Book Trailer

Choice One Assignment: Book Trailer

Chrysanthemum  

By: Kevin Henkes

Before this assignment I had only been introduced to using book trailers as a way to capture the interest of students once. I had never really thought about the concept but after seeing some example trailers, which made me want to read the books they were presenting, I thought it was an awesome idea. With the everyday changes in technology children need to be constantly stimulated. Movie trailers are all over the place, from commercials on television, to previews in the movie theaters, to advertisements on the internet; children constantly see them. Trailers are something that is familiar and stimulating to children; so why not use them for books?

My concern with starting this assignment was that I would not be able to complete a book trailer because it would be too difficult. I know some about technology but I am not the most “tech-savvy” person in the world. I was worried I would not be able to figure out how to create a stimulating book trailer. However Photo Story 3, was much easier to use then I expected, there was also an online tutorial that guided me step-by-step.

Creating book trailers is definitely an activity I would love to use in my future classroom. For the younger grade levels I could create three of them and show them to the class, and then have the class vote on which book they would like me to reread aloud to the class. Or for higher grade levels, I could have each center group read a different book, and then create a book trailer to share with the class. Also I could have students create book trailers as a form of an assessment for the students to teach what they learned to fellow classmates.



Book Reflection:

The story of Chrysanthemum always hits home for me because I feel as adults we have all experienced bullying for our differences at least once in our lives. I know as a child coming from divorced parents, when it is not as common as it is now, and having an Italian last and first name, I did not always feel as if I fit in. But as I continued to grow and learn about others and myself I realized every one is different and that is what makes every one so special; much like the main character of the story. I think this is an important book to read to students especially with the nasty way bullying has taken a turn. The story shows students to always show kindness because they never know who is different, but even more importantly I feel the story explains to never let others affect how you feel about yourself!