It’s Time To Write! Join the Digital Story Contest hosted by The Global Write and Bronwyn Joyce

Did you know that November is National Novel Writing Month? It is a great time to join the Digital Story Contest! We can promote writing in our classroom by providing prompts to spark some curiosity and creativity and give students time to work together to brainstorm ideas for their own story. This contest is perfect for creating that spark!

As many of us are now finishing up the first quarter of our school year, it’s always a good opportunity to think about what we’ve tried in the new year, what has gone well and what is something we might want to explore next. I am always looking for ways to have my students build their social emotional learning skills, to collaborate, and definitely to get them writing more especially as a Spanish teacher. I want students to enjoy reading, writing and creating in my classroom and sometimes it requires that I provide them with some prompts to get started. Other times when they work collaboratively, they can support one another in the writing process. Literacy is important and as educators there are many ways that we can promote literacy and the development of these essential skills in our classrooms regardless of grade level or content area that we are teaching.

With November being national literacy month, there is a great opportunity for students and educators to participate and learn from not just with members of their school and school community but to collaborate on a global scale. This year, teachers can participate with their classrooms in the Digital Story Contest hosted by The Global Write and supported by Bunceee and Capstone!

Getting started

You can learn more about the contest here. For teachers that do not already have an account, you can try Buncee free for 45 days when you enter the code Globawrites1121. Once registered, choose a classroom account to get started and add students who can then write their own stories and create a book. As students develop their skills and have fun in the writing process, they will be engaged in authentic and meaningful learning that is more personalized to their own experiences. These experiences will better meet their needs and interests for writing and help them to feel comfortable as they are creating.

This contest will encourage students to write and share their work with students and educators beyond your school community. Students will have real-world experiences that will help them to better prepare for the future by seeing the relevance of their learning and sharing it with the world. Talk about promoting creativity and interest in writing!

There are three grade level categories: K-2 , 3-6, and 7-12.

In their stories, students can use audio, animations, stickers, text, video, and more to write their own stories on Buncee. During the month, there will be several events happening including three live streams with educators such as Bronwyn Joyce, Michael Drezek, and Shannon Miller who will share ideas and inspiration for promoting literacy in our classrooms.

Giving students an opportunity to find something that is interesting or unique to them and providing a chance to write a story, to brainstorm, to work together, to be creative, and to express themselves in ways that meet their interest and needs will lead to more student engagement. Learning opportunities like these will boost student confidence and will help to build relationships and a sense of community within the classroom and beyond the classroom space.

During the contest, teachers can share students’ work with their school, school community and globally. They can build a library of resources for all students to learn from and build their essential SEL skills, in particular social awareness and relationship building.

Literacy is important and finding ways that we can encourage students and support them along the way in the writing and creating process is important.

Have fun creating and entering to win prizes! Check out the prizes available:

All educators receive a digital badge that can be shared with students who participate. On December 3 there will be a livestream event, where Bronwyn Joyce will showcase the stories that were chosen as winners for each category. Prizes can include:

• a classroom book pack, courtesy of Capstone
• a classroom ebook pack, courtesy of Capstone
• Buncee swag
• and more!

Join in these upcoming live sessions about fostering creative writing, literacy and community with Buncee!

Visualizing, Organizing, and Planning Your Story Ideas November 10th 7pm ET, with Bronwyn Joyce.

Fostering Connections Through Collaborative Digital Storytelling November 17th 4pm ET, with Michael Drezek. How to create and use Buncee boards to collaborate!

Building an Engaging Reading Community for All Readers

November 22 7pm ET, with Shannon McClinktock Miller. Learn how to use Buncee to build a reading community

Special Malay Session: Unleash Your Creative Writing Superpowers

November 8 at 8pm MYT, Goh Kok Ming, hosted by Rooban Arumugan

Don’t forget to check out the Buncee SEL resources and so much more in the Buncee Ideas Lab!

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