Toy Box Leadership Video Companion

If you haven’t done so already, read the book Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons for the Toys You Loved as a Child by Ron Hunter, Jr. and Michael Waddell. Pick a chapter that really speaks to you or collaborate with your peers to divide up the chapters. Think about what’s important in the chapter and work to summarize the authors’ thesis (main idea) and key points. What questions, ideas, concerns, or connections does this raise for you? How might this leadership lesson be important for students and student writers, not just corporate executives? Jot down your notes and ideas. Pull a couple or three key passages that stand out, and work to articulate how they contribute to the authors’ main idea.

Next, decide if you’d like to record a video of yourself discussing the chapter (a monologue of sorts) or if you’d like to invite some folks to talk with you and record your conversation. Would you all be in the same room or would you use Google Hangouts on Air to record your conversation and share? Sketch out a plan for how you’ll organize your recording. If you’re working alone, five minutes would likely be sufficient, but if you are working with a group, you might plan for a ten or fifteen minute conversation. You’ll likely want to welcome your viewers, orient them to the conversation, and give a brief summary of the book and the chapter before you start your response or discussion. Quote specific passages from the book in your discussion to keep it grounded in the text.

Be prepared to do a few takes, and once you are happy with the recording, share it and ask for feedback. One way to do this is to put the video in Vialogues and ask people to view, comment, critique, ask questions, etc.

Reflect on your “make” using a the prompts available at http://makercomp.wordpress.com/writers-memos/.