Pixar and Khan Academy have released a new lesson on pixarinabox.org, which focuses all on story. The Art of Storytelling takes students behind the scenes of how stories are written and inspires students with ideas and short video clips of how to generate ideas in their writing.
I have used Pixar in a Box with a variety of students in the past two years, focusing on the math component of the multiple activities online. The Art of Storytelling veers away from the Math and Science aspects of other lessons and jumps headfirst into writing. When I saw this new lesson launched, I was ecstatic. I wondered how well Pixar in a Box would handle writing, and they blew me away.
Divided into four activities, I saw an easy way to apply this to my class, and having had previous experience with other Pixar in a Box lessons, I knew The Art of Storytelling would be a success for my students.
The first activity focuses on memories and asks users to think of a vivid memory and connect it with an emotion. Helpfully inspired by graphics from Inside Out, my students worked well and easily used this inspiration to answer the challenge at the end of the activity, where students had to share their memory either verbally, in written format, or with a visual.
The second activity asks students to think of three movies they would want to take to a deserted island. Students were asked to think about why they chose these movies, and what might be the common point between them. This provided me with multiple discussion points with my students and allowed us to further explore the idea of how to generate ideas when faced with a writing task.
The third activity asks students to consider the movies they chose, and pose what if questions about the movies. I particularly saw a benefit from this activity because it challenged the students to think about their choices, and then try to verbalize their thoughts through description. For example, if one of my students chose Finding Nemo, they would create “what if” questions about Finding Nemo that would have them ask, “what if a father when on a long journey to rescue his kidnapped son?” The students thought about their movies in a whole new way, and if students didn’t choose the right movie, then this was the point where they would refine their choice, based on what they knew.
The fourth activity again focused on the movies from the previous activity, and had the students dig deeper into what the movie was, and the characters that made up the story. My students had to identify the main characters, which one they may have identified with the most, and the setting of the movie.
Then we tried mixing characters from one movie to another and come up with some details about what might happen. My class has always been excited by Pixar in a Box activities. They see them as a chance to be creative and have fun while learning. The Art of Storytelling doesn’t disappoint.
Not only do you have amazing prompts on how to get students working quickly, but like all other Pixar in a Box lessons, there are short video clips from Pixar employees like Valerie Lapointe a story artist at Pixar, and Pete Docter, director of Up and Inside Out. My students not only had amazing activities to help in their writing, but they have the chance to see the people who help create the magic of the movies.
The Art of Storytelling is another great addition to Pixar in a Box.