Storyboardthat.com is the tool I have been exploring to help my students visualize and develop their narrative writings. When Brenna Curtis first mentioned it to me, I will be honest I was skeptical. Then I created an account and started exploring it myself. The skepticism only grew, SO many options for kids to choose from, so many buttons to play with. I was really nervous my third graders were just going to spend hours messing around and never actually create a really story.
I was ready to give up, but since my teacher suggested it I knew I had to at least try it. The first step I took to implementing it into the classroom was simply letting the kids play with it. We created accounts for everyone... which took a while But I gave them a generic username (firstandlastname) and everyone used the same password. Set up was a success. I modeled how to use the basic buttons and how to move things around (what I could figure out before giving it to them). Next I gave them thirty minutes to literally play with the tool. They taught me more than when I tried to play with it myself. We learned what worked on the free account and what didn't work, which helped me plan for future lessons. I have since then gone back in and learned that things we thought didn't work actually does work, like adding boxes to make the story longer. After this first initial play with the tool, I gave my students a writing prompt and set them off in workshops where they were to stay on task and create a storyboard that went along with the narrative writing prompt. I was shocked, EVERY student was on task and their storyboards went along with the prompt. They then posted their storyboard as a comment on an assignment on our google classroom (another tool that I am learning how to use). Now that my students have had the chance to play and create a small storyboard. I am using the tool for them to create an entire narrative from beginning to end, using up to eight boxes (parts of the story). I am not giving them a writing prompt for this story, they will create their own. I am also incorporating student collaboration. After they post their storyboards into our google classroom they will be sharing their boards with a partner to get feedback before going into their writing journal to write out their stories. I will be interested to see if this helps students develop their writing better, as this is what I have been struggling to get them to do.
2 Comments
Jeremy Smith
2/23/2020 06:11:36 pm
Sounds like you are teaching some great 21st century skills! It sounded very powerful how the exploration part of your lesson provided such great results. This skill of exploring new technology is one where sometimes I feel like I missed the boat. I do not enjoy getting on Twitter, for example, and figuring out its ins and outs. But I realize how important is is for people these days to be able to do this kind of thing. With all the variety out there people really need to be able to take their interests and learning into their own hands and figure out tools on the fly. This is how teacher trainings feel these days. I'm thinking of Illuminate Education trainings we had at the beginning of the year which really just scratched the surface of how to use this big tool. Teachers were expected to learn it by exploring and using it. This online grade book feels like overkill to me. I can see how it can be useful, but so far my paper grade book is doing just fine. I do not have parents asking me for grades mid trimester. My aide can grab my grade book and enter grades easily. The storyboardthat tool might also seem like overkill, but not to kids, right? In a few years kids will be making virtual reality interactive worlds to display their knowledge, I bet.
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Kirsten
2/24/2020 06:37:01 pm
I really just wanted to know if these kids were gonna be able to handle the program and I was super happy when they could! I agree that everything seems to get thrown at us and we are expected to just figure it out. I am not that kind of person and I get frustrated really easily with technology. But I'm happy my kids could figure out this tool. I think it is really helping them visualize a full narrative.
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