Story Stones

 Hi Friends!

When my son, Austin, was a little boy, I used to make up bedtime stories in which he and his cousin, Mason, were the main characters. These stories took them on adventures in a variety of settings. Each setting had its own set of problems, but Austin and Mason were able to solve them and emerge as heroes in all of the stories.  I loved making up these stories and Austin begged me to retell the same ones over and over again.  Austin is 21 years old now and still remembers some of those stories.

Kids love to hear stories as well as create them.  So, when I saw Story Stones on Pinterest, I thought I could use them with my class in a fun way to make up stories and review story elements along the way.  I decided to make my own Story Stones because they are a little pricey if you want to buy them. 

The Story Stones I made include pictures of a variety of characters, settings, and things that may cause problems and/or offer solutions.
I plan to teach my class how to use them after spring break.  I will model how to do this with the whole class at first, but then I'll have them work in groups.  I'm not sure how other teachers use Story Stones, but here's how I'm going to use them:

1.  Put students in groups of 4.
2.  Place 12 Story Stones in a bag and have each student take 3
(No peeking).
3.  The student with a character(s) or setting will go first.  This student begins making up the story by introducing the character(s) or setting. Why?  Because we know that authors introduce the setting and character(s) at the beginning of the story.  
4.  Continue in a clockwise manner.  Each student must add to the story using his Story Stones.  You can only use one stone at a time. Keep in mind that your story must have a beginning, middle and end as well as all the story elements (setting, characters, problem, and solution).  
5.  Have fun!  Stories may be silly, sad, scary or outrageous, but they can't involve violence on any kind. 

Here are the materials I used to make my Story Stones:

Bag of stones from the Dollar Tree ( I bought 4 bags because I wanted lots of flat stones.)

Mod Podge & a foam brush

Stickers from the Dollar Tree

Pictures from catalog

Adhere sticker or picture to stone and paint over top with Mod Podge

I made 48 Story Stones.  I included pictures for each of the story elements.

Children have such great imaginations that I know they will have so much fun making up stories with these Story Stones!

Classroom Library

"Fill your classroom with stacks of books, in all the crannies and all the nooks."

                          Dr. Seuss
Hi Friends!
I'm sure all of you have seen this quote floating around on Pinterest.  I just love it!  However, I changed one word in this quote to fit my post today.  Can you guess which one?  I changed "home" to "classroom."   I think the message, either way, is extremely important. 

I've worked really hard to fill all the nooks and crannies in my classroom with lots of books and reading materials.  I strongly believe that my students LOVE to read because they have access to so many wonderful books and reading materials on a daily basis.  I give my students lots of time throughout the day to read.  Here are some pictures of my classroom library and other nooks and crannies in my classroom.



This is my classroom library.  The tubs and books are sorted in a variety of ways: author, topic,
series, or variety.  The tubs are labeled with a number & title.  The books in each tub are also numbered
on the back so they can be put back quickly.

My shelves are made with cinder blocks on the bottom and white laminate shelves on top.  I spaced the
cinder blocks so that I could put tubs between them.

I have lots of author tubs.  I used white ice cube tubs from Walmart
and labeled them.  This is just one cart of them.  I have several others on another shelf.

I have lots of books displayed on picture frame easels around my classroom. 

Library books are placed in this tub every week.

We have a nonfiction library shelf in my classroom.  The kids helped to label the book boxes.
The kids really LOVE these nonfiction books.

 

All of our student made books are placed in this tub.  I always see kids picking books from this tub for self-selected reading time.

 

I love "advertising" books in this way.   

For every theme, season or holiday, I make a display of books to invite kids to read.

 

 

 

I have books at all of my centers.  This is my science center.  I have books in the
black tub on the floor and our unit of study books in the white tub on the table.

 

 

I invite kids to read what other students have written during Writers' Workshop by putting a
SPOTLIGHT on their writing.

 

 

I've invited staff members to come into our classroom and share their favorite books with us.
We think reading is so important that we have a Book Share Wall in our classroom.

 

This is our Author Study timeline.  After we do an Author Study, their name and a picture of one on their books goes up on our wall.  Kids love to talk about their favorite books and authors.

Most of the reading materials I have in my classroom were purchased by me over many years.  When I first started teaching in 1986, I walked into a classroom that was filled with desks and a set of basal readers.  That's it!  I started a classroom library that first year with just a few books of my own.