The teachers gathered the students around in a big arc around the benches outside. They explained something that the fifth graders were going to do. The Halloween Project. Jinghan chewed her lip, as her mind swirled with thoughts of worry. Rhea smiled excitedly, as the urge to squeal became stronger. Gracie grinned, but secretly was thinking how they were going to do this. Neither of them knew what was going to happen next.
Whew! I take a deep sigh of relief as I fling myself onto my chair. After hours of arguing, our group finally decided on a topic for our Halloween Project!
Our group had talked about some ideas, but none really made sense. And if it did make sense, we wouldn’t agree on it anyway, making up excuses, and saying it was terrible in all sorts of ways. Usually it was me shaking my head at Molly, Molly sighing at Grayson, Grayson grimacing at Rihito, and Rihito complaining about me. It was like a miracle when we agreed on something.
One of my friends, Suzu, had excitedly explained to me her group’s Halloween Project idea a few days before. It was about this clock, in the attic. Rhea and Rowan, her group members, had been so excited about it, too! It seemed like they always agreed, and worked with each other perfectly.
I tap the mouse a few times, and the screen of the computer flashes out our script for our Halloween Project. As I scan through the script, I smile, knowing that it still needs a little change, but it’s going to work. But something’s missing. The title. What should be our title? Something pops into my head and I beam as I type the title in. The Titanic Adventure.
Perfect.
“Click!” Rowan's Chromebook made a squeaky sound, signaling that the recording was about to start. Three, two, one- Suzu begins speaking her lines, as Rowan and I try to be invisible so Suzu can concentrate. We must have not done a good job, for the moment the Chromebook marks the one-minute point, Suzu erupts in a volcano of giggles. Laughing is contagious, so I start laughing too, and eventually Rowan joins in, like recording a story on WeVideo is the funniest thing in the world.
My group's story, which after much arguing we managed to title The Trapped Soul of the Haunted Clock, is about a haunted clock which can time-travel. It might seem like we just came up with it and everyone liked it, but it actually wasn’t that easy. We all had creative differences, and just coming up with an idea we all liked was one of the hardest things to do in my group. But I guess it was part of the process, because my friend Gracie said her group also argued. But Gracie’s group managed to come up with a pretty good idea, which my group hadn’t been able to do yet. Sigh.
But it was all worth it when we finally got to the WeVideo stage. Recording our story was so much fun, especially when we added the sound effects, which brought it all to life. And when we listened to the final result of our story, it was all worth it. Even though our original idea had changed tons since we started, it ended up being a fun, enjoyable experience that I would love to do again!
We are at the school library, and we have a few minutes left. I go on to the doc, and I don’t see what I am looking for. Earlier, I had figured out that it would be a good idea if everyone got to choose one thing they wanted of their choice in the story. I chose multiple perspectives, but when I looked at the doc, I didn’t see the thing that said people's perspectives. It had been deleted. The shield I was using to hide someone who wasn’t happy with what I was doing was gone. I talked to the person in my group who deleted it, and I finally understood. Sometimes, you have to compromise. When I think back on starting the text, I think about how when you work as a group (Or team) you have to be accepting of ideas. If you aren’t, then it isn’t teamwork.
Friday (The day people look at the videos!): I look at our video, The Midnight Camping Trip. I am very proud of the video. Our whole group put so much work into it. I look at the comments. They are so nice, and it all feels worth it! Next, I look at Jinghan’s video. I love it! I think they have a great cliffhanger! As I watched the video, I knew it couldn’t be that good unless they all agreed, and put all that work into it.
- What did you like?
- What did you learn?
- What questions do you have?