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Movie Magic in an LA Reading Classroom

Ohanian Comment: The note below was sent by someone at Paul Werth Associates to members of the media. Here's how Paul Werth Associates describe themselves:



A full-service public relations, public affairs and marketing communications firm. Grounded in research and strategic counsel. Crafting results-driven communications programs. Combining the proven models and principles of our profession with cutting-edge tactics



This PR note below suggests the recipient visit a technologically snazzy site run by Open Court teacher Matthew Needleman. You might also try Open Court Resources. Needleman is a primary grade teacher who writes and organizes teacher-made materials for use with Open Court. The site, copyrighted by Needleman, has won numerous awards, including one from NEA.

The payback seems to be that there are commercial ads on the site, and McGraw-Hill hires a PR firm to promote Needleman and his film work. See the Press Release below.

Google McGraw-Hill and "Paul Werth" and you get an article in District Administration saying what a good job Open Court is doing and this one in Scholastic Administrators about school board-administrator friction. And so on.

Sometimes McGraw/Hill and Paul Werth issue a memo together. And here [pdf] And lots more.

You can see the class production of Star Wars XXIV here.

There is no evidence that children held cameras or wrote the script. They got to dress up in costumes and recite lines. I hope they had a good time. I didn't see the connection with Open Court, CR blends, or whatever, but the film is shaky and the whole thing wouldn't play on my computer. Maybe the phonics came at the end.


Press Release
Hello,

George Lucas would be proud of the film-making efforts of Grade 2
students at Saturn Elementary School in Los Angeles! Star Wars re-makes,
film noir - they're trying it all!

Their teacher Mathew Needleman has used movie-making as a creative way
to reinforce the class's reading lessons. Check it out at:
http://www.needleworkspictures.com

The Los Angeles Unified School District implemented SRA's Open Court
Reading district-wide about five years ago. Each unit of Open Court has
a theme and a related Inquiry and Investigation activity. Mr. Needleman
has taught his students how to create exciting films to demonstrate what
they've learned in the unit.

What's even better is that students are not only building language arts
skills in the lesson and learning real-world technology skills, you'll
also see from the videos, that they're getting cross-curricular practice
in science and social studies.

Mr. Needleman recently completed two three-day workshops for teachers in
California on how to integrate technology into the Open Court classroom
through video like this as well as clay animation, digital books, and
more. Each session, hosted by the Los Angeles County Office of Education
(www.lacoe.edu), drew about 25 participants from all over the state.

This would be a great story to feature an innovative teacher using
unique tools to motivate students. For more information, please feel
free to contact me. I'd be happy to put you in touch with Mr. Needleman,
provide background on Open Court and the Inquiry and Investigation
process, and LAUSD reading scores showing improvement since implementing
the curriculum.

Thank you,
Melina Metzger
Senior Account Executive
Paul Werth Associates
88 East Broad Street
Columbus, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 224-8114, ext. 236
Toll free: (877) 577-0017
Fax: (614) 224-8509
E-mail: mmetzger@paulwerth.com
www.paulwerth.com

— Memo
Paul Wert Associates for McGraw-Hill
2007-08-22


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