Using Animoto To Create Video Booktalks With Our 4th Graders!

Our 4th graders in Mrs. Haverstick and Mrs. Teigland's class are sharing their favorite books in a different way this year. 

For their last reading project, they used Animoto,

which allows them to create video booktalks online in a snap.  And WOW...did their Animoto's turn out awesome. 

Let me share how they did it.

First, Amy Haverstick and Abby Teigland used a simple graphic organizer to lay out what slides they were to include within their Animoto video booktalk. 

This helped the 4th graders think about elements such as characters, setting, happenings in the book they wanted to share, and more. 

We set the students up with their very own Animoto account using their school Google accounts.

Once logged in, they open up the creation window. 

An Animoto video is created by adding images, video clips, text and music to one of the many templates.  As you can see, they have really cool templates to choose from.

The 4th graders added their own photos and videos. 

We loved seeing the kids take photos of themselves holding the book they read.  They uploaded these to use in their Animoto's.

They also used photos and videos to use from the Free Stock Content. They found a lot that would tie in to their booktalks.

And they really enjoyed choosing a song for their Animoto.  

Within the Change Song section there are tons of different categories to choose from that fit any theme and mood. 

They previewed their Animoto's along the way...

...making sure to get it just right. 

 

When they were all finished, they produced the Animoto booktalk.  They were now ready to be shared with classmates and others, inspiring them to...

 ...read the book they were sharing and recommending.

You will find all of their Animoto booktalks on this Padlet that Abby and Amy had their students add the link from their video to when they were finished.

Padlet is the perfect place to bring Animoto or any digital project together in one spot online.  Since the Animoto's are all embedded in the Padlet, they can play the videos just by clicking on one at a time.

You can apply for your FREE Educational Animoto account here too, friends.