Third-Graders at Pelham School Experience “See Hear Feel Film”

Margaret Gallagher’s third-grade class at Pelham Elementary School has been improving their writing through a unique program at the Amherst Cinema. “See Hear Feel Film” is a New York-based program that teaches third-graders critical viewing and storytelling skills. It was brought to Western Massachusetts after the Amherst Cinema raised $100,000 to use as grant money. According to the Amherst Cinema website, “See Hear Feel Film” has been taught to nearly 40,000 school children since 2001 and is aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy.

“The kids are learning that films are visual stories, so they can begin to write better,” said Gallagher. “They understand how conflict is created in a story - when a character faces obstacles. They learn how descriptive language makes people and places come alive. They are understanding how sound works to build a story and how they can do that in their writing as well, and then they’re writing their own stories with clarity and confidence.”

Before attending the first movie, How to Catch a Wave, students were asked to write paragraphs based on the title. Their stories vastly improved after viewing the silent, animated short and grouping in workshops to discuss how a filmmaker could communicate emotion without words.

“They were just full of description, full of creativity - just a huge difference.” said Gallagher.

The program is free to students and combines the joy of an exciting field trip with the advantage of creative education. Pelham Elementary School’s single third-grade class will be returning again in March before finishing the project in the classroom with Gallagher, who received interactive training sessions at the Amherst Cinema, a curriculum guide, and a DVD with all 8 films taught in the program.