I teach 6-8th grade and would like to have students do some more in-depth photography.

I would like to do shots where the shutter is open for a long period of time and the student can whip around a sparkler to get a really cool effect.

I would also like the camera to have non-automatic options so that I can actually focus it myself and turn off the flash

So, since i have really messed with photography for 20 years, I was wondering if someone could suggest a digital SLR camera that can do the above listed things. I dont need any pro level stuff....yet