Book Bento Boxes

To finish off a unit of work focussing on analysing a picture book of their choosing, the Year 5 classes recently created ‘Book Bento Boxes.’ A Book Bento Box is a reader response strategy. It is modelled on the idea of the Japanese Bento takeaway meal. It uses colourful portions arranged neatly into separate sections of a box. This presentation method encourages students to think imaginatively and in innovative ways.

The task required students to reflect on a picture book they had read. They were then required to compile small objects that represented significant themes, ideas and events within the story. The girls were then asked to present these objects in a visually appealing way, drawing inspiration from the #bookbento photos on Instagram.

The girls did a fantastic job, not only with the Book Bento Boxes but also at explaining their reasoning for choosing each of the objects.

“I have included swimming goggles in my book bento box because in the story – The Deep – the main character Alice is scared of swimming in the deep at the beach. Swimming goggles represent that in the end Alice can finally see that swimming in the deep is no different to swimming in the shallows. Goggles symbolise having vision.” Therese Robertson (5.4)

“I have included a plate because they all gather together to remember the people who died. It represents how much they care for family.” Holly Burns (5.5)

“I chose a bandaid because Max never would have become a clown if he hadn’t hurt his leg.” Hayley Leighton (5.2)

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