THE 2023 BOOKIES GALA
The Winner is…
7th-grade students celebrate the first annual Bookies Gala.
“Film as dream, film as music. No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.”
In an effort to drum up interest in independent reading and summer reading, students created book trailers that they shared through an Oscar awards-styled gala event called The Bookies. Hear from first-year ELA teacher Pierre Sorey who led this project as well as Special Education Teacher Beth Goulding below for all the details.
Q: What specifically are you trying to accomplish with your students and how are you integrating technology into this process?
A: (Beth Goulding, Special Education Teacher, Grade 7)
We wanted students to share their favorite independent reading books in a captivating format, a Canva video trailer. Canva is a free-to-use and intuitive online graphic design tool. Students needed to have a grasp of the storyline, character development, and theme, in order to create a meaningful trailer. Students first created a storyboard with partners and then began designing in Canva. The entire project culminated with an Oscar-like awards ceremony where winners were announced for various categories. Trailers needed to be around 1 minute in length and adhere to a specific rubric.
Q: What specific technology are you using and what does this technology do?
A: (Pierre Sorey, 7th Grade ELA Teacher)
Students used Canva to create their book trailers. Canva allowed students to use stock video footage, images, music, sound effects, animations, special editing transitions, as well as imported media that students created and edited. Creativity was unleashed with this tool and the kids loved the experience!
This project allowed students to take their reading in a unique direction. It was a fun way to allow students to hone their ELA skills, but also gave them an opportunity to use technology they would not typically use in an ELA class. Students were also encouraged to share helpful tech tips and provide peer reviews as well. Essentially, students become part of the teaching process. The project required teamwork and students often volunteered to help other groups that they were competing against!
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards were incorporated including several strands from Global Collaborator, Creative Communicator, and Digital Citizen.
Gala Slideshow and Winners
Q: Can you provide any feedback or reflection from students or other participants?
“It was really fun! It was a great way for us to be creative. Next year all students should be in the audience.”
“I liked recording our content for the trailer the most. And also the fact that we could choose our own partners.”
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I think next year you should look into adding even more effects and sounds to make the final product even better.
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“The gala was great! The decorations were really cool too and made it feel real. More kids should dress up next year and take it to the next level. ”
“Much of the point of The Bookies is to create hype about reading. This year’s event certainly did that and we expect each year will continue to build more and more excitement as we continue to improve on the annual event.”
