This trimester in seventh grade Humanities, students on the Swain Campus finished reading their choice of book club novel, then turned that novel into a five- to seven-episode mock Netflix series.

Students were able to choose from Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, which is the first novel in a series about slavery and the American Revolution, or The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Young Readers Edition by Michael Pollan, which follows the author as he researches the modern food chains and attempts to discern where our food comes from and what we should really be eating.

As a culminating project, students created a Netflix series based upon their novel. Successfully completed series included all major plot points (without spoilers) broken into five to seven episode with catchy titles and a brief synopsis that left readers/viewers wanting more! Students rated their book with a thumbs up or down, gave each series a TV rating from TV-Y to TV-14 based upon included content, and a few even created their own series trailers, cast lists, and recommended similar series. 

This was a fun project, and it helped students see the plot arc of a story, how to catch a viewer’s eye, and when an episode overview was revealing a little too much about the plot’s twists and turns. During in-class presentations, it was clear that students enjoyed the book and made connections between what we read and how we watch a streaming series.  Finally, it’s fair to say that students at the Swain Campus have a bright future in book adaptation for a future TV series!