Really good fun with some children coming up with short poetic phrases to express the feelings of excitement, fear and elation before, during and after a “virtual” rollercoaster ride.
We had a go at listing some descriptive words collected from their memories of rollercoaster rides.
Next, I took them on a ride from Myst III:Exile. We waited at the top and recorded our feelings of anticipation. Deep breath and we were off, screaming our way to the bottom. Got the feelings down in pithy combinations of, sometimes contrasting words. Personification, poetry, punchy, personal and powerful! The difference was quite remarkable. Now, their ideas really caught the sensations of such an adrenaline rush.
We then recorded, at pace, into GarageBand alongside the film.
The ride is a place I often use, with children and adults, to stimulate musical sound effects or soundtracks. It had a superb effect on creative, descriptive thought too.
Well done to the children of Eccleston Mere Primary and Oakdene school. As teacher, Karen Pickthall commented “It was so moving to see the genuine enthusiasm of a little boy who is usually very reluctant to speak. The children really appeared to come ‘alive’ and completely engaged with the learning experience.”
Enjoy! (It may be difficult to pick out in places, but I think the children did incredibly well, and in a very short space of time.)

Second film to follow soon…