What is it?
I came across this website while planning for a unit on stories and story writing. This web 2.0 website allows you to create illustrated books online. After you sign up (they offer a separate sign up for children with a parent/teacher email address) you can create your story by either selecting an artist or theme. There is a great selection of artist work, varying greatly in styles.
How did I use it in class?
I used this website with a Year 2 class. They were looking at stories that have a beginning, middle, and end. I had asked them to create a Storybird that told a story in three pages. They first selected an artist that they liked. Then they selected the artwork, they wanted to use for the beginning, middle and end of the story. They wrote their story using were encouraged to search for an artist that inspired them to be able to create their stories.
Examples of student work:
Here are some examples of the stories that they wrote.
ALICE AND THE POIZENT STROBERY! on Storybird
THE MONSTER OF THE CARS on Storybird
Lilli little bunny and the party on Storybird
Final Thoughts
In the end this was definitely a successful project. The students really enjoyed this software and many created their own accounts at home. They were truly inspired by the artwork that was available and after they finished their first stories, and had learned how the website works. They could not wait to create another story. Many students were so excited they created their own accounts at home and couldn’t wait to have me read them. Which, in the end, is probably the best sign of success of any project.
My main concern with the usage of this web 2.0 site in schools is that i does not allow you to print your students work. They say they will have the possibility to print the published stories as bound books. Which I am sure would be a great final product, but it may not be the best option for a large number of students books. To print the books I used print screen then put the images together as a pdf file for each of the students.
