#FreedomtoRead Twitter chat with Jaya Bhattacharji Rose

Posted by Remya Padmadas on December 12, 2016
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Spotting fun in your classroom!

Posted by Remya Padmadas on December 06, 2016

Hello teachers!

We recently concluded our illustration campaign #Spotathon on StoryWeaver. We asked illustrators to create one spotting illustrations for us to help crowdsource a FREE spotting book for children. We've had the most  wonderful time looking at all the incoming entries and illustrators really expanded their imagination creating spotting illustrations set in a music room, markets, gardens, kitchens and even staff rooms :)

Spotting books can be a wonderful way to engage children, develop pre-reading skills and most important of all, they're just SO MUCH FUN! Our Outreach Manager, Payoshni Saraf put together a chotu list of spotting books for all those lovely teachers out there to use in you classroom!  

Nature Trail Rajiv Eipe brings his love for birding (or bird watching) to his entry. In 'A Nature Trail' a photographer takes pictures of birds, animals and isects that she sees on a nature walk. Can you spot them all?

An Evening at the Spice Market Megha Vishwanathan brings to life the smells and sounds of an evening market place in this beautifully detailed illustration. 

Space Station Booyakasha Are you ready for zero gravity? Blast off through stratosphere in Greystroke's fun and zany outerspace adventure!   

A Class Photo Hair oiled and combed? Ribbons in place? No funny faces or rabbit ears please! Let's line up and look for all the wonderful quirks Vidya Gopal wants us to find in her creation 'A Class Photo'. 

The Marketplace To market! To market! Shopping has never been as colourful and vibrant as it is in Niloufer Wadia's Spotathon entry 'The Marketplace'. What will you spot and buy? 

Messy Miss Mita Oh ho! Look's like Miss Mita has NOT tidied up her room. Help her tidy up won't you? But only AFTER you've spotted everything. 

and a special one for our dear teachers-  Paper Boat goes to the Staff Room Team Paper Boat has really captured the nuances of the Staff Room. Can you see yourself in this illustration dear teacher? Or perhaps one of your colleagues? 

 

We hope you and your students have lots of fun in the classroom with these Spotathon entries! Do write to us and tell us how YOU used them in the classroom and what your children thought at [email protected] 

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Spotathon: An Illustration Campaign to Create a Free Spotting Book

Posted by Remya Padmadas on November 14, 2016

This campaign is now closed

 

Children LOVE ‘spotting challenges’. Ask them to spot anything from a busy image and you can be sure they won’t quit. 3 crabs on a beach, 4 tyres in a workshop, 11 spoons in a kitchen... anything! Unfortunately, it’s hard to come by memorable spotting books which are affordable. So...

 

This Children’s Day (November 14), StoryWeaver is eager to create a fun spotting book for children and make it available for free. We think this will be special if it’s a collection of illustrations from artists around the world. And this, illustrators, is where we need your support. Just 1 illustration from you can make all the difference! 

 

The best entries from Spotathon will become part of a grand spotting book published by StoryWeaver, filled with illustrations from different artists. However, each entry that is submitted as part of Spotathon will be available on StoryWeaver as an individual activity book as well.

 

Here’s how you can participate in Spotathon!

 

  • Draw something which has enough details so that a child can spot up to 15 objects in it. Think of a setting which can accommodate these details. A beach, rainforest, kitchen, classroom, market... the possibilities are endless! The objects to spot are up to you. 

  • Before you start, imagine the child you’re setting the challenge for. Our readers are primarily children who haven’t had much access to books. We have 2 different categories which are linked to age and levels of difficulty. Remember, these are only guidelines.

 

a. 3-6 years (Level of Difficulty: Easy) – She has only recently started reading books. She’d enjoy spotting up to 8 objects. While she’s open to all kinds of settings, do remember that her vocabulary is limited. But her imagination definitely isn’t! As an example, here is an illustration by Soumya Menon of what would be ideal for her.

 

b. 7-10 years (Level of Difficulty: Medium) – As she’s expanding her vocabulary, she will be more comfortable with prediction and open to unfamiliar settings. She’d be able to spot up to 15 things. Even the way in which the objects are hidden can be more complex here. As an example, here is an illustration by Bindia Thapar of what would be ideal for her.

 

  • As the spotting exercise also requires an answer key for reference, you will need to prepare it using the same drawing. All you have do it number the images accordingly. Here’s an example.

 

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION

 

Timelines

Spotathon begins on October 25 and ends on November 21.

 

Submission

 

 

  • You will have to submit two illustrations: Main Illustration and Answer Key (examples above).

  • You can submit your entry in any language that is available on StoryWeaver.

  • You can submit more than one entry.

  • Watch a short Video Tutorial on how to submit your entry on StoryWeaver.

 

Format

  • Size of illustration (Main illustration & Answer Key): 11.17 inches (width) x 5.35 inches (height). This is the recommended size as it fits neatly into one of the templates on StoryWeaver.

  • The illustrations should be high-res (150-300 dpi).

  • Format: JPEG

  • File size for each illustration: Between 2 to 4 MB; above 4 MB will slow down the upload process

 

Copyright and other guidelines:

  • To participate in Spotathon, you must be over the age of 16.

  • The illustrations you submit must be your original work. 

  • By submitting your work, you are agreeing to a CC-BY 4.0 license being applied to it. To know more about this license, click here.

 

You can register for the campaign over here so that we know you're participating and can reach out for any updates. If you have any queries, feel free to drop us an email at [email protected]!

 

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