Let’s create a storybook!
Hello dear readers! I’m Anna SolĂ© and I going to talk about STORYJUMPER!
Storyjumper is an app which allows you to create
storybooks. It is perfect for Young Learners since it is very intuitive and
easy to use. Moreover, at the end you can either publish the story or print it
off.
I do think it is a good app for teaching
students how to write stories using ICT. Sometimes students are far more
motivated when the activity is developed through Ipads or laptops. In addition,
IT IS FREE! And it is not necessary to have an email account to use it!
In addition, the app is not only useful for
students but also for teachers. For example, in order to introduce the app I
decided to create a story myself.
Apart from what I have mentioned, there is
something that I really like from this app. Once the storybook is created,
there is a section in which students can leave comments and feedback. The
section is called “Say something nice…”.
Weaknesses
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Strengthens
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It is not possible to add music.
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There is a tutorial in the same app and
students can watch a step-by-step video tutorial at any time, if necessary.
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It is possible to save the book without finishing
it.
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To comment it is necessary to have an account,
which is free.
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It is also possible to add pictures from the
Internet or from the computer.
The app saves the book constantly without
having to press the save button all the time.
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Stories can be shared.
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As I said, I have created a story based on the
following news:
If you want to talk about current topics and
news around the world, dogonews is a really interesting webpage. I really
encourage you to visit it!
Concerning the activity, I should say that I created
the story to present the app and inspire the pupils before using it. After
telling the story I would divide the class into different groups to allow them
to create a story themselves. I thought it would be useful to first present the
story created by myself since it would serve as an example and also as
scaffolding. Moreover, the story is based on something real, which I believe is
more motivating for the students.
Instructions to complete the activity successfully
Each group of students would have a worksheet with the steps to create the story. I do think it would be interesting to practice how to write stories beforehand since pupils will feel more comfortable before using this app.
The instructions would be the following:
1. Title (Cover of the book)
2. Introduction (1 page)
3. Rising action (2 pages)
4. Falling action (2 pages)
5. Resolution (1 page)
6. Name of the authors at the end of the story
(The teacher should explain all of the parts before giving them time to work on the story)
Additional information: It has to include pictures and at least two characters.
Timing:
I would devote two sessions, each one of 60 minutes.
First
session: I would explain the activity and the
story and then students would create the story.
Second
session: Students would continue creating the
story and at the end they would present it to the rest of the classmates.
Aims:
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To interact orally in English.
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To engage in simple and basic oral conversations.
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To respect everyone’s turn to speak.
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To work with other classmates.
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To practice writing skills.
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To learn new words related to food.
Classroom
management:
After telling the story the students would work with
their partners in groups. I would give
each of them a role. One of the students would be in charge of writing, another
student would be in charge of checking mistakes, the third one would search
images and information on the Internet and the fourth one would be helping. The
idea is that every 10 minutes I would change roles. And so each one of them
would have the opportunity to be working on different areas.
I would also bear in mind those students that are gifted and so I would mix them with those students that are weaker.
I think it would be interesting to have one laptop and
one Ipad per group, if possible. The student that is writing would use the
laptop whereas the one that is searching for information could use the Ipad. Nevertheless,
the activity can also be developed with one laptop per group.
Multiple
intelligences
In terms of multiple intelligences, I
must say that students learn in ways that are identifiably
distinctive. Taking into account the activity that I thought of, I must refer
to Visual and Spatial. Students would create a text with images. Therefore,
multimedia resources would be linked.
Students would work on groups and so interactively,
thus the Interpersonal intelligence is also related. Finally, I should also
talk about the Linguistic intelligence. Student would be using words
effectively, while writing, reading and talking.
Language skills and
competences
The activity is thought to work on the
four skills.
Writing: The students would
write the story to create a book.
Speaking:
The activity is created to be developed in groups, so they would have to talk
and discuss what kind of story they would like to write.
Reading: They would read the
book that I have created and also search for information on the Internet.
Listening: They
would be listening to their classmates and to the teacher when telling the
story.
As far as competences are concerned, I
must say that all the competences are related.
Linguistic
and audio-visual: The students would
consider the four skills.
Information
handling and digital competence: students
would be using laptops and Ipads.
Learning to learn:
They would have to organise and regulate their own learning as well as manage
their time effectively while solving problems.
Autonomy, initiative and decision taking: students would work
autonomously and make decisions when creating the story.
Social
and civic: students working in groups.
Cultural and artistic: they would
create a storybook.
Knowledge
and interaction with the world:
students would learn vocabulary about food as well as something that is
happening in another country, Japan.
Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy
In
terms of Bloom’s Taxonomy, I must refer to a HOTS activity (creating). On one
hand, students have to invent a story and afterwards, design/create a digital
book using laptops or Ipads.
Content topic and target users
The story that I would explain at the
beginning of the session is related to food. So it would be a kind of
introduction to this topic. Therefore, the stories of the students should also
be related to food.
As I mentioned, Storyjumper is easy to
use. I believe the activity can be aimed at first and second cycle. For older
students I would probably use Book Creator. The layout of that app is not as
childish as Storyjumper.
Assessment
In order to assess students I would use two assessment strategies
(self-evaluation and an observation grid).
I believe it is of paramount importance to engage students in assessment
since it allows them to be active participants in determining the focus of
their learning, and also to help them identify their strengths and weaknesses.
Concerning the self-evaluation, I would use the following statements (I
would rate them from 1 to 3):
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I Listened when my teacher and classmates were
speaking.
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I finished my activity on time.
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I work well with my friends.
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I liked the activity.
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I enjoyed using laptops and Ipads.
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My strengths are:
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Things I can improve on:
Regarding the observation grid, it would be related to their oral
presentation.
So readers, I encourage you to try this app! We all know that students
have a lot of imagination and they enjoy creating stories. So, why not take
advantage of that and add new technologies to the learning process?
