NOW Classrooms, Grades 3-5. Meg Ormiston

the principle taught, such as matter phase changes, weather fronts, and the plant life cycle.

      • Art: Students can take a picture of their original artwork and digitally modify the piece. They can then compare and contrast the two images.

Creating Video Projects

      Creating videos is one way students demonstrate what they have learned. There are many free and low-cost options for creating videos on different types of devices. Depending on the devices your students will use to create the videos, we have included a variety of websites, apps, and programs. We’ve included a range of tools because not all classrooms will have access to the same platforms. For example, the program iMovie (www.apple.com/imovie) is only available for Macs, and the app is available for iPhones and iPads. Throughout the lessons on creating video projects, we emphasize that planning is important. Tony Vincent’s blog, Learning in Hand, includes valuable resources to help students prepare and think through video projects. The post “Plan a Better iMovie Trailer With These PDFs” (Vincent, 2014; http://bit.ly/1yjjSMX) shares storyboard templates students can use with iMovies as they plan for creating a video. If you are using a different video platform, feel free to create a template for your students, or have students use paper and pencil.

      Learning goal:

      I can create a book trailer and share it outside my classroom.

       Novice: Creating Book Trailers

      The purpose of this lesson is for students to create a trailer for a book they have read to summarize their understanding of the targeted learning goal. The trailer should hook their audience without giving away too many of the book’s details. Students should make sure they understand the trailer’s purpose before they start filming and planning. Students can find many examples of book and movie trailers on YouTube (www.youtube.com).

       Process: Using Video-Editing Software to Create Book Trailers

      To complete the following five lesson steps, we recommend you use an iPad or Mac, as they both come with iMovie (www.apple.com/imovie) preinstalled. If you prefer, you can use this process with a variety of other options such as Magisto (www.magisto.com) and Animoto (https://animoto.com). With many options available, teachers should allow the students to choose the application that best fits their needs and the devices they have available.

       TEACHING TIPS

      

Discuss components of real movie trailers with students, asking them, “What should you include?”

      

Students should spend more time planning than filming or editing. To manage groups during this process, have the groups check their storyboards with you before they move to production. See Vincent (2014) for a helpful planning resource.

      

Review the first set of lessons in this chapter on working with digital images to see how students should save an image.

      

Limit the student-created videos to about thirty seconds or fewer to keep students focused on the content without added distractions.

      1. Have groups of students open iMovie on a Mac or iPad and select Trailer.

      2. The groups should select the template they would like to use. Exploring and selecting templates in iMovie takes time for groups of students.

      3. After choosing their trailer, students will access the planning document at http://bit.ly/1yjjSMX to plan their iMovie.

      4. Once the planning document is complete, students should sequence the photos or videos they use and add titles and transitions.

      5. When the students finish, have them share their final published trailer.

       Connections

      You can apply this lesson to different content areas in the following suggested ways.

      • Cross-curricular teaching: Students can create movie trailers as a study guide around a unit.

      • English language arts: Students can create a review of a book, chapter, or section they have read by creating a book trailer.

      • Mathematics: Students can create a movie trailer about what they have learned in a mathematics unit of study that you can use as a summative assessment.

      • Social science: Students can create a Choose Your Own Adventure type of movie trailer to show how a historical event could have changed had different decisions been made.

      • Science: Students can take digital pictures as they work through a lab experiment and create a movie trailer about the process.

      • Physical education: Students can create a movie trailer about a sport or activity.

       TECH TIPS

      

Magisto (www.magisto.com), a website and an app available for Apple and Android devices, is another app option for this lesson. Have students gather all their pictures and video components in one folder before they start the project.

      

Animoto (https://animoto.com), a website and app that teachers can use for free, is another app option for this lesson. Teachers can set up an education account at https://animoto.com/education/classroom.

      

Note that some free versions of movie apps, websites, and programs may limit the length of a trailer or video.

       Operational: Creating Multimedia Projects With Photos or Video

      The purpose of this lesson is to let students have voice and choice as they create multimedia projects connected to curricular goals. The use of photos or video in a multimedia project allows students to visually demonstrate their understanding of a particular standard or topic.

       Process: Using Adobe Spark to Create Multimedia

      To complete the following three lesson steps, we recommend you use Adobe Spark (https://spark.adobe.com), a free website to design graphics, images, videos, and webpages. The templates it contains make it easy for teachers and students to create projects. If you prefer, you can adapt this process for use with a variety of other options. Other options include but are not limited to WeVideo (www.wevideo.com), Google Sites (https://sites.google.com), Google Slides (www.google.com/slides/about), and PowerPoint.

      Learning