Book Creator

This activity for 5th graders focuses on developing students’ language skills through the creation of a digital storybookusing Book Creator. As Halloween approaches, students use this theme as inspiration to write and design their own story in English. Working in groups of four, they create short texts, add drawings or images (which may be self-made, online, or AI-generated), and record themselves reading their story aloud.

The activity integrates reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills while promoting creativity and collaboration. The teacher provides vocabulary and sentence-building support, monitors the process, and encourages students to communicate in English throughout.

• Location: Classroom

• Target age: Students between 10 and 12 years old

• Target language level: A2 

1. To enable students to write short, simple sentences and descriptions about Halloween characters and objects using familiar vocabulary and basic connectors (and, but, because...), demonstrating A2-level Written Production: Creative Writing competence.
   (p. 76–77)

2. To encourage students to collaborate in small groups to create a shared digital page, asking and answering simple questions, giving suggestions, and agreeing on ideas, in line with A2-level Collaborating to Construct Meaning competence.
   (p. 119)

• Students will be able to write short creative texts in English using appropriate Halloween-related vocabulary and basic narrative structures.

• Students will be able to record and read aloud their digital story with correct pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation.

• Students will be able to collaborate effectively in groups by discussing ideas, giving feedback, and using English as the main means of communication.

• The teacher must ensure that all tablets or computers are fully charged and connected to the internet (30 minutes before the class).

• The teacher must log in to Book Creator and create one shared library (free version) or create a new shared library for the students (10 minutes before the class).

• The teacher must check that all students can access the shared library using the invitation code or link (5 minutes before the class).

• The teacher must prepare a short example of a Halloween-themed digital story to introduce the task and inspire students (10 minutes before the class).

• The teacher must organize students into groups of four and assign each group a device (5 minutes, in-class).

Classroom and digital materials:

• Tablets or computers (one per group)

• Projector or digital board

• Teacher’s example story (created in Book Creator)

• Paper and pencils (for drafting ideas and drawings)

• Headphones with microphones (optional, for clear voice recording)

Scaffolding materials.

Pre-task

The teacher begins the lesson by introducing the topic in a simple and engaging way. She asks the class: "Which festival is coming soon?" and students are supposed to respond, leading to the answer: "Halloween!".

The teacher then briefly introduces some Halloween vocabulary (pumpkin, ghost, witch, spider, bat) using flashcards or images, ensuring comprehension through gestures and repetition.

Finally, she introduces the digital tool Book Creator, explaining that students will use it to create a collaborative class book about Halloween. The teacher shows a short example or demonstrates how to add text and images on a page.

Main task

Students are divided into small groups and each of them will create their own Halloween-themed digital book using the app.

Each group’s book should include:

• Several simple sentences in English describing Halloween characters, objects or short stories (using the target vocabulary such as ghost, pumpkin, witch, spider, etc.).

• Images or drawings (from Canva's AI tool or from Book Creator) to illustrate their ideas.

• Audio recordings of students reading their sentences aloud to practise pronunciation and add a multimodal element.

On the one hand, the teacher encourages creativity and collaboration, guiding students to use the vocabulary correctly and form grammatically accurate sentences. On the other hand, students work together to design the layout and add text, images, and sound. The teacher moves around the class, supporting language production and providing feedback when necessary.

When all the books are finished, they are shared digitally with the class.

Post-task

Each group presents their digital book to the rest of the class: they explain briefly what their story or description is about and read some of their sentences aloud.

After all presentations, the class reflects on what they have learned (both in terms of new vocabulary and using English creatively).

Finally, students complete a short self-assessment checklist (for example, “We used 5 Halloween words,” “We worked well as a group,” “We added pictures and sounds to our book”). The teacher can later share the books on the school website or with families, celebrating students’ creativity and linguistic progress.

1. Introduction

Book Creator is a very useful app for teachers and students.

• Lets you create interactive digital books with text, photos, drawings, audio, and video.

• Great for classroom projects, portfolios, magazines, comics, or stories.

• Available as a web version and as an iPad app.

2. Plans available (In this tutorial we will use the free version)

5. Create a new book

• Inside your library, click “+ New Book”.

• Choose a format:

  • Square → very versatile.

  • Portrait → like a traditional book.

  • Landscape → good for projects with photos.

  • Comic → ready-made comic strip templates.

• You can also use a ready-made template or remix a book created by another teacher from the Discover section.