Search Results for "storyboardthat"

3rd Grade Making Change Comics

Third graders at Varina Elementary have been learning how to make change from $5.00 or less (SOL3.6c). Today, students in Ms. Hummel’s class created comics about different situations that involve making change. We used a great website for making comics called StoryboardThat. The comics had three panels: (1) in the first panel they had to tell how much the good or service cost, (2) in the second panel they had to tell how much money was paid, and (3) in the last panel they had to calculate the change that was given. StoryboardThat makes it easy to be creative because there are so many different backgrounds, and each character is completely customizable with different colors, facial expressions, and poses. We used the built-in, searchable clip art library to find additional objects for our comics like dollar bills and coins. Then students added speech bubbles (called textables) and practiced writing complete sentences with capitals and periods. They also learned how to add the $ dollar sign by pressing Shift and 4. Finally, we took screenshots of our comics and shared them on Schoology. You can see all their comics here. UPDATE: I’ve added additional comics from other classes to this document.


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3rd Grade Famous Americans Elasped Time

Third graders at Trevvett Elementary have been reviewing famous Americans in Social Studies (SOL2.4) and learning about elapsed time in Math (SOL3.9b). So today students in Ms. Peay’s class created comics about famous Americans and the elapsed time of their well-known activities. First we talked about some possible activities and their duration. For example, how long would it take Cesar Chavez to work in the fields? How long would it take for Martin Luther King, Jr. to give a speech? How long would Rosa Parks ride in the bus? Then we discussed two different ways to ask about elapsed time: we could give the start and end times and ask about the duration, or we could give the start time and the duration, and ask about the end time. Once they planned out what they wanted to do, the students went to StoryboardThat, which is a great tool for making comics. They created comics with three panels. The first two panels had to give information about the person, their activity, and the times, while the last panel had to ask the reader a question about elapsed time. We posted our comics on Schoology, and our classmates had to reply with the answers to our questions. You can see some student samples and their comments here.


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3rd Mali Matter Comics

Third graders at Varina Elementary have been learning about the Empire of Mali in Social Studies (SOL3.4) and matter in Science (SOL3.3). So today students in Ms. Goode’s and Ms. Lanham’s classes created Mali Matter comics. First we reviewed different aspects of the Mali Empire: griots, camels, salt, gold, Timbuktu, the Niger River, etc. and categorized them as solids, liquids, or gasses. Since we didn’t identify too many gasses or liquids, the students had to be creative (and they were!). Now that they had some ideas for their comics, we went to StoryboardThat, which is an online tool for making comics. We made a 3-panel comic, and in each panel the students had to provide an example of a solid, liquid, or gas from the Mali Empire. In order to find the most accurate illustrations, we looked at online images of the Mali landscape and the clothing people wore there a long time ago. Then we looked in StoryboardThat for Scenes and Characters that were similar. Students also added speech bubbles to explain the types of matter in their comic. You can see some student samples here.


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5th Grade Tree Diagram Comics

Fifth graders at Laburnum Elementary have been learning about probability (SOL5.15), and one strategy they use for figuring out all the possible outcomes is to make a tree diagram. So today, students in Ms. Burgess’ class created tree diagram comics with StoryboardThat. First, they logged into the site with their Google accounts and added a Scene to the first panel. Then they imagined different combinations of objects that would fit that scene (like foods at a restaurant or outfits at a party). They added some Characters and objects that matched their scenario. In the center panel, they constructed their tree diagram using Textables and Lines. We used Textables instead of Shapes so we could easily type inside of them. They started with one category (2 meats or 3 shirts, for example) and added additional categories to their tree. Two or three different categories are all that can fit in the panel space. To save time, I showed them how to copy and paste elements with the “Duplicate” button (it looks like two pieces of paper). Finally, in the last panel, they used the tree diagram or the Fundamental Counting Principle (multiplying by all the amounts in each category like 2 shirts x 2 pants x 3 shoes) to figure out the total possible outcomes. You can see a couple of sample projects here.


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2nd Grade Habitat Place Value Comics

Second graders at Laburnum Elementary have been learning about place value (Math SOL2.1) and habitats (Science SOL2.5), so today, students in Ms. Brouillard’s class created comics showing an animal in its habitat discussing place value. First, students chose an animal and researched online to learn where it lives and what it eats. Some students even found out exactly how much food it eats (for example, you can ask Google, “How many fish does a bear eat each day?” or “How many pounds of bamboo does a panda eat each day?”). Then, we went to StoryboardThat and found some backgrounds that match the animal’s habitat. We dragged those into the comic panels, searched for our animal in the Characters tab and added it to the comic. Next, we added the food that the animal eats (using the Search feature if we couldn’t find it in Characters). The Textables tab is where the speech bubbles are found. Students added speech bubbles to the comic and typed one sentence about the animal including a 2-digit number and another sentence asking a place value question about that number. We saved our comics and shared them with our classmates on Schoology. Finally, we looked at each others’ comics and tried to answer the questions. You can see some student samples here.


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1st Grade Jamestown Comics

First graders at Trevvett Elementary have been learning about Jamestown in History (SOL 1.1c, 1.2a, 1.3abc). This is a new SOL for first grade (it is also taught in 4th grade), so many teachers are eager for new ideas. Today, I showed Ms. Burnett’s class how to use StoryboardThat to create Jamestown comics. We visited the site and clicked the “Create” button. The default comic has three panels, which was perfect since the students need to know three important people from Jamestown: Powhatan, Pocahontas, and Christopher Newport. First, we clicked Scenes > US History to find backgrounds relating to Jamestown. After the students added the scenes to each frame, they clicked Characters > 1600s to 1800s and added people who looked like Jamestown colonists and Powhatan Indians. Then we clicked Textables to add speech bubbles to each person. First graders are learning how to write complete sentences with capitals, punctuation, and correct spelling (1.13), so we practiced those skills as we typed in the speech bubbles. I encouraged the students to include facts about Jamestown in their sentences. Finally, we published our comics and shared the links on Schoology. You can see some examples here. (UPDATE: In Math, 1st graders are are learning about place value, so we did a similar Jamestown comic with another class, but this time the characters talked about place value).


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5th Grade Science Review Comics

Fifth graders at Trevvett Elementary have been reviewing various science topics in preparation for Benchmark testing. A fun way to review is to make a comic study guide. Today students in Ms. Capano’s class used StoryboardThat to make comics about science topics of their choice. First, we reviewed the units they have been studying, such as rocks (SOL5.7), oceans (SOL5.6), and cells (SOL5.5). Then, they selected an idea they were interested in and went to StoryboardThat where they chose background scenes to best represent that topic. I showed them how they could use the “Edit Scene” button to change its weather or appearance. Next we clicked the Characters tab at the top and added people or animals. They could customize the characters as well by clicking the “Edit Pose” button. Finally, we added speech bubbles with the Textables tab. The students wrote complete sentences providing facts and information for review. Many of them even added bold or highlighted words, which they’ve learned are text features of nonfiction (SOL5.6a). In order to save and share our comics, we took screenshots and posted them to Schoology. You can see them all here.



2nd Grade Seasonal Adaptations Comics

Second graders at Trevvett Elementary have been learning about ways that animals adapt to the changing seasons (camouflage, hibernation, migration, etc.)(SOL2.7a). Today students in Ms. Myers’ class created comics showing an animal of their choice adapting to the fall, winter, and spring. First we discussed different types of animals and what they do in winter. I demonstrated how to do a Google search if they didn’t know what their animal does. For example, I asked Google, “What to ladybugs do in winter?” (ANSWER: They hibernate in groups). Once we had our information, we went to StoryboardThat to make our comics. Since there are three panels in the comic, we made the first one fall, the second one winter, and the third one spring. The students dragged down scenes to represent their animal’s habitat. I showed them how to click the blue “Edit Scene” button to change the weather for the seasons. Next we clicked the Characters tab and went to Animals to find our animal. The Animals have an “Edit Pose” button that could be used to put the animal into different positions and change its colors. Finally we added “Textables,” or speech bubbles, with complete sentences explaining what the animals do to adapt to the different seasons. To save our comics, we took a screenshot using the Snipping Tool, then posted them to Schoology. You can see them all here.


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4th Grade Measurement Comics

Fourth graders at Holladay Elementary have been learning about measurement in Math (weight SOL4.6, length SOL4.7, and liquid capcity SOL4.8). Today, students in Ms. Truda’s class researched some measurements and created measurement comics using StoryboardThat. First, we reviewed the different customary and metric units. I explained that they could pick one or more things they were curious about and research its measurements. I asked them if one thing could have more than one measurement? For example, how many different measurements would a couch have? (Answer: four – length, width, height, and weight). If the object they chose was something in the classroom, they could actually measure it, but if it was outside the classroom, they could ask Google for its measurements. I demonstrated how to use the microphone on a Google search page to ask a question like, “How tall is a giraffe?” Once they had their measurements, they made their comics on StoryboardThat. StoryboardThat has an amazing collection of clip art, so with a bit of creativity (and use of the search box), students were able to find all the backgrounds and characters they needed to show their measurements. We took screenshots of our comics and posted them to a Schoology album. You can see them all here.


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3rd Grade Greece & Rome Multiplication Comics

Third graders at Varina Elementary have been studying multiplication in Math (SOL3.5), and they have been learning about Greece and Rome in History (SOL3.1). Today, students in Ms. Lanham’s class used StoryboardThat to create comics about Greece or Rome with a multiplication problem to solve. First, we reviewed the concept of multiplication. It is repeated addition of the same number, or it can be thought of as equal groups. Next, we discussed life in ancient Greece and Rome and brainstormed some possible multiplication problems. Farmers may have problems dealing with the number of grapes or olives they can grow in equal rows or put into jars. Shipbuilders may have to solve how many people can fit in each boat. Priests may have to figure out how many designs are on each column of the temple. Once we had our ideas, we went to StoryboardThat, and I showed them where they could find Greece and Rome backgrounds (Scenes > Historical, Rustic, or Outdoor). There are also Greece and Rome people in Characters > Classical Era. Finally, they added speech bubbles (Textables) to explain the multiplication problem in their comic. The first panel might explain how many items are in each group. The second panel might explain how many equal groups there are in all. The third panel could ask about the total number of items. We took screenshots of our comics and shared them in a Schoology discussion so we could solve each other’s problems. You can see them all here. If you’d like to see more examples, I also taught this lesson to Ms. Cathcart’s and Ms. Haley’s classes.


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