Book Bento Boxes

Mrs. Desmond's College Photography class consisting of 11th and 12th-grade students came to the library this week to learn about Book Bento Boxes. It was part history lesson, part culture appreciation lesson, part English lesson, and part photography lesson. The students taught by library student teacher, Mrs. Hirsch, learned what a bento box is - a Japanese term for a single-serve takeaway meal that is served in a box, traditionally lacquered wood with separate sections for different portions. Applying this structure to a literature response strategy results in book bento boxes. Students selected a book that they have read in the past year and got to work brainstorming what objects they would include in their boxes. The requirements were: 5-7 physical objects that hold meaning or represent something from the book (no photos of objects); the photo had to be square, and students could be as creative as they wanted.

Mrs. Desmind went over flat lay photography. She discussed lighting, background, props, composition (symmetrical vs asymmetrical). This year students worked with DSLR cameras instead of cell phones. The photos above show students putting their book bento boxes together to be photographed.

Stay tuned for the final projects coming soon!