Week 1: Using Digital Stories in the Classroom

My eighth grade students used to spend five weeks working with a historical fiction choice book, and at the end, they gave an oral book report. A digital story told from a character's perspective would be far livelier than the book reports. I can envision a lovely example to go with Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry: still shots of Mississippi in the 1930s during the Depression, photos of segregation, and spirituals playing in the background. This would take students to a much deeper level than the book report. And the audience would be far more engaged, too, and more likely to develop an interest in the book being presented (so it supports reading, too). Students would also be more excited and motivated by such a project. Thinking as a future librarian, maybe these digital stories based on historical fiction books could be useful during book talks in the library as well, which creates an authentic audience for the students creating the digital stories. This is just a start--there are so many possibilities for this sort of project in the classroom!