Thanks to Larry Ferlazzo this morning I learned about a neat contest that The New York Times Learning Network is hosting. The 15-Second Vocabulary Contest asks students to create a short video in which they pronounce, define, and illustrate (animation, drawing, acting, claymation, stop-motion) the meaning of one of the words from this list of the Learning Network’s Words of the Day.

The contest is open to students worldwide between the ages of 13 and 19. Submissions are due by November 11. Complete contest rules are available here.

A winning video from last year’s contest is embedded below.

Applications for Education
Even if your students don’t enter the contest, the concept of creating 15 second vocabulary videos is one that you can incorporate into your language arts lessons. If you want to create a gallery of vocabulary videos that your students make, consider using Google Drive to make a private gallery of videos.