Finding fun ideas that add some student perspective to the pages of your yearbook can be an excellent way to bring your publication to life. If you’re on the lookout for a fun concept that will really get the kids at your school engaged, a “my favorite things” feature can be an excellent fit! Below, I’ll walk you through what this type of yearbook spread would include, and how to implement it in a way that brings each grade on your campus together.
Find a Theme
Your goal is to make your yearbook memorable. This type of feature offers an opportunity to showcase the things that students love most about your school, or their particular classroom. Start by asking students at your school to share their favorite things about your campus. You can go about this in two different ways: by leaving the question very broad, and just covering what they love about your campus as a whole, or narrowing the scope to something more specific. If you choose the latter, determine your niche focus up front to offer some direction for your piece as a whole. Here are a few cute ideas to get you started:
- Your favorite…outfit to wear to school: This can be especially fun if your campus has a strict dress code, as students love the opportunity to show off what makes their style unique.
- Your favorite…things you’ll miss: Target this concept to kids who are moving up a grade to a bigger school next year, or focus on what all of the kids on your campus will miss about the grade they’re in this year.
- Your favorite…in-class activity: It might be storytime every Friday afternoon, or science lab days–find what academic activity really calls to your students.
Ask the Right Questions
To make this feature stand out, go beyond the generic answers, and dig a little deeper into what makes your school unique. For example, if a student says that the playground is their favorite thing about your school, go deeper and ask why. Keep digging for a more specific response until you get to the heart of what they love. Maybe they enjoy hanging upside down on the monkey bars with their friends, or they round up other kids for an awesome foursquare competition after lunch. The more detailed their answers are, the more you’ll be able to capture great memories. Not to mention, you’ll get some awesome, distinct photos in the process, which leads to a better yearbook spread overall.
A Twist on My Favorite Things
To complete your “my favorite things” yearbook spread, create a collage that includes all of the best, or most unique, suggestions that your students submitted. You can separate this out with one yearbook spread per grade, or you can add a smaller collage to each of your classroom pages. This can offer something extra special for each class. Don’t forget to add unique captions to each of the images in your collage. It will help to build context within each of your “favorite things,” and will remind other students about the coolest things at your school!
A Yearbook Spread Teaser
A “my favorite things” feature within your publication can be a fun yearbook spread to create. It’s also a great concept to promote when marketing your yearbook! To get more orders, or just to create some extra excitement about your yearbook, post a submission or two at a time and ask students what THEIR favorite thing about your campus is. And don’t forget to remind students how they can check out more of their classmates’ favorite things by buying a copy of the yearbook for themselves. This kind of teaser will build more awareness for your book and the kind of content you’re trying to create!
