Capture That Story: Summary Post

For the past few weeks I've been writing about a self-directed student learning activity involving making book trailers. I'm thrilled to share a resulting film project that was produced by two fifth graders (using a flip camera to film and iMovie to edit). They did a creative re-telling of my book, "The Big Blue Bowl." This was their first-ever film project, and I think they did a wonderful job!

The full discussion/lesson plans took place over a series of three posts. You can find them here:

Introduction and Sample Book Trailers

Choose a Book and Plan Your Book Trailer

Film, Edit and Share Your Book Trailer

More Examples of Book Trailers Made by Students

I look forward to receiving more samples of student work inspired by this project and/or hearing about how you incorporated this project into your own learning environment.

Dec 6, 2013 Update: I just read this great article in School Library Journal about a school that held a student film festival as a way to raise money for technology at their school. When I read the article I thought it would be a great idea for a culminating event for schools/students doing other film-related projects, such as Book Trailers!

Let me know if you coordinate something like this at your school involving any book trailers for my books (re: I'd love to be involved in some way). 

Capture That Story (Film, Edit and Publish Your Book Trailer)

Greetings innovative teachers, librarians, home schoolers, scout troop leaders and readers interested in books and technology! Today's post offers parts five and six of my lesson plan for a hands-on, self-guided Book Trailer Project that you can incorporate into your own learning environment.

As I noted in an earlier post, I'm embarking on a quest to capture video footage of story time experiences  involving books in my Story Time with Signs and Rhymes series and/or book trailers for titles in my series. For a limited time, I will provide a complimentary Skype/Facetime or Email Author visit with any group that shares a video of this nature that is suitable and available for upload to YouTube.

So far I've Introduced the Project and Provided Sample Book Trailers and discussed Choosing a Book and Planning Your Book Trailer. This week's focus is on Filming, Editing and Publishing Your Book Trailer.

Part Five: Film and Edit Your Book Trailer

Film and edit your book trailer using the tips and guidelines described in this website (developed by Michelle Harclerode, a Teacher Librarian in Florida).

Additional Resources

*If you decide to include background music in your trailer, be sure to use royalty free music (or obtain the proper rights to the music).  Mrs. Hembree, a teacher in Seattle, Washington, who has done book trailer projects in her classroom suggests that students use the royalty free music from Kevin MacLeod on his website, Incompetech.com. He shares his music for free for others to use as long as you give him credit. 

If you want to use pictures or other images in your book trailer, it’s important that you find images that are “copyright friendly” (i.e. so you are not using someone else’s copyright protected files). If you use Google Advanced Image Search, at the very bottom of the screen, next to the option for “usage rights,” click on one of the “free to use” choices. This will filter your image search so that you only get images that are copyright friendly.  The Rochester High School website also has lots of links for other copyright friendly resources.   

Photo Credit: ABDO Publishing Group

*If you want jpegs of the book covers in the Story Time with Signs & Rhymes series, or a picture of me, those resources can be found here.  

*If you want access to electronic/PDF files of any of the books in the Story Time with Signs & Rhymes series (beyond what is available via the Google eBook previews ), please contact me, so I can put you in touch with my publisher.

Part Six: Publish and Announce Your Book Trailer

If you’d like to share your finished project with me, message me or let me know via comment, and we'll make arrangements so I can get a link to your video and plan for your complimentary author visit via Skype/Facetime or Email.  I can’t wait to see your work (and, if I have your permission, and the permission of those who have been filmed, I’ll share it with others). Even if you don't share your work with me, I hope you had fun and learned a lot and will share feedback about your experience with me.  

*Need inspiration? Here is a link to a video project produced by two fifth grade boys.  I think they did a great job, don't you agree?!

*If you really enjoyed this project, and/or you want to do something similar, (and you can finish your project before February 1, 2013), there is a fun, 90-Second Newbery Book Film Festival that you might want to participate in. The Multnomah County Library, in Portland, Oregon, my hometown, is one of the national screening locations. You can find out more about this project here and here.  

Capture That Story (Choose a Book and Plan Your Book Trailer)

Today's post is geared for innovative teachers and librarians, home schoolers, scout troop leaders and readers interested in books and technology! I'll continue with parts three and four of my lesson plan for a hands-on, self-guided Book Trailer Project that you can incorporate into your own learning environment.

As I noted in my last post, I'm embarking on a quest to capture video footage of story time experiences  involving books in my Story Time with Signs and Rhymes series and/or book trailers for titles in my series. For a limited time, I will provide a complimentary Skype/Facetime or Email Author visit with any group that shares a video of this nature that is suitable and available for upload to YouTube.

This week's focus is on Choosing a Book and Planning Your Book Trailer. (NOTE: The Voki video below may not be viewable with iPads or other devices that do not use Flash)

Part Three: Choose A Book

Now that you know what book trailers are, and you’ve seen some samples, I hope you will decide to make a book trailer. To get started, choose a book you’d like to feature in your book trailer.  

You can choose whatever book you like, but I HOPE you will consider one of my books from the Story Time with Signs & Rhymes series (Set One or Set Two) because I would LOVE to feature your trailers on my website, blog, and YouTube channel! If you choose one of my books, they are easy to find in libraries around the world using Worldcat. You can find eBook previews here.

Part Four: Plan Your Book Trailer

You can find an excellent resource for planning your book trailer here, (on the website of Michelle Harclerode, an innovative Teacher Librarian in Florida).

Some special things to consider if you are using a book from the Story Time with Signs & Rhymes Series:

*Learning and demonstrating a little bit of American Sign Language (ASL) will enhance your book trailer. You can find online sign language dictionaries here.  

*You can find downloadable glossaries and sign language activity ideas here (scroll down past the “Star Wars” info).

*Some of the books can be “sung” to the tune of familiar children’s songs. Read this blog post for a list of the songs that match up with some of my books.

*The books in this series are geared for three to eight year olds. Consider involving kids in this age group (siblings, neighbors, younger kids from your school) in your project.  Kids in this age group usually LOVE to sing and sign. (You will need to obtain appropriate releases to show other people on film.  Your teacher should have the appropriate release forms that will need to be signed by parents, but if not, feel free to contact me and I will send you a sample release form). 

*There are ASL Fun Facts and Activity Ideas in the back of each book. You can also find out more information by reading some recent interviews with me (scroll down past the Mike Thaler and Stan Lee interviews). 

In my next post I'll discuss filming and publishing your book trailer. In the meantime, please feel free to message me directly or via the comment section if you have questions or requests for additional information.

Capture That Story! (Introduction and Sample Book Trailers)

Calling all innovative teachers and librarians, home schoolers, scout troop leaders and readers interested in books and technology! I'm embarking on a quest to capture video footage of story time experiences  involving books in my Story Time with Signs and Rhymes series and/or book trailers for titles in my series. For a limited time, I will provide a complimentary Skype/Facetime or Email Author visit with any group that shares of video of this nature that is suitable and available for upload to YouTube. If you're in my local area, I will also donate a limited number of in-person visits for groups that are willing to capture my story time program on film so that I can upload the experience to YouTube.

As a fun extra, over the next several weeks I'll share my lesson plan for a hands-on, self-guided Book Trailer Project that you can incorporate into your own learning environment.  This week I'll introduce the project and provide sample book trailers.

Don't hesitate to get in touch if you have questions in the meantime (or if you have a need for the full lesson plan before I have posted all of it out to the blog).  (NOTE: The Voki video below may not be viewable with iPads or other devices that do not use Flash)

Part One: Introduction

Greetings! Thanks for stopping by the Book Trailer Project page. My name is Dawn Babb Prochovnic. I’m the author of 16 picture books in the Story Time with Signs & Rhymes series. None of my books have book trailers...yet. I’m hoping YOU will help me change that!

Most people are familiar with movie trailers. Those are the short movie previews that persuade people to watch a particular movie. A book trailer is a short movie that previews a particular book and persuades people to read that book.

Part Two: Sample Book Trailers

A book trailer can come in many different forms: 

It can be a preview of the book. Here is an animated example for the book, Ollie and Moon by Diane Kredensor, and here is an example with still shots from Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, by Robin Koontz. 

It can be an animated retelling of the book such as this example for the book, An Army of A’s by Robert Scott Kelly.

It can be an creative retelling, with still shots from the book. Check out this example for the book, A Visitor for Bear by Bonny Becker. 

It can be a demonstration of a unique element of the book. Here is YouTube video of me singing and signing along with my book, See the Colors.

It can be a series of filmed interviews or interactions with people (kids!) who have read the book. Here is an example for the book, Pete the Cat, by Eric Litwin.  

It can be audio interviews with people (kids!) who have read the book and funny film footage to go along with the audio. This is a great trailer for the book, Little Chicken’s Big Day, by Katie Davis.

It can be a book talk with one or more students sharing favorite parts or unique aspects of the book. Watch this book talk for the book, Song of the Water Boatman, by Joyce Sidman. 

It can be a staged reading of the book. Here is a YouTube video of me reading and signing along with my book, One Trick for One Treat, here is an example of me reading Wear a Silly Hat to a group of children, and here is a really popular YouTube video of Eric Litwin and friends reading his book book, Pete the Cat, with a live audience. 

It can be an audio reading of the book with close ups and creative camera work of the book art. Here is an example for the book, The Little Mouse, The Red-Ripe Strawberry, and the Big, Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood.

It can be a creative re-interpretation of the book, as shown in these examples for the book, Uh-Oh!, by Mary Newell DePalma and the book, Walter the Farting Dog by William Kotzwinkle. 

The possibilities are limited only by your imagination! You can find more examples here, (on the website of Mrs. Hembree, a library teacher from Bell Elementary in the Seattle area) and here (on another author's blog post about the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival). 

Stay tuned. Next week I'll discuss choosing your book and planning your book trailer.

***
(January 2014: Here is a fun update! Mrs. Hembree and I met at a library conference in October 2013. She recently started a "Book Trailer Club" at her school and some of the students in the club are going to work on book trailers for my books! Here is a sample book trailer Mrs. Hembree created for my book, Shape Detective. She created it during winter break . . . using iMovie on her iPhone! I LOVE it! Once Mrs. Hembree's students start sending me their book trailers, I will post them on this summary page).  
*** 

2012 Year End Post

I went quiet after December 14th. Not my typical modus operandi. I had blog posts written and queued up to post, but I rescheduled them for future publication dates because it didn't seem right to maintain normal routines. I took comfort in the words of others, but I couldn't find words of my own that felt appropriate to share. I read and watched tributes. I walked around lost in my thoughts. I cried.

I did not personally know any of the victims of the December 14th tragedy, and yet I felt like I knew them all. I work with teachers and young children. I have children of my own. I write picture books for young children.  And, I'm passionately protective of childhood. It's something I feel called upon to honor, treasure and protect. Yet I'm aware that for many children, childhood is a place filled with less publicized pain. That awareness is one of the many reasons December 14th shook me so deeply. It forced me  to stop and think about the suffering in the world. In my country. In my neighborhood. In my extended family.

I got stuck in the sadness and had to force myself to resume normal activities. One of those activities was taking the time to pause and reflect on the past year. I typically devise some type of creative way to share the past year's events with family and friends. I found the escape into creativity a welcome respite. Here is this year's offering:

It was a year mixed with blessings and difficulties: Amazing family travel experiences. Book launches. Health challenges endured by people I love. And lots of ordinary happenings.

As I reflected on 2012, I continued to ponder the emotions I felt after the December 14th tragedy. I realized that embedded in the sadness was a sense of  powerlessness. I felt so very small.

Feeling powerless and small stinks.

I decided for my own sanity I needed to redirect my attention. Instead of focusing on the bigness of the problems in the world, I would reclaim my power by focusing on the small ways I can make a positive difference:

I can smile at strangers.
I can laugh with children.
I can notice my neighbors.
I can lend a hand.
I can offer friendship.
I can share my time.
I can say thank you.
I can listen.
I can teach.
I can write.
I can treasure the work that I do, as a parent and as a professional.
I can bear witness to the joy and innocence of childhood. The wild laughter. The thrill of new discoveries. The intense energy. The curiosity. The questions. The language. The love.

Thank you friends and colleagues, for supporting and encouraging my work, and for sharing my books with the children you love. You've helped me make a small difference in this world.

When To Use Signs Such as Want, Again, and Please

Building on the question I answered in last week's blog post, today I will discuss when it might be useful to introduce more intermediate signs such as "want," and "please," in addition to more basic signs such as "eat"/hungry" and "more."

In the early developmental stages, babies' language and conceptual categories are very broad. Food is Milk. Over time, a new category for food develops: crackers. As more time passes, more categories for crackers develop: fish crackers, graham crackers, saltine crackers.  As even more time passes, even more sub-categories for crackers develop: cheesy fish crackers and plain fish crackers; regular graham crackers and chocolate graham crackers...you get the idea.

Photo © freefoto.com

Language acquisition follows along in this pattern. In the beginning, basic signs like "eat"/"hungry" and "more" will apply to many of the concepts your baby will want and need to convey. As I discussed in my last post, even though your baby likely means "I want" when he signs "more," the basic concept s/he is trying to convey is "bring me the things I need and want!" Over time, his or her wants and needs will become more specific: "I want more food." "I'm feeling hungry."  "I'm hungry for bananas." "I want more bananas."

All that said, once babies start signing, it's not at all uncommon for them to start babbling in sign. Picture this scene: You're on a walk with your baby. S/he is making all kinds of vocal articulations. Yak, yak, yak, yak, yak. This is verbal babbling. It's not uncommon for signing babies to likewise babble in sign language. Their hands will be moving like crazy. You'll see the sign for banana. You'll see the sign for apple. You'll see the sign for cracker. It's not that your baby necessarily wants any of these things right now...he is just yaking about the things that are important in his world.

But then at some point on that same walk, you'll see him sign milk. It will be emphatic. He will sign it over and over again. You might even see both hands going.  THIS is a baby that's ready to add the sign for "want" (and/or "please") to his repertoire." You might find yourself saying, "Do you want your milk? Here's your milk." Or, you might say, "Show me please and I can get your milk for you." Good job. Here's your milk."

Now, granted, if this particular baby is really hungry for milk, or it's getting close to nap time, or he or she has an intense temperament, dragging out the conversation like this (with our without signing), is likely going to lead to a frustrated baby.  You'll have to be the judge as to the right situations and timing to introduce these more intermediate concepts and signs to your baby. The overall point I'm trying to make is that your baby will reach a point when they will sign about things they don't actually need or want at that moment, and there will be times that they do in fact want what they are signing for. When a baby has reached that level of sophistication in their communication, they are ready for more intermediate words that can enhance their communication.

Photo Courtesy of Fotopedia

Quick side note: Some of you are reading this and thinking, "Hey, my baby has been signing please for months. It was one of her first signs..." It's true. Many babies do sign please very early, and a tee tiny baby signing please is an absolutely darling sight to behold (not to mention, it makes us look good as parents when our babies appear to be mannerly). Here's the rub: In my experience, most babies that sign please early are likely using that sign as a substitute for the more general concept of "I want" (similar to the discussion in my last post, re: babies who sign "more" when technically they mean "I want"). So, you can kid yourself all you want by thinking that your baby is mannerly, when in fact, more realistically, he or she is using a symbol that we associate with manners (please) with a concept that they associate with getting their needs met (bring it on...). But not to worry. It does look darned cute when a baby is rubbing their chest ferociously to convey their desire for something. And I'm all for darned cute! In fact, if YOU have some cute pictures of your baby signing, I would love for you to share them with me so I can feature them in a future blog post. Get in touch if you do. Cheers! Dawn

My Baby Signs "More" When She Means "I Want"

A former class participant sent me a question that ties into my most recent blog post. She said that her baby started signing in October when she turned one. Her baby signs "more" fairly regularly, but the mom has come to realize that her baby often means "I want" when she signs "more." For example, the baby signs "more," and then points at something she sees that she wants. The mom wondered if she should start showing the sign for "want" in addition to the sign for "more" or if that would just complicate things.

What this mom describes is very common. For a baby, the distinction between the concepts of more and want is a very fine line. More = "I want more of something I've just recently had" and "I want" = I want something I'm thinking about right now or something that I can see and point to." When a baby learns to sign more to get more of something, (and it works!), it's completely logical that he or she would make the  same sign to convey they want something/anything/everything, whether they've recently had it or not!

Photo © FreeFoto.com

In this situation, what I encourage parents and caregivers to do is add the sign(s) for the objects or activities the baby is trying to communicate that he or she wants. For example, when your baby sees you getting a container of ice cream out of the freezer and she emphatically starts signing "more,"you would probably notice yourself saying, "Oh this ice cream looks good, doesn't it? Would you like some ice cream, too?" As I discussed in my last post, as you converse in this way (which you likely do without any "training"), you are naturally providing a verbal label for that interaction. For signing, all you need to do is add the sign for ice cream to that conversation, so you are also introducing a sign label for that motivating object (or activity).

Another thing to be aware of is that it's not uncommon for a baby to sign "more" when it isn't immediately obvious what they want "more" of (or, more accurately, what they want). In this case, you'll need to do some sleuthing to figure out what your baby is trying to convey to you. For example, when my son was a baby, the first thing he would do when he woke up in the morning was sign, "more." I'd laugh to myself, "More what?? You haven't had anything yet!?" However, when I thought about our morning routine, I typically nursed him soon after picking him up from his crib. With this in mind, it was logical that what he wanted when he was signing "more" was "milk." So, I'd say to him, "It looks like you are ready for your milk this morning," while I signed "milk" and got settled in to nurse him. Over time, his emphatic signs for "more" in the morning shifted to the emphatic signing of "milk,"which, incidentally, he signed constantly, but alas, that is another story!

So when should you sign "want?" Well, if you've taken any of my classes or followed my blog for long, you know I don't think there are many shoulds in signing...But next week I will share when I think "want" can be a helpful addition to your baby's signing vocabulary. If you have other questions in the meantime, post them here, or send me a direct message and I'll be sure to get back to you.

Happy Signing! Dawn