Language Arts Challenge

Rivers and Humanity: An Essay in Words and Photos

This Digital Storytelling Challenge is part of a cross-disciplinary set of projects that feature The River as a core element connecting Language Arts, History and the Sciences. Why rivers? Because rivers are one of the elemental ecosystems around which anthropogenic activities are being assessed. Rivers are also a strong symbol of hope and inspiration; a metaphor for the cyclical robustness of nature and of humanity. And they are pathways to worlds far beyond the classroom, across the globe and back in time; humanity’s first and original transportation grid that can be used to trace our historical expansion around the world. The River spans the realms of science, history, culture, economics and creativity like few other natural elements in this world and therefore is an invaluable subject around which to research and communicate meaningful stories.

 Submission Due Date: March 26^th, 2021

Designed for Middle and High School Students

Table of Contents The Challenge Assumptions and Logistics Process Meridian Support Resources Presentation of Learning Evaluation Rubric Essential Questions Student Proficiencies Curricular Correlations: Common Core

Range of Activities Exploration of the Nature Writing Genre Nature Writing based on River Observations and Reflections Photographic Essay Creation based on River Digital Literacy Skills – Video Pre-production, Production and Post-Production 21st Century Skills – Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Presentational Skills

The Challenge

“The Mississippi, the Ganges, and the Nile, those journeying atoms from the Rocky Mountains, the Himmaleh, and Mountains of the Moon, have a kind of personal importance in the annals of the world. …Rivers must have been the guides which conducted the footsteps of the first travelers. They are the constant lure, when they flow by our doors, to distant enterprise and adventure, and, by a natural impulse, the dwellers on their banks will at length accompany their currents to the lowlands of the globe, or explore at their invitation the interior of continents. They are the natural highways of all nations, not only levelling the ground and removing obstacles from the path of the traveller, quenching his thirst and bearing him on their bosoms, but conducting him through the most interesting scenery, the most populous portions of the globe, and where the animal and vegetable kingdoms attain their greatest perfection.

I had often stood on the banks of the Concord, watching the lapse of the current, an emblem of all progress, following the same law with the system, with time, and all that is made; the weeds at the bottom gently bending down the stream, shaken by the watery wind, still planted where their seeds had sunk, but erelong to die and go down likewise; the shining pebbles, not yet anxious to better their condition, the chips and weeds, and occasional logs and stems of trees that floated past, fulfilling their fate, were objects of singular interest to me, and at last I resolved to launch myself on its bosom and float whither it would bear me.”

Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, as accessed from https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4232/4232-h/4232-h.htm July 11, 2020

In these two paragraphs, Thoreau covers the sweeping range of ways that rivers shape, inspire, and assist humanity. From the great rivers of the world to his moment on the banks of the Concord River outside of Boston, Thoreau touches upon many attributes that make rivers such an elemental force in nature and in civilization.

In this Challenge, following in the tradition of Nature Writing, present a ten to twelve-frame photographic story about a river. The photographic story needs to be narrated (recorded in audio) by your writing – 250 to 400 words – and a minimum of ten of the photos must be original. This suggests that the river you are writing about is a local river (and by the word ‘river’ we mean to include ‘stream’ or ‘creek’ or ‘tributary’ – any flowing body of water).

If you don’t have a local river and you want to write about a world river – The Hudson, the Missouri, the Amazon, the Yangtze, the Rhine – you can still be very creative with your original imagery that evokes the essence of the river. In other words, the photos don’t have to be of the river itself. And the writing becomes more about how one imagines …The Nile, for example, as based on reading first person accounts, Google Maps, and other creative sources.

[This Meridian Stories Challenge was adapted from Ethan Pierce’s Senior Thesis at Vassar College, 2020.]

Assumptions and Logistics

Time Frame – We recommend that this digital storytelling project takes place inside of a three to four-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:

1. the title of the piece;
2. the name of the school submitting;
3. 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
4. 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 the 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 time management issues. 

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 Digital Storytelling 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.

COVID-19 does not mean that students can’t collaborate. This unusual societal circumstance allows students to, paradoxically, focus on their collaborative skills even more through a clear delegation of responsibilities; and tight communication in order to insure that everyone is clear on the scripting and blocking of individual scenes that need to tell a cohesive story, even though the scenes may be shot in isolation. Digital storytelling projects in general move the essential communication about content and learning away from the educator and toward the students themselves. That is part of their educational strength. But in COVID-19, this quality is expanded. With the teacher more ‘unavailable’ than normal, the students must rely on their collaborative skills more than ever. It’s like playing a team sport with less input from the coach. They have to rise the occasion …and they will.

The Process

During Phase I, student teams will:

• Begin by reading some renown nature writers, in order to familiarize yourself with the history and essence of Nature Writing. Thoreau is certainly a favorite, starting with Walden, his masterpiece (1854). But there are many others who have excelled in this field who bring a very different sensibility, command of language and cadence to their work. Consider:
  • A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold, 1949
  • Silent Spring, Rachel Carson, 1962
  • The Control of Nature, John McPhee, 1989
  • Feral by George Monbiot, 2017

These are just a few suggestions of writers that use the sublime essences of nature as their foundation to explore the planet and humanity. Even reading a chapter of any of these books will expand your understanding of the possibilities for expression in this genre of writing.

On Nature Writing This is a genre of writing that seeks to elevate your relationship with the nature around you. And by doing so, deepen your understanding of self, and of humanity. That is your objective: to make your reader/viewer more aware of an essence – and there are many levels of ‘essence’ from literal beauty to sheer force and power; metaphorical strengths to the wonder of biological minutiae – in their surroundings. In this case, the river. To do this – to help your audience interpret nature with fresh eyes and ears – consider ways to get outside to experience your topic: to feel, hear and smell it. Write about those feelings, in the moment, like Thoreau does. And examine humanity’s intersection with our natural surroundings as part of this experience. Often, they are inextricably linked, so explore that relationship. For that is often what’s at the core of good nature writing: an investigation of how the beauty of nature outside of us enlightens the turmoil, confusion, curiosity and wonder that we have inside of us.

• There is no prescribed way to approach this piece. This isn’t a Challenge that asks you to find a river, study it and then write about how it makes you feel. But here are some approaches to consider:
• The first thing you need to do is identify your river. In particular, this may be about a very specific spot on the river – one that is private or one that is heavily traversed by foot traffic, perhaps with a bridge spanning it. Both spots yield different experiences. Or this could be about the general impact and character the river has on shaping your community and, perhaps, you and your team.
  • If you are working on a non-local river, we recommend picking a river that fascinates you; that will invite you into its mysteries and wonder so that you can conjure a story about what river essences you have internalized.
• Go to the river. Hopefully, numerous times at different times of day and in different weather conditions. And when you are there, look and listen. Rivers often have a voice for you to discover. The more time you spend with the river, the more it will reveal to you. In this way, it may be helpful to think of this body of water as a character that you are getting to know. Try to leave ‘time’ behind you and experience your river as deeply and as best as you can.
  • You may want to use the sounds of the river as an underscore to your final piece. If that is the case, during one of your visits, record the sounds around you.
• As your exploration begins to take shape, it may be helpful to decide with which medium you want to ‘lead’: photography or the words? For example, will the ‘story’ come to you through your exploration with taking photographs? Or is the connection to river taking place mostly inside of your mind in the form of words? Either way, with each visit, be sure to do both: take photos and write words.
• What are you actually writing about? There is no prescribed format here. But it’s fair to say you are investigating, in words, two things. The river itself – literally and figuratively – and your relationship to this force of nature. How does it make you feel? What thoughts arise as a result of your time spent on this river?
  • If you are working on a non-local river, this essay in words and photos is less about traditional Nature Writing and more about the mash up of ideas between the reality of your chosen river, as understood through research, and your imaginative understanding of this river, as informed the rivers history and storied past.
• Keep in mind that not all nature writing is about the beauty, majesty and wonder of nature. Many rivers and streams are heavily polluted and damaged. That can be your story. It’s an important one to tell.
• A second point to keep in mind. This Challenge – this genre of expression – is as much about the authors/photographers as about the subject. The idea here is not to document ‘the river’; it’s not to educate your audience about ‘the river’. No. It’s about telling a story about your relationship to the river so that we, the audience, may also experience something new and energizing; so that we, in seeing the river through your eyes, have a new understanding. Why? Because you have done the work to get to know the river in ways that we, the audience, have not.
• By the end of the first phase, you should have several rounds of photos taken and several written passages or audio recordings (perhaps you recorded yourself) – of your time at the river.
  • There is no harm in continuing to read Nature Writing passages during this exploratory process to inspire you and open your eyes to what you are seeing. And using excerpts from other author’s works in your own essay is encouraged (with the proper citation of course).
• Much of this language assumes you are working as an individual and not as a team. If you are working as a team, all of the above applies. In this first phase, we recommend that each team member anchors their relationship and understanding of the river as individuals. It’s in the next phase that the more collective experience begins.

During Phase II, student teams will:

• Edit your words and pictures. Depending on your preference, you can begin with the pictures and move to the words. Or start with your words – your verbal story – and try to enhance those words with pictures. We recommend beginning with the photos. This is because a photographic story is often one that is told to you; it emerges from your editing process and is not pre-planned. Matching pictures to a written narrative often puts the photos in a secondary position. The goal in this Challenge is for the words and photos to have equal power. As an experiment, try starting with the photos and see what story comes out of your editing process; a story that may surprise you.
• Focus on the pictures – Create the first rough edit of your pictures. Maybe your team has fifty; perhaps over one hundred. Start to order them and see what story begins to evolve. Edit some out. Play around with order. Perhaps two stories evolve. Choose one or mix them into one. Have fun – this is like putting a puzzle together at the same time as designing it. The driving idea is to have each member of the team have an equal number of photos in the piece. Three thoughts to consider:
• Be sure to set up your photo editing process in a way that allows you to move the photos around into an order that begins to elicit a narrative.
• Some of the most compelling stories often come from photos that are not the best “stand alone” works of art. Consider how the photos are in dialogue with each other; how one photo may lead to the next, or refer back to an earlier photo through a repeating prop, similar lighting, or contrasting elements. In other words, your ten ‘best’ photos may not be the ones for this essay.
• As your story evolves in this phase, make a list of the images that you think you want, but don’t have. You may want to shoot again.
• Focus on the Words – Look at your various written pieces. Does a single narrative emerge? How are these different written entries from time spent on the river, in dialogue with each other? Is there a story that you are trying to tell; that is a shared experience amongst the team members? Or are there multiple stories – conflicting ones perhaps – that need to find a way to cohere? Begin editing your written narrative, keeping in mind the pictures that you have selected, if that is the process you have already completed.
  • At this point it’s worth asking this question if you haven’t already: where are you (your team) in this story?
• Create your first draft Essay in Words and Photos. Give it a tentative title – titling often gives stories a new shape. As you are doing this, begin to notice the different ways in which each medium communicates. Ask yourself, with each moment in your essay: are the words getting closer to the ‘truth’ of this moment, or the pictures? As you answer that question, moment by moment, the story takes shape.
  • Teacher’s Option: First Draft Essay in Words and Photos – Teachers may require that teams hand in their first draft for review and feedback.
• Reshoot and Rewrite – Go back to your river and with a story angle firmly in mind, go out one more time and take more pictures, write more thoughts. Perhaps just one more sentence. These may be pictures that you have identified that you need, or pictures that result from further observation and exploration of this place. Keep in mind that not all pictures necessarily have to be of your subject.
• Re-Edit – Break down your story to between 10 – 12 photos and order them. This is the point where you can look very carefully at each shot and ask yourself: is it capturing all that I want it to capture? Does it need cropping or color correcting to maximize its impact? Similarly, edit your written story to between 250 – 400 words.

During Phase III, student teams will:

• Focus on presentation. In the first step, rehearse reading your Nature Writing piece along with a presentation of the pictures. The words and photos should be in dialogue with each other: the photos making the words sparkle and the words making us see the photos freshly – through your unique lens.
• This rehearsal process should kick out a few decisions that need to be made about presentation:
  • Pacing – are all the photos being presented in an evenly-timed fashion, as accompanied by a steady voice, reading from your written Nature essay? Or, is there a slow build up?
  • Voicing – Who, actually, is giving voice to these words? And is it just one person or many? Might the team all speak together at some moment in the piece?
  • Music – Will you add music or a natural soundtrack to this essay presentation? Or does ambient silence serve this project best?
• Digital Tech – There are many presentational programs that will allow you to press start and let your show go forward in a pre-timed fashion. You may want to use one of these programs or consider video recording a live presentation that cuts back and forth between your photos and you, or your team, reading your essay. In short, you can ‘produce’ this as little or as much as you want.
• Based on all of the above, organize, record and post-produce your piece: Rivers and Humanity: An Essay in Words and Photos.

Meridian Support: The Digital Storytelling Resource Center

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
Margaret Heffernan on Non-Fiction Liza Bakewell on Memoir and Non-Fiction Writing Michael Kolster on Photography Chris Watkinson on Sound Design	Creating a Short Documentary Sound Recording Basics Sound Editing Basics Video Editing Basics

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 – Rivers and Humanity: An Essay in Words and Photos

CONTENT COMMAND
Criteria	1-10
Nature Writing Genre	The digital essay captures the essence of Nature Writing, giving the viewer a visceral understanding of the river and the essay’s authors
The River – through words	The written script is an exemplar of Nature Writing – bringing new life and understanding to the landscape, the river
The River – through photos	The photographs are thoughtful, well-constructed and effectively communicate important features of the river
STORYTELLING COMMAND
Criteria	1-10
Word Choices	The specific choice of words – so critical in this disciplined genre of writing – are well chosen and evocative
Photographic Story – Order	The photos, as presented in your order, communicate a compelling and thought-provoking narrative
The Team/ The Individual	The presence of the authors/ photographers/ artists as the shapers of this experience is deeply felt
MEDIA COMMAND
Criteria	1-10
Visual Presentation	Your choices in how you mixed the words and photos into a seamless visual narrative are creative and compelling
Sound and Music	The choices around sound (or lack thereof) and music enhance the audience’s engagement with the narrative
21st CENTURY 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. What is Nature Writing?
2. Why is Nature Writing an important communicative form to experience?
3. Why are rivers so important to our literary and societal landscape?
4. How do photographs fundamentally differ from words as a mode of communication?
5. How can storytelling be used to more deeply understand complex educational ideas?
6. 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?

Student Proficiencies

1. The student will understand the essence of this genre of non-fiction writing.
2. The student will empirically understand why this genre is important, for the individual and society.
3. The student will gain a deeper understanding of the river as a literal and metaphorical entity of power and resonance.
4. The student will understand and appreciate the deeply different ways that photos and words communicate ideas and story.
5. The student will learn to utilize storytelling to communicate complex educational ideas in an engaging and immersive way.
6. The student will utilize key 21^st century skills, with a focus on creativity, critical thinking and digital literacy, in their process of translating one’s relationship to a specific feature of nature into a new narrative format.

Curricular Correlations

The Rivers and Humanity: An Essay in Words in Photos Challenge addresses a range of curricular objectives that have been articulated by the Common Core Curricular Standards – English Language Arts. Below please find the standards that are addressed, either wholly or in part. 

Common Core Curricular Standards – English Language Arts 

Standard	8th	9 – 10th	11 – 12th
RL4 READING AND LITERATURE     Craft and Structure	Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.	Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone (e.g., how the language evokes a sense of time and place; how it sets a formal or informal tone).	Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in the text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
W3 WRITING     Text Types and Purposes	Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive 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.	Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
W4 WRITING     Production and Distribution of Writing	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.	Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W9 – WRITING   Research to Build and Present Knowledge	Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.	Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.	Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
SL5 SPEAKING AND LISTENING     Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas	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 SPEAKING AND LISTENING   Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas	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 command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
L3 LANGUAGE     Knowledge of Language	Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.	Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.	Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
L5 LANGUAGE     Vocabulary Acquisition and Use	Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.	Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.	Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.