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9th Annual 15-Second Vocabulary Video Challenge

Introduction

Are you interested in video making? Here is a contest you may consider about.


The New York Times Learning Network invites students all around the world to create a short video that defines or teaches a word. It’s called 15-Second Vocabulary Video Challenge.


So, what is a 15-second vocabulary video? Here are the winning videos in the past contests.



If you are inspired to make your own video, the rules are simple:


  1. You must be a student ages 11 to 19 in middle school or high school anywhere in the world to participate.

  2. Download and select any word from the list of 2000-plus Words of the Day (PDF). Check the Word of the Day website to learn the meaning.

  3. Create a 15-second (or shorter) video that defines or teaches the word.

  4. Make sure you pronounce your word aloud, define it and give the part of speech.

  5. Work alone, with a partner or in a group. If you submit as part of a group, you cannot enter separately as an individual.

  6. Your video should help viewers understand and learn your word. You can act the word out, animate it, use puppets, draw, sing a song, create a dance, incorporate photographs, create a Claymation or do anything else.

  7. Submit your entry. You can either upload your video to YouTube or submit an MP4 video file.

  8. If you used additional sound effects or music in your video, be sure to list your sources and confirm that they are not copyright protected. If you want to use royalty-free music and sound effects, such as those found on sites like Freesound or SoundBible, be sure to follow the attribution instructions for how to give proper credit. That may include listing the sound creator’s name in the YouTube video description.

  9. If you use any sounds or music that is not your own, please list your sources in the entry form. You can identify the URL of the web page from which you downloaded the sound or music.


The winners will be announced about 2 months after the contest has closed. The winners’ videos will be featured on The New York Times Learning Network.


Click HERE to check more winning videos in the past contests.


Click HERE to download the contest poster to share with your friends.


You may also find more resources by clicking HERE.

Registration

The registration is free.

You must be a student ages 11 to 19 in middle school or high school anywhere in the world to participate. For students in the United States, they consider middle school to begin in 6th grade. Students in lower grades cannot participate. For students outside the United States, students must be 11 years old to have their work submitted to this contest.

Students ages 13 to 19 years old in the United States and the United Kingdom, and students ages 16 to 19 years old anywhere else in the world, can submit their own entries. Younger students can have an adult submit on their behalf.

Open an account and finish your registration now.

Schedule

The deadline for this contest is Jan 12, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time. The winners will be announced about two months after the contest has closed.

Location

Virtually

Organizer

logo organizer.png

The New York Times (the Learning Network)

Rubrics

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