Countries of the World
Countries of the World
A Promotional Video

Description

The national tourism board of your select country has decided that they would like to educate more tourists about the nature and origins of their country through the use of a fun and entertaining promotional digital story. The tourism board has hired you and your group to make the digital story to educate tourists as well as encourage them to come visit your country. But this tourism board wants a story: a story about their nation, the culture, their place in the world. To that end, your digital story must begin with: “Welcome to X country. This is our story.” Go!

Countries of the World 

-A Promotional Video 

 

History Challenge

 

Submission Due Date: April 5, 2024

Designed for Middle and High School Students

Adapted from work by Stacy Lovelace and Jack Childress, Colby College Students, 2023

Table of Contents

  • The Challenge
  • Assumptions and Logistics
  • Process
  • Meridian Support Resources
  • Presentation of Learning
  • Evaluation Rubric
  • Essential Questions
  • Student Proficiencies
  • Curricular Correlations – C3 Framework and Common Core (W2, W3, W4, W5, W7, SL1, SL5, SL6, RH2)
Range of Activities

  • Research of a Specific Country, TBD
  • Analysis of Country Traditions and History, and Current State of Affairs
  • Primary and Secondary Source Research
  • Promotional Storytelling
  • Scriptwriting
  • Sound Effects, Music Creation, Recording and Editing

·     Human Skills – Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Presentational Skills

 

The Challenge

Choose a country of interest, OR …go to the globe in your classroom or school, spin it as hard as you can, and when you are ready, randomly place your finger on it and stop the spin. Whatever country is closest to your finger, create the following story in relation to it.

The national tourism board of your chosen country has decided that they would like to educate more tourists about the nature and origins of their country through the use of a fun and entertaining promotional digital story. The tourism board has hired you and your group to make the digital story to educate tourists as well as encourage them to come visit your country. But this tourism board wants a story: a story about their nation, the culture, their place in the world. They believe that through story – not through glitzy snapshots of smiling people and beautiful places – they have the best chance of enticing tourists to come visit them. To that end, the Challenge must begin with this line: “Welcome to X country. This is our story.”

Specifically, you are being asked to create a promotional digital story which includes at least four of the following items:

  1. A defining moment in history;
  2. A historical building or notable natural phenomenon;
  3. Popular food(s): what are they made of and why;
  4. Common words: when they should be used/ where are they seen or heard;
  5. Key religious or cultural components of that country; and/or
  6. A notable and unique statistic about the people – the population – that will most likely surprise … a would-be tourist (required).

These are your primary story components. The larger question that you are trying to answer is this: after you have researched some key components of a given country’s past and present, as understood through the lens of these six categories, what story would they want to tell the world about themselves, in order to invite people to come visit?

One additional criterion: at least 50% of this promotional video must be shot. In other words, this is not invitation to create a montage of images as taken from the Internet and supplying voice over.

 

Deliverables include:

  • Promotional Digital Story (this is the only Meridian Stories deliverable)
  • Outline of Key Findings (at teacher’s discretion)
  • Outline of Story (at teacher’s discretion)

 

Assumptions and Logistics

  • Time Frame – We recommend that this digital storytelling project takes place inside of a three to five-week time frame.
  • Length – All Meridian Stories submissions should be under 4 minutes in length, unless otherwise specified.
  • Slate – All digital storytelling projects must begin with a slate that provides: 
    • the title of the piece;
    • the name of the school submitting;      
    • the wording ‘Permission Granted’ which gives Meridian Stories the right to a) publicly display the submission in question on, as linked from, related to or in support of Meridian Stories digital media; and b) use or reference it for educational purposes only, in any and all media; and
    • We strongly recommend that students do not put their last names on the piece either at the start or finish, during the credits.
  • Submissions – Keep in mind that each school can only submit three submissions per Competition (so while the entire class can participate in any given Challenge, only three can be submitted to Meridian Stories for Mentor review and scoring).
  • Teacher Reviews – All reviews by the teacher are at the discretion of the teacher and all suggested paper deliverables are due only to the teacher. The only deliverable to Meridian Stories is the digital storytelling project.
  • Teacher’s Role and Technology Integrator – While it is helpful to have a Technology Integrator involved, they are not usually necessary: the students already know how to produce the digital storytelling project. And if they don’t, part of their challenge is to figure it out. They will! The teacher’s primary function in these Challenges is to guide the students as they engage with the content. You don’t need to know editing, sound design, shooting or storyboarding: you just need to know your content area, while assisting them with organization and time management issues. See the Teachers Role section of the website for further ideas about classroom guidance.
  • Digital Rules/Literacy – We strongly recommend that all students follow the rules of Digital Citizenry in their proper usage and/or citation of images, music and text taken from other sources. This recommendation includes producing a citations page at the end of your entry, if applicable. See the Digital Rules area in the Meridian Stories Digital Resource Center section of the site for guidance.
  • Location – Try not to shoot in a classroom at your school. The classroom, no matter how you dress it up, looks like a classroom and can negatively impact the digital story you are trying to tell.
  • Collaboration – We strongly recommend that students work in teams of 3-4: part of the educational value is around building collaborative skill sets. But students may work individually.

Process

Below is a suggested breakdown for the students’ work.

During Phase I student teams will:

  • Select a country of the world using a globe or another method of randomization. Try to choose a country you know little to nothing about.
  • Utilizing primary and secondary sources, gather the information necessary to present culturally and historically relevant facts in your tour video. Since countries are obviously very complex entities, we have narrowed your focus to just six categories of inquiry for understanding this country. We recommend researching all six categories before deciding on which components will drive your story. Three thoughts:
    • Look at promotional sources that emanate from the country itself – how do they promote themselves – vs. how others view the country.
      • The UN is often a very comprehensive source of country information for the latter perspective.
    • A focus on primary and secondary sources will be very useful here as the primary sources will tend to come from within the country and secondary sources will tend to come from outside the country and be about the country.
    • We recommend splitting the research up amongst the groups, allowing for each member to become well-versed in one of the select categories.
  • Aim to come up with three examples for each of the six categories. This will give your team a wide array of options to craft a story that is meaningful and convincing. As you are researching this phase, be sure to collect images that you may want to use in your promotional video, paying close attention to the rules of usage. This phase is about collecting information as well as the visualization of that information.
    • Teacher’s Option: Outline of Key Findings – Teachers may require that teams hand in an outline of their researched examples in each of the six categories.
  • Before you quit the research phase of this Challenge, atmosphere is everything when trying to tell a story about a place. To create atmosphere in digital stories, we tend to focus on sound, music, and imagery.  To have a full array of creative tools for your storytelling, here are some additional questions to consider:
    • What are the sounds of this country – how can you use ambient sound to create an authentic atmosphere for the viewer?
    • What music/instrumentation is popular in this country?
    • What are the defining colors of this country – it’s palette? Key geographical features often inform the colors associated with a place. The flag can be another lens through which color and culture are understood.

During Phase II student teams will:

  • This phase focuses on story creation. What is the structure of the story that you are going to tell?
  • Good promotional videos are unusual stories to tell successfully. They need to be both honest and authentic, and sales pitchy: characterized by an edge of exaggeration. What kind of promotional story is emerging, given all the research information you have? Questions to consider:
    • Do you have a traditional ‘tour guide’? Who is the voice of this digital story? Or are there multiple voices? Looking at a variety of promotional videos from around the world may help you to find some narrative structure. What are the classic elements of a standard tourist video?
    • Have you found traditional stories from the country that may be useful to shape your story structure?
    • Perhaps the hardest part of this Challenge is finding conflict. Stories need conflict and promotional videos, by their nature, don’t normally include conflict. That may be the place to start: around what conflict can you structure your story?
    • Ask yourself: of the things that you have learned about this country, what makes it appealing and attractive …to you? And keep in mind that one of those categories is required – something about a little-known fact about this culture, this place, the people.
  • Decide on the narrative structure of your promotional video. Think:
    • Conflict
    • Voice – who is leading the selling of this place?
    • Narrative order – of the six categories of research, which you are including and in what order, so that the story builds.
    • Conclusion – what is the final moment; the final image, sound or words that will cap your promotion. Sometimes a tagline or slogan is a good way to end. That final moment may be the most memorable for the viewer. What is it?
  • Storyboard or outline your story. As you are completing this, brainstorm what the visuals will be for each moment in your story. What do you already have and what are you going to shoot? This is a place where the use of green screen can come in handy.
    • Teacher’s Option: Outline of Story – Teachers may require that teams hand in an outline of their full story, either as a written document or a storyboard.
  • Draft a script and prepare for the shoot.
  • Finalize the script.

During Phase III student teams will:

  • Pre-produce the scene:
  • Scout locations for shooting (if this is being shot on location);
  • Create costumes, props and other set pieces, as needed;
  • Prepare the logistics for the actual shooting of the scene; and
  • Rehearse the scene.
  • Shoot the video.
  • Edit the video, adding stills and graphics as desired.
  • Post-produce the video, adding music and sound effects as desired.

 

Meridian Support Resources 

Meridian Stories provides two forms of support for the student teams:

1.    Meridian Innovators and Artists – This is a series of three to four minute-videos featuring artists and innovative professionals who offer important advice, specifically for Meridian Stories, in the areas of creativity and production.

2.    Media Resource Collection – These are short documents that offer student teams key tips in the areas of creativity, production, game design and digital citizenry.

Recommended review, as a team, for this Competition include:

Meridian Innovators and Artists Media Resource Collection
Sound Design – Chris Watkinson

 

Memoir and Nonfiction Writing – Lisa Bakewell

 

Acting – Abbie Killeen

 

On Non-Fiction Writing – Margaret Heffernan

Sound Editing Basics

 

Video Editing Basics

 

Digital Rules – The Starting Line

 

Guide to Royalty-Free Music and Sound Effects

Presentation of Learning 

Meridian Stories is a proud partner of the non-profit Share Your Learning, which is spearheading the movement of over five million students to publicly share their work as a meaningful part of their educational experience.

The workforce considers Presentational Skills to be a key asset and we encourage you to allow students to practice this skill set as often as possible. These digital storytelling projects provide a great opportunity for kids to practice their public presentational skills.  This can be achieved in a remote learning environment by inviting parents to a Zoom/Google/Skype screening of the student’s digital stories.

According to Share Your Learning, Presentations of Learning (POL) promote…

  • Student Ownership, Responsibility & Engagement. POLs can serve as a powerful rite of passage at the end of [a project]. By reflecting on their growth over time in relation to academic and character goals, grounded in evidence from their work, students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning. Just as an artist wants their portfolio to represent their best work, POLs encourage students to care deeply about the work they will share.
  • Community Pride & Involvement. When peers, teachers and community members come together to engage with student work and provide authentic feedback, they become invested in students’ growth and serve as active contributors to the school community.
  • Equity. POLs ensure that all students are seen and provide insight into what learning experiences students find most meaningful and relevant to their lives.

Meridian Stories’ own research indicates this to be a really useful exercise for one additional reason:  Students actually learn from their peers’ presentations – it is useful to hear a perspective that is not just the teacher’s.

It is with this in mind that we you encourage you to plan an event – it could be just an end-of-the-week class or an event where parents, teachers and student peers are invited – to allow the students to showcase their Meridian Stories’ digital storytelling projects. For more free resources that will support this planning, visit Share Your Learning.

Evaluation Rubric – Countries of the World- A Promotional Video

CONTENT COMMAND
Criteria 1-10
The Story of the Country Your analysis and consequent narrative explanation of your country is thoughtful, grounded in geographical and historical details, and expansive
Defining Cultural Characteristics The story presents defining cultural characteristics that show why the country is culturally unique and significant
Cause and Effect Your narrative showcases the impact of certain historical events and actions, demonstrating how these events happened and what their effect on life in the assigned country was

STORYTELLING COMMAND
Criteria 1-10
The Telling of the Story of the Country Your tour of the country is told in an engaging style that invites the viewer into a deeper understanding of the country’s culture and history, and successfully promotes it as a destination
The Drama Around the Tour Your ability to turn the tour of your country into an engaging story through the use of plot and conflict engages the viewer and makes them care about the characters and your country
Characters The characters created carry the story forward in a way that is historically and culturally aligned with your country’s narrative
MEDIA COMMAND 
Criteria 1-10
Visual Selection The mix of original footage and graphics is compelling and thoughtful, establishing a strong sense of place
Editing The marriage of pacing, narrative and graphics to key story elements is dynamic and effective
Music and Sound Effects The selective use of music and sound effects enhance the drama inherent in the trailer
HUMAN SKILLS COMMAND (teachers only)
Criteria 1-10
Collaborative Thinking The group demonstrated flexibility in making compromises and valued the contributions of each group member.
Creativity and Innovation The group brainstormed many inventive ideas and was able to evaluate, refine and implement them effectively
Initiative and Self-Direction The group set attainable goals, worked independently, and managed their time effectively, demonstrating a disciplined commitment to the project

 

Essential Questions

  1. Why is a country the way it is? In placing a country’s current state in a historical context, what can be learned?
  2. What was a key historical event for the select country and what were the ramifications of that event for that country?
  3. How does one effectively use primary and secondary sources to learn about the relationship between history and the present day when researching a new country or place.
  4. How does one use authenticity, honesty, and story to promote?
  5. How has immersion in the creation of original content and the production of digital media—exercising one’s creativity, critical thinking, and digital literacy skills—deepened the overall educational experience?
  6. How has working on a team—practicing one’s collaborative skills—changed the learning experience?

Student Proficiencies

  1. The student will be introduced to a country through the doorway of history in order to understand the place as it is today.
  2. The student will come away with a deep understanding about the select country’s historical background and culture, and how that history manifests itself in the present.
  3. The student will understand how combining primary and secondary sources can help one to communicate complex historical ideas in an engaging and immersive way.
  4. The student will understand the complex nature of creating promotional storytelling while staying true to the content.
  5. The student will utilize key human skills, with a focus on creativity, critical thinking, and digital literacy, in their process of translating historical content into a new narrative format.
  6. The student will have an increased awareness of the challenges and rewards of team collaboration. Collaboration – the ability to work with others – is considered one of the most important 21st century skills to develop in students as they prepare for life after secondary school.

 

Curricular Correlations 

The Countries of the World- a Promotional Video Challenge addresses a range of curricular objectives that have been articulated by two nationally recognized sources:

  1. The Common Core Curricular Standards – English Language Arts & History/Social Studies; and
  2. The C3 Framework for Social Studies, as outlined by National Council of Social Studies (NCSS).

Below please find the standards that are being addressed, either wholly or in part.

Common Core Curricular Standards

English Language Arts Standards – History/Social Studies

5th Grade 8th Grade 9th – 10th Grade 11th – 12th Grade
W2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts, and information through the selection, organization, and analysis of relevant content. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
W3 Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, descriptive details, and clear event sequences. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
W4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
W7 Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic. Conduct short research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question), drawing on several sources and generating additional related, focused questions that allow for multiple avenues of exploration. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
SL1 Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 5 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9-10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11-12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL5 Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, sound) and visual displays in presentations when appropriate to enhance the development of main ideas or themes. Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and evidence, and add interest. Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest. Make strategic use of digital media (e.g., textual, graphical, audio, visual, and interactive elements) in presentations to enhance understanding of findings, reasoning, and evidence and to add interest.
SL6 Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, using formal English when appropriate to task and situation. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating a command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
RH2 N/A Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text. Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary that makes clear the relationships among the key details and ideas.

C3 Framework for Geography

D2.Geo.1.6-8. Construct maps to represent and explain the spatial patterns of cultural and environmental characteristics. D2.Geo.1.9-12. Use geospatial and related technologies to create maps to display and explain the spatial patterns of cultural and environmental characteristics.
D2.Geo.2.6-8. Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions, and changes in their environmental characteristics. D2.Geo.2.9-12. Use maps, satellite images, photographs, and other representations to explain relationships between the locations of places and regions and their political, cultural, and economic dynamics.
D2.Geo.3.6-8. Use paper based and electronic mapping and graphing techniques to represent and analyze spatial patterns of different environmental and cultural characteristics. D2.Geo.3.9-12. Use geographic data to analyze variations in the spatial patterns of cultural and environmental characteristics at multiple scales.

C3 Framework for History

D2.His.1.6-8. Analyze connections among events and developments in broader historical contexts. D2.His.1.9-12. Evaluate how historical events and developments were shaped by unique circumstances of time and place as well as broader historical contexts. 
D2.His.2.6-8. Classify series of historical events and developments as examples of change and/or continuity D2.His.2.9-12. Analyze change and continuity in historical eras.
D2.His.3.6-8. Use questions generated about individuals and groups to analyze why they, and the developments they shaped, are seen as historically significant.  D2.His.3.9-12. Use questions generated about individuals and groups to assess how the significance of their actions changes over time and is shaped by the historical context. 

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