So what do you do if you have a large class and limited access to equipment? Think about breaking a video project into specific tasks that can be assigned to smaller groups. In creating videos on the three states of matter, a fellow fourth grade teacher and I devised the following tasks:

Group 1: Create a title scene and ending credits for your movie. Using a music mixer program, create background music to play during the movie.

Group 2: Use a drawing program to create an illustration of how the molecules are arranged in your state of matter. Import the scene into your movie and record a voiceover to describe your state of matter

Group 3: Use a digital camera to take four pictures that illustrate your state of matter. Import the pictures into your movie.

Group 4: Use a video camera to illustrate the movement of molecules in your state of matter. Add your video to your movie and record a voiceover to describe their movement.

With this division of labor, a class of 30 students was split into three teams of ten (Solid, Liquid, and Gas). These teams were further divided into smaller groups of two to three. Each group had a specific task to accomplish and the completion of the project required the work of every team member.

Watch our movie!

Download the following student handouts for Matter Movies:
Intro/Conclusion (PDF) | Definition (PDF) | Examples (PDF) | Act It Out (PDF)

Some of these resources are in PDF format. To open these files, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 software. If you do not have this software, it is available for free download.