A book about a bully who gets a fresh start was the inspiration for a digital project at McKenna Elementary School. Students in Olivia Belfiore’s fifth grade class read “Restart” by Gordon Korman, then made movie trailers about it.
While the book doesn’t have a corresponding movie, that didn’t stop students from creating animated previews of “Restart.” They worked in small groups and made their projects in Canva using its animation features.
Ms. Belfiore explained that each group was asked to capture key points of the book such as important plot details, character changes, theme, and problem and solution. Instead of writing an essay, students were able to reflect on story elements in more engaging and visual way.
“It was a chance for them to show off their creativity,” Ms. Belfiore said. “Their projects were fantastic, beyond my expectations!”
For several weeks, Ms. Belfiore read sections of the book aloud each day, which would then be followed by a class discussion and entries in this digital journal. The movie trailers served as the culminating project.
