Once Upon a Time there was a StoryBoard

Stories form pictures of far away places and space adventures in our minds. They enchant and excite our imaginations. Students are not just listening to stories in their classrooms, but now they are creating stories in their classrooms as well. The article "Story as a Tool for Learning" talks about how students are using storyboards in their classrooms to create their own stories. The article focuses on the benefits that storyboarding has in the classroom, "Storyboards are a fantastic way to put together a tale, display information, and get pupils thinking about things". Learners are able to look at problems objectively. They are able to take situations out of the constraints of the classroom, and put them into a more inventive and adventerous form.


Storyboarding, caters to students diverse learning styles. It moves away from the typical presentation format. In the text it states "Intresestingly, research has shown that most students do not have a prefrence or strenght for auditory reception, yet direct instruction is still the most prevelent practice in K-12" (89). Students are able to use a number of learning styles such as Kinesthetic, Visual, and interpersonal. Storyboarding is escpecailly helpful to lower level learners who have more kinesthetic learning styles. It offers a hands on e experience for students, and it allows them to take an active approach to learning.


I believe that this is another great way to make learning more interesting. Storyboarding is a great way for students to work in a cooperative learning enviroment while using their imagination to create stories. This will help students to improve critical thinking skills. While I do not think storyboarding is appropriate for every subject it is still one of may innovative approachs to teaching.


While storyboarding may be good for the third graders mentioned in the article how successdful is it for middle school and high school students? I think research on the universialtiy of storyboarding would be useful. Also, how does storyboarding help students with fact retention?For instance, if a ninth grade history class did a storyboard on the the history of the Revolutionary War would this help the students to better remember key concepts and facts from the War than by just taking a test?

If you would like to read the article "Story as a Tool for Learning" follow this link:http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.fgcu.edu/ehost/pdf?vid=9&hid=103&sid=b22467b4-be78-4f3f-95e6-af35e69af331%40sessionmgr104