Creating Book Commercials Using StoryRobe

Posted in In the Classroom by Literacy Love

This quarter I assigned the group of gifted sixth graders I am working with for my student teaching practicum the task of writing a book commercial for their self selected independent reading books that they are reading this quarter. Here are the steps we took to create our book commercials. They did a fabulous job and I am so proud of them!

Step 1 – Check out some sample book commercials.
I found a list of sample book commercials here and we spent about 20 minutes listening to some them to get a feel for what they included. This site also has a book commercial guidelines page that is very helpful for setting up expectations for students.

Step 2 – Discuss what a book commercial should and should not include.
We brainstormed on the Promethean board and decided that book commercials DO have: a hook, somewhat of a description of characters and plot, and a cliffhanger. Book commercials DON’T give too much away. We also decided that an appropriate length would be anywhere from 50 seconds to 2:00. I also decided that we would be doing audio only book commercials because students were very intimidated by the idea of being filmed. I wanted this to be a fun and positive experience, so I assured them from day one that we would only be doing an audio commercial.

Step 3 (This is a step that I would add next time) – Students wrote their book commercial rough drafts on paper and were required to read it to a peer before handing in. Did their peer want to read the book after hearing the commercial? Yes or no? Why or why not? These questions led to some fantastic feedback conversations.

Step 4 – Students turned in their rough drafts to me for approval and to double check that they included our big three – a hook, description of characters and plot, and a cliffhanger.

Step 5 – Taping Day! We used the Storyrobe app for the first time and it was very easy to use. First, we took a picture of the book (or student made sign if the book was forgotten) and then recorded their audio. I suggest saving the clips to your camera roll or emailing them to yourself as you finish each one. A few of our clips got deleted when the app crashed. but we just taped them again and they worked fine the second time. Even with this issue, I would still recommend this app for this activity and will definitely use it again in the future.

Step 6 – Share the book commercials and celebrate a job well done!

Here are a few of the book commercials my students made for this assignment. They did a great job and I’m really proud of them!

25Nov2013

It’s Monday, what are you reading? 11/25/13

Posted in IMWAYR by Literacy Love

It’s Monday! What are you Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journeys and invites bloggers to recap what they’ve read this week while planning ahead on what to read next! Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee at Unleashing Readers added their own twist by focusing on kidlit, from picture books up to YA.

Hey literacy lovers! It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? I’m finally finished with my gifted endorsement grad program, so expect my IMWAYR posts on a regular basis from here on out!

Here’s what I’ve read lately:

(Click on the book covers to add these titles to your Goodreads TBR piles)

Ungifted by Gordan Korman
2012
MG/YA Realistic Fiction
My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Stars
A funny story about a misguided misfit who ends up in the district’s gifted program after a major mishap. Great characters and ending!

Anything But Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin
2010
MG Realistic Fiction
My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Stars
Jason, the main character in Anything But Typical, is a fourteen year old autistic boy who loves to write stories and talk about writing with his online friend Phoenixbird. The world around him is confusing and Jason narrates the story beautifully by talking about his daily struggles of living in a neurotypical world.

The Shade of the Moon (The Last Survivors Series #4) by Susan Beth Pfeffer
2013
YA Dystopian
My Goodreads Rating: 3/5 Stars
I really, really enjoyed the first two books in this series and am in fact reading book #1, Life as We Knew It, to my eighth graders right now. They are on the edge of their seats every time I read and we have had many, many “end of the world”conversations over the past two weeks. While it has been interesting to see what happens to these characters over the course of four books, this one was bleak, depressingly violent and just not for me.

Champion (The Legend Series #3) by Marie Lu
2013
YA Dystopian
My Goodreads Rating: 5/5 Stars
I love this series! I can’t say enough about it. I love the lean writing and the back and forth perspective of the two main characters Day and June. This book is just as exciting as the first two, and while I was really sad it was the end of the series, I look forward to more books by Marie Lu. This is a must read!

Carnivores by Aaron Reynolds, Illustrated by Dan Santat
2013
Picture Book
My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Stars
Lion, Great White Shark and Timber wolf are tired of being misunderstood. They come together to figure out a way to make everyone else to like them with pretty funny consequences. I liked this book a lot and read it to my classes, but the last page gets me every time. A good PB with a “be yourself” message.

Mr. Tiger Goes Wild by Peter Brown
2013
Picture Book
My Goodreads Rating: 5/5 Stars
Mr. Tiger wants to go wild, but his friends are not amused and he leaves town to do what he wants. He ends up missing his friends and goes back to town only to be welcomed by a big surprise! I love this book and the pictures. Great story for all ages!

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
2013
YA Realistic Fiction
My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Stars
A great YA coming of age story with a little romance, too. Caymen is seventeen and spends her days working at her mother’s doll store. One day, Xander, who clearly is not from Caymen’s side of town, comes into the store and finds he has met his match. I really liked this one and it reminds me of Sarah Dessen’s books, but without the beach.

That Time I Joined the Circus by JJ Howard
2013
YA Realistic Fiction
My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Stars
So Xandra, otherwise known as Lexie, finds herself on a bus traveling away from her beloved NYC to Florida after a series of very unfortunate events and ends up joining a circus because she has no where else to go. No, really, that’s how the book starts. I was really skeptical of this one, but found it to be pretty good. I loved all of the characters and the plot twists. A great story about friendship, love and family.

Crankenstein by Samantha Berger, Illustrated by Dan Santat
2013
Picture Book
My Goodreads Rating: 4/5 Stars
Love the illustrations in this one! My eighth graders are currently doing a picture book study and Dan Santat is one of the featured illustrators they are looking at right now. Simple story about what happens when kids get mad and turn into Crankenstein. I love the ending!

Here’s what I plan to read next: (Click on the cover for more info from Goodreads)

I’m to the point in my reading year that I have a lot of “odds and ends” type books laying around and want to finish them by the beginning of 2014. I am still saving these two special professional books for when I have a lot of time to devote to them, so I plan to fly through the 3 middle grade books first. My TBR basket at school is dwindling and I have a small bag at home of random books that I’d like to get to as well. Easier said than done, but now that I have a lot more free time on my hands I am up for the challenge! Have a fantastic Thanksgiving and reading week!

Happy Reading!

Lesley ♥

13Nov2013

Making Thinking Visible #2: Headlines

Posted in Making Thinking Visible by Literacy Love

This year my school district has embraced the book Making Thinking Visible and we are required to use three strategies per quarter. You can read about the book in more detail and check out another thinking strategy called Chalk Talks here.

Headlines

I love the headlines thinking routine because it is easy for students and at the same time tells me a lot about their learning. Basically, students write a headline for a topic or issue that is simply a summary or main idea that they feel is important. It focuses on the big ideas of whatever your working on and allows students to have those building blocks in mind for future learning.

Supplies Needed:

appropriate content – part of a book, a movie, a field trip, a particular lesson in class, any learning experience
a mentor text, like a newspaper that shows students what headlines look like

Before the Routine:

Give students the directions to write a headline that captures the main idea of what they want to remember. Remind them that a headline is not written in a complete sentence, but is short in order to capture only the BIG idea of their learning.

During the Routine:

Students can work individually, with a partner or small group. It is very important for students to be encouraged to share their headlines as well as the story/reasoning behind them. This will help other students see other perspectives and see the content in a new way they might have not thought about.

After the Routine:

This is where the magic happens! First, document everyone’s thinking so that students feel valued and have the opportunity to check out the other headlines. Ask students if they notice anything that the headlines have in common or which ones helped them think about the content in a new way. You won’t be disappointed with the discussion students have about their thinking. It also might benefit your students to have these headlines handy to revisit during future learning opportunities.

Other Uses:

You can use headlines with just about anything. Try having students write a headline about their weekend, how class went for the day, an assembly, or even to sum up a conversation in class. There are lots of possibilities and I’d love if you share some of your ideas on how to use headlines in the comments section below!

Final Thoughts:

I love headlines as a formative assessment tool. I can quickly see if my students get what we are doing and who needs some scaffolding to get there. I used headlines when we were reading Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman and had students pick their favorite four chapters and write headlines for them because they aren’t titled already. It was very interesting to see them reflect on each chapter and decide what they were each mostly about. My eighth graders did a pretty decent job with this activity and enjoyed it because it was something different. When we looked at everyone’s headlines we had a great discussion about the big idea of each chapter and students loved sharing their ideas.

Next up….

The 3-2-1 Bridge is a thinking routine that works well when introducing a new topic. I love using it for book talks! Post coming soon!

4Nov2013

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? 11/4/13

Posted in IMWAYR by Literacy Love

Hey literacy lovers! Not much to report, but I have been finding time to read here and there. I am, however, really excited about the books in my TBR list. Lots of great titles coming up!