Take filmstrips, for example. They are (were?) a series of photos on a wide piece of film, each containing a caption that tells a story. Think of it as a non-moving film, or for the more technologically advanced, like a stone-age era type of video, DVD, or blu-ray. In fact, filmstrips are published on 35mm film, just like the old-school film you need to get developed at a store (or what we used to do in the darkroom-now-studio).
I found four film strips recently when I was cleaning out my garage. I bought them years ago when I taught third grade. Film strips were the way to go to get supplemental material to use for class, as they were inexpensive and covered a wide range of topics.
To use them was easy. Just check out a filmstrip projector from the school library and then plug it into the wall. Point it at the other wall and you're ready. (By the way, the elementary school where I taught did not have screens like we do now.)
During the showing of a filmstrip, many kids enjoyed reading the sentences so you as the teacher can say something like, "those who behave during (a class activity) can read from the filmstrip after lunch." Sneaky, eh?
Of course, everybody behaved during the (class activity), so everybody got to read. Sometimes impromptu sound effects were needed, so quick-thinking students created them. Everybody seemed to have a lot of fun, as I recall.
Curious to know what they're about? Here's a synopsis of the four.
1) "Halloween Story" — The story of a boy who heard a scary noise on Halloween night. It had ghosts and other scary things! Boooooooo-woooooooo!
2) "George Washington's Birthday" — Washington's life story and why he is looked upon as a hero.
3) "Holidays and Seasons" — Spring, summer, fall and winter are discussed, along with Christmas, Easter, and some others. It's actually quite interesting. (Remember Demeter, goddess of the harvest?)
4) "Thanksgiving Story" — The often-told story of Pilgrims and Native Americans back in the day.
Exciting, aren't they? The target audience is second and third graders, so the filmstrips may not be exciting to you. My granddaughter, a second grader, seemed to like looking at them. But of course she had to hold them up to the light to see the tiny frames.
Who published these filmstrips? A company named Troll Associates. Not the trolls we are familiar with nowadays that represent meanness and lack of respect for others, but rather a company that apparently doesn't have a website to link to, or at least one that I could find. Troll Associates mainly offers books for sale to children, and offers "free" prizes and gifts to those buying a lot, and to teachers, also.
So, now you know about filmstrips. Another joy of life from the old days that we don't see any more, like walking along the side of the road looking for glass soft drink bottles to sell to a store to buy a soda.
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If you're interested I'll keep the filmstrips at school for a few days for you to look at. Just ask.