Success Stories of At-Risk Students Using Story Maker®
Ignites Advanced Collaboration and Storytelling Skills in 342
Schools Nationwide
LOS
ANGELES, May 1, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In the
high desert community 72 miles outside Los Angeles, with public schools ranked at the
bottom 50% of those in California,
140 8th grade students produced a 6-episode animated TV series,
titled "Lancaster,
California." The students collaborated with
Wonder Media, founded by Terry
Thoren, the former CEO of the company that incubated The
Simpsons and produced the Rugrats.
The middle-schoolers worked for one school year to create
their animated series with a nationally recognized education
resource called Wonder Media Story Maker® which was developed to
teach at-risk students authentic career production skills and
reinforce soft skills like creativity, communication,
collaboration, critical thinking and team building. Story Maker®
has been implemented in 342 schools nationwide.
The press is invited to attend the Premiere screening of
"Lancaster,
California" and the awards ceremony on Monday, June 3, 2024, at 1:00 pm at the Fulton and Alsbury Academy of Arts and
Engineering and streaming simultaneously on YouTube.
The title of the animation series is "Lancaster, California" and was
produced by middle schoolers at the Fulton and Alsbury Academy of Arts and
Engineering in the Lancaster
School District under the direction of two middle school teachers,
Micki Quinn and Crystal Stephens, who have been teaching in the
Lancaster School District for 20
years. Though the teachers took on this project above and beyond
their daily classroom duties, the writing elements of the TV series
were incorporated as part of the students' English language arts
curriculum.
Teacher Micki Quinn says; "My
students' investment in this project, both academically and
socially/emotionally, caused a high degree of engagement in a
writing process that required them to rely on each other because
all 36 scenes in the 6 episodes mattered to every student. The
writing helped them to visualize the story before it was animated
which was the grandest effect of the entire process. The growth in
those skills were transferred to their personal writing
skills."
Teacher Crystal Stephens says:
"Creatively the students went from wanting to know how to build a
TV series with sustainable character arcs to knowing how to achieve
the process and doing it with panache."
Lancaster Superintendent
Paul Marietti says; "This is our 6th
year working with Wonder Media. We know that we can't teach
students if they don't come to school. Story Maker® engages
students so they don't want to miss a single production
session."
"We are on a mission to discover and ignite the hidden skills
and talents of all student groups with the use of animation.
Educators are discovering that students who have a difficult time
applying themselves to formal teaching methods blossom with Story
Maker®, said Terry Thoren,
CEO / Founder of Wonder Media. It's used in charter schools and
public schools in all grade levels during the school day, after
school, in Saturday academies and in Summer
School."
To learn how to bring Story Maker® to your school please write
info@wondermediagroup.net
Wonder Media also produces animated stories for The Barbara
Sinatra Children's Center, The Cook Center for Human Connection,
WonderGrove Social Skills, The Institute for Habits of Mind, the
NALC Food Drive, The Boy Scouts of America, The Girl Scouts of
America, the Wyland Water Foundation and The Hazelden/Betty
Ford Children's Center.
Media Contact:
Alyson
Dutch
310-456-7151
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SOURCE Wonder Media