- Grade:
- 1-3
- Subject:
- ELA
We were working on the performance task for our ELA unit on Curiosity. During the unit, we read many books and practiced the skills of summarizing, giving our opinions supported by reasons, and using questions to hook readers.
Common Core State Standards- English Language Arts
Write opinion pieces in which they introduce the topic or name the book they are writing about, state an opinion, supply a reason for the opinion, and provide some sense of closure.
Write narratives in which they recount two or more appropriately sequenced events, include some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.
With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
The students were able to choose how they presented their book review. Because we had watched a few Reading Rainbow examples to get them acquainted with the concept of a book review, they decided they wanted to make one just like those examples. I recently attended a tech training where I first learned of WeVideo. The Chroma Key feature was demonstrated, so I knew it would be the best choice to accomplish our goals.
Capturing the story + our filming process
My students had been keeping a journal of their favorite books. For this project, they chose one of their favorites to present to the class. They wrote their book reviews out as a script, then recorded it on the Teleprompter app (Teleprompter Lite, free on iTunes) on their iPads.
When it came time to record, I turned my Promethean board into a green screen by adding a green box.
Students were trained to serve as videographers, photographers (to capture images of the books), directors, Teleprompter assistants and volume control. Each time a new student was ready to take on a new position, the current student trained the next. They did amazing and took their jobs very seriously!
Our editing process
After we completed the recording process, I demonstrated the Chroma Key process in WeVideo and then walked them through editing their own videos on the Promethean Board. Though I was there to support them, several students “just got it”. WeVideo is easy for students to work with and there’s nothing they can break.
Enjoying the fruits of our work
Each time we inserted their book image behind their photo the students “Oooohed” and “Ahhhed.” After all the videos were edited and exported to Google Drive, we invited the parents in for a viewing party. They were blown away by the capabilities of their children!
- Have students keep a journal of their favorite books.
- Have them chose one of their favorites to present to the class.
- Have them write out their book reviews out as a script, and record it on the Teleprompter app (Teleprompter Lite, free on iTunes) on their iPads.
- Prepare a green screen- If you have a Promethean board/smart board, you can turn it into a green screen by adding a green box.
- Train students to serve as videographers, photographers (to capture images of the books), directors, Teleprompter assistants and volume control.
- After recording, demonstrate the Chroma Key/ greenscreen process in WeVideo and walk them through editing their own videos on the Promethean Board.
- Enjoy their work! Invite parents in for a viewing party!
