getting messy and covered in paint is a real thrill..

They also showed imagination when creating their stories and designing their puppets.
The children gained experience in working in teams.

They had to plan and discuss their ideas for their own particular themed story.
Pupils had to work together and be able to listen to each others ideas.

Pirate Day :: We all planned to take over the school and hunt for the treasure. Luckily for us 3 ks4 pupils from endeavour were on work experience at the school and proved themselves invaluable.

The children came prepared with home made costumes to act out their story and take control of the school.

We planned our attack and filmed it as it unfolded.
Some teachers looked on with true fear !

Improvisation was a key element in our unfolding story. We were unsure how the head teacher would react to her school been taken over…. Luckily she obliged and the school became ours !

Because the project encouraged speaking and listening,
The EAL children benefited from this in that they were motivated to communicate their thoughts and ideas.

Fact :: Kids love technology !
being trusted to use high tech equipment was a confidence boost for the year 1’s

They engaged in the whole process of filmmaking from start to finish. It was clear that they had felt that the films were ‘theirs’ and they were proud of them.

The children were enthralled by the whole experience.

They are still talking about their films even now. The project has made a lasting, positive impression upon them.

I have really enjoyed the film making. It has been a brilliant experience, the best parts were directing and camera work. I have learnt how to use a pro camera and direct professionally and how to work together as a strong team. I have learnt also how to come up with ideas and share them with the group.

I think the project has been excellent and the people I have worked with have been a pleasure to work with. Thanks to Jon, Louise and Chris for organizing the project.

I enjoyed doing the plays and filming a tour of our school. I did not like the interviewing because I thought it was boring. I had never made a film or DVD before and I have also learnt how to work with a digital video camera. I also learnt how to share things and how to cooperate and how to act in a group.

I thought it was a great experience and that it was a good chance to work in a group. I would like to do it again if I get a chance.

I have enjoyed doing all of it. I have never written a script by myself before and working as a team member I can see what we can achieve. I’m sorry that Ryan and Natalie missed the filming part of the project as they both played an important part in the project. We all put in our own time especially our lunch times. Nothing can say how good this experience has been. Thanks to Louise, Chris and Jon for helping us do this.

I have enjoyed working on the film. The best bits were when we were filming. The worst bits were when we were editing. I have never done film making before and I have now learnt how to edit parts of the film. I have also learnt how to cooperate with a group of people. I think it was a big chance and when I get older I will do it again.

I enjoyed doing the project very much. I liked the filming part of the project best because I got to learn how to work a camera, the bad side of the project was that there didn’t seem enough time to get everything done, but we tried our best and managed to get the film made. If I had another chance to make a film I would.