While at church in Boston last Sunday, I had the privilege of meeting Jenny Sawyer who has the website 60secondrecap.com that produces short video clip summaries of typical high school reading. Check out her library of clips about assigned reading such as Shakespeare or Lord of the Flies, or check out her pick of the week for free reading. Don’t see a clip you wish was on the site? You can request it!
There is a place where you can upload your own 60 second video recap, which would be fun for kids to do, and there is also a section to help students with literary analysis terms and paper writing. Also consider trying out her iPhone app for the site which bypasses the ads.
You’ll enjoy Jenny who is lively and intelligent. Her summaries are cogent and helpful teasers to get going on reading the books, or for thinking further about what you already read, without enough information to substitute for actually reading the books. This is a fun resource for teens and parents, so forward this link to those you think might benefit. Or get some ideas of what you might want to read yourself!
