What is Storybird?
Storybird allows users to create short stories utilizing the vast amount of vivid illustrations supplied by the Songbird website. The website is simple and easy to use, which allows users to focus on reading and writing stories, not endlessly clicking around to find what they need. Once users complete their stories they have many different options for sharing their created stories. They can print them into real books, embed in blogs, share on many social networking sites, download, or e-mail to friends, family or teachers. There is also an option to publish them to the public collection of stories shared on the Storybird website. A benefit to this would be that students can receive comments from other users around the globe, classmates and teachers. Users can also collaborate with others on creating stories, as well as read a wide variety of stories created by other users all over the globe.
Students can order books they have created, which can provide them with invaluable confidence and pride in their work
Teachers can use Storybird to touch on many different education standards in many different grades. The website is very user friendly to almost all ages. With different degrees of guidance student's can create and publish stories fairly easily. Most of the illustrations are interesting and kid-friendly.
Colorado Academic Standards which can be met utilizing Storybirds:
Songbird can be used to meet a standard in Writing and Composition in every grade level first through fifth grade.
for example:
Reading, Writing and Communicating
Grade Level Expectations: Fourth Grade
Standard: 3. Writing and Composition
1. The recursive writing process is used to create a variety of literary genres for an intended audience
3. Correct sentence formation, grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling are applied to make the meaning clear to the reader
(specifically) c. With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of one page in a single sitting. (CCSS:W.4.6)
It can also be used to meet reading standards, as well if used to identify and use story elements. The corresponding Colorado Academic Standard is:
Content Area: Reading, Writing and Communicating
Grade Level Expectations: Fourth Grade
Standard: 2. Reading for All Purposes
1. Comprehension and fluency matter when reading literary texts in a fluent way
Songbirds is an easy web 2.0 tool to incorporate into creative writing with your students. Some ideas that match the Colorado Academic Standards are:
- If your planning on teaching students story elements such as setting, character, conflict, climax, and resolution. You can utilize Storybirds in order to get children to apply what they have learned about story elements to create stories. Their stories should include all the elements which are necessary to make a story. You can have students work on stories individually or in groups. They can then publish their stories and share comments with one another focusing particularly on identifying story elements in each others stories.
- For younger children (k-1st grade) student's could make a class book, or create books in a small group with the teacher. This activity could help build student's vocabulary, comprehension, sentence structure, and decoding, to name a just a few.
- Another idea I find interesting, would be to have a group of children work on starting a story during center time. Then have groups switch stories and complete and add to other student's stories. If this is done both reading and writing standards can be met because students are having to edit and review other student's work and then write new content for that story.
- Create a story to help children understand how to deal with social situations or issues. For example, one story posted on the webpage was all about how a little girl felt about getting a new step mom. The social story can help young children express their feelings, come up with ways to deal with a problem, or direct their behavior under a certain circumstance.