Comparing videos and written texts
Many students and adults report that they prefer learning from videos to learning from text. But what are the differences between these two forms of communication?
Teaching students how to compare videos to written texts is important. This is at the heart of Common Core Standard 9: "Analyze how two or more authors address similar themes and topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take."
Readers need to be able to see what they gain (and what they lose) from a video presentation. Opportunities to view videos and compare them to written texts help students to learn how to compare different forms on the same topic.
Activity Spot offers a way for teachers to craft activities to help students compare videos and written texts. In this activity about Emily Dickinson, students read a biographical text and compare it to a promotional video for an Emily Dickinson garden event. Then they answer questions related to the purposes of each text.
The beauty of working with Activity Spot means that students have immediate access to both the written text and the video in a sheltered digital environment.
Questions to help students think about videos and written texts include:
-How could the video enhance an understanding of the written text?
-Which details are highlighted by both the video and the text?
-How are the two texts structured?
-Which would be the best order to experience the texts? Why?
Have you made activities that help students compare written texts to videos? Try out Activity Spot and Frolyc!
-by Emily Kissner