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Creating with Media: Grade Schoolers
Other ages: Preschoolers | Pre-Teens | Teens
Media tools — computers, digital cameras and sound recorders — can help your child discover that, as great as it is to be entertained and enjoy somebody else's version of fun, it's even better to enjoy fun that is entirely of her making.
Through the process of making her own productions, your child will begin to appreciate that TV shows, video games and movies do not simply appear. People make them. As a result, her hands-on production experience will influence the way she sees, listens to and plays with media made by other people, allowing her to ask questions about how they were made and why. It also will help her discover that she can be more than a consumer: she can be a Web developer, a digital artist, an online storyteller, a game designer, a composer, a filmmaker or just about any other kind of creator she wants to be.
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Let your child take a turn if you have a family camera or camcorder.
Give your child a chance to decide what images should be snapped or recorded. During playback or after the film's been developed or downloaded, ask your child what she saw and what stories she'd like to tell. To learn more about self-expression and images, check out the Literacy Through Photography site.
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Introduce your child to the inner workings of photography by making a pinhole camera.
Discover together how photographs are made. Check out sites like Oatmeal Box Pinhole Photography or the Pinhole Spy Camera for step-by-step instructions. Ask: How does your picture look like something you've seen on TV or in a book? What makes it different?
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Help your child realize that curiosity can lead to creating by checking out official outlets for kids' creations.
Introduce your child to organizations that feature the creations of kids her age. The Chicago International Children's Festival, the New York International Children's Film Festival, and the Childnet Academy Awards are possible starting points.
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Encourage your child to experiment with language by making up rhymes, learning another language, or comparing an oral version of a story to a visual one.
Take advantage of computer software and TV shows that use rhyming and foreign language activities, making sure that your child has opportunities both to listen and speak. Check out audiotapes from the library or online that tell a story with words and sounds rather than pictures.