These videos freed me up to meet with individual students and complete administrative tasks, and they engaged the students a lot more than I would’ve just reading off upcoming due dates. Students pay more attention to a video than they would to me, because the videos are unique.
STUDENT-CREATED VIDEO
Students earn celebrity status when they pop up in my announcement videos. Sometimes a random student will stop by in the morning when I’m recording; other times I’ll find random students in the hall to record. One of my favorite approaches
is to find students who need an extra emotional boost. I’ll record them, hype them up, and make them the star of the show. It’s a great motivator.
I also started to vary the way I presented information in the videos. Sometimes I would say a date for an assignment and have it written on the board behind me in the video; other times I would also point to the due date on the calendar. These variations were meant to engage different parts of students’ brains.
My daily announcement videos usually follow the same general format:
1. First, I go through the daily announcements. These usually include upcoming assignments, reading checks, challenges, and anything else students may need to know in the near future. I always try to hold up a physical version of the actual assignment so they can visualize what I’m talking about.
2. Next, I do birthday announcements. I want to make sure every student who celebrates a birthday gets a shout out. I wasn’t sure how important this was until I missed my first student, who was super bummed. Most students value this kind of positive affirmation, so anybody I miss always gets a special birthday shout-out the next day … usually with a guest like Batman. (To see what I mean by this, look at the Characters section in chapter 7.)
3. Finally, I wrap up the announcements video with the quote of the day. I have a chalkboard in my room where I always write a positive daily quote. Sometimes I just read the quote, and that’s the end of the video. Other times I ask the students to talk about the quote when the video is over.
The last thing I include in my announcement videos is my catchphrase. Somehow it caught on and now the kids think it’s weird if I don’t end by saying “Until next time, book it forward and be awesome!”
DAILY ANNOUNCEMENT VIDEOS
| Ingredients:recording device (I usually just use my phone)tripod (optional)list of announcementslist of upcoming birthdaysAwesome SaucePrep Time: 2 to 5 minutesRecording Time: 2 to 5 minutesDifficulty: • • • • • | Directions:1. Write down a list of the announcements you want to record; a bulleted list or script works. The more often you record these, the easier it will be to have a structure for what you want to include each time.2. Find a location for the background of your video.3. Gather any upcoming assignment materials or props you want to use in the video.4. Set up your recording device.5. Record an epic announcement video hitting all the main points for the day.6. Post the video on YouTube.7. Embed the video in your daily agenda slides, pull up the video on YouTube, or post the video for your students to view on their own time.8. While students are watching the video, use the time to complete administrative tasks or check in with students.Side note: To embed your YouTube video in Google Slides, go to Insert>Video. Then paste in the YouTube URL. To embed your YouTube video in Microsoft PowerPoint, go to the Insert tab, then Video>Online Movie. Then paste in the YouTube URL. |
I share the videos in one of two ways. Sometimes I’ll play the announcements on the big screen for all the students. Other times I’ll share it on Google Classroom and let the students play it on their own.
To keep things interesting, I use variations from a lot of the other recipes in this book (see chapter 7 in particular for great ideas to incorporate into these videos).
CLASS Trailers
POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS: Teacher to Student
When I go to the movies, I love to get there early. I want to be in my seat with a large Pibb Zero and some popcorn, ready to roll when the first movie trailers pop up on the screen. I love the art of a great movie trailer. A good trailer will tell you what to expect when you go see a movie. A great trailer will make you count down the days until the movie comes out. An epic trailer will make you so excited for a movie that you go online to watch it three more times. Then you even research how many other versions of the trailer exist, and you try to watch all of those.
No trailers are more epic to me than the ones for Marvel movies. I’ll watch the trailers online, then I’ll search for follow-up information about the characters in them. From the heart-pounding music score to the action scenes to the comic relief, I love it all—and I want that same energy and hype for my classroom. I want my kids so excited for what’s coming up in class that they repeatedly ask me when it’s coming. I want them breaking down the doors to get into class. Class trailers can have that effect.
STUDENT-CREATED VIDEO
At the end of each unit, students can create a trailer highlighting everything they’ve learned. You can then use their trailers with your students the following year.
1. Brainstorm the most interesting elements from the unit.
2. Discuss how to build suspense and not give everything away.
3. Have groups of students write scripts based on the brainstorming.
4. Give the students time to record the video.
5. Select the best video(s) to use the following year.
Every year when parents come to back-to-school night, I show a trailer promoting my class. This isn’t just any trailer; it’s a trailer for my gamified class, and it builds up all the energy, excitement, and chaos that is my class.
I preface the video by explaining the awards I’ve received, the articles and books I’ve written, and the conferences I’ve presented at—not to brag, but to assure parents that although my class is a little different, everything I do has a sound foundation to it. Then we roll into the trailer.
CLASS TRAILERS
| Ingredients:background musicvideo snippets or photos of classvideo-editing softwarescriptAwesome SaucePrep Time: 10 to 15 minutesEditing Time: 45 to 60 minutesDifficulty: • • • • • | Directions:1. Make a list of three to five things about your class that make it the most amazing, epic place any student will ever experience.2. Choose what movie genre your class would be. (For example, is this a comedy or an action thriller?)3. Find background music that fits your personality but also builds energy into the video. It should fit with your genre. (YouTube has library of free music for any video. Just search YouTube Audio Library or go to youtube.com/audiolibrary.)4. Choose photos that fit with your genre and help tell the story.5. Find or record video clips that help tell your story.6. Edit your photos, video, and music together into a movie trailer with the Awesome Sauce. Keep it short, about one or two minutes.7.
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