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POSSIBLE APPLICATIONS: Teacher to Student

When I go to the movies, I love to get there early. I want to be in my seat with a large Pibb Zero and some popcorn, ready to roll when the first movie trailers pop up on the screen. I love the art of a great movie trailer. A good trailer will tell you what to expect when you go see a movie. A great trailer will make you count down the days until the movie comes out. An epic trailer will make you so excited for a movie that you go online to watch it three more times. Then you even research how many other versions of the trailer exist, and you try to watch all of those.

No trailers are more epic to me than the ones for Marvel movies. I’ll watch the trailers online, then I’ll search for follow-up information about the characters in them. From the heart-pounding music score to the action scenes to the comic relief, I love it all—and I want that same energy and hype for my classroom. I want my kids so excited for what’s coming up in class that they repeatedly ask me when it’s coming. I want them breaking down the doors to get into class. Class trailers can have that effect.

STUDENT-CREATED VIDEO

At the end of each unit, students can create a trailer highlighting everything they’ve learned. You can then use their trailers with your students the following year.

1. Brainstorm the most interesting elements from the unit.

2. Discuss how to build suspense and not give everything away.

3. Have groups of students write scripts based on the brainstorming.

4. Give the students time to record the video.

5. Select the best video(s) to use the following year.

Every year when parents come to back-to-school night, I show a trailer promoting my class. This isn’t just any trailer; it’s a trailer for my gamified class, and it builds up all the energy, excitement, and chaos that is my class.

I preface the video by explaining the awards I’ve received, the articles and books I’ve written, and the conferences I’ve presented at—not to brag, but to assure parents that although my class is a little different, everything I do has a sound foundation to it. Then we roll into the trailer.