Bookprints: An Exploration of Our Reading Journey

I recently had the chance to talk on the School Librarian Learning Network Podcast about a project I did with my students called Bookprints. Inspired by librarian Rhonda Jenkins, who shared her idea on Twitter, I decided to put my own spin on it. 

In our version, students created unique "bookprints," which are like footprints, but showcase their reading journey. They used book covers to represent each book they read and explained why each one was important to them. But we didn't stop there. Students also created multimedia responses for each book. They designed new covers using AI tools in Canva or Keynote, recreated scenes from the books, and even wrote six-word memoirs for some of them.

To make it more interactive, we taught the students how to hyperlink their slides in Google Slides. They linked the book cover images to individual slides that contained their media and descriptions. This created an engaging presentation that could be shared online.

This project was a fantastic way for students to reflect on their reading journey and learn about using tools like Google Slides. It also set the stage for our next project, where students will create Choose Your Own Adventure-style stories using what they learned about hyperlinking.  I'll be writing about that project in an upcoming blog post.

Overall, the Bookprints project was a big hit. The students enjoyed it and were proud of what they created. I'm excited to share my experiences and resources with other teacher librarians and teachers to encourage similar creative projects in their classrooms.

LINK to all of my resources used to teach this lesson.

I had so much fun talking to Steve Tetreault @DrTLovesBooks.  I hope you will give the podcast a listen.  We talk about the project, but also about awesome books and more!