Providing Opportunities for All Children to Reach Their Potential: Incorporating Story Drama and Sto

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Providing Opportunities for All Children to Reach
Their Potential Incorporating Story Drama and
Story Boxes in the Primary Grade Reading
Curriculum

• Judi Robbins, Ph.D.
• and
• Susan Franks, Ed.D.
• Georgia Southern University

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Story Boxes

• Introduction
• A collaborative project between elementary
  teachers and university faculty
• Fosters literacy development of first grade
  students by augmenting the basal series
  instruction
• Includes the use of high quality theme related
  childrens literature and concrete literacy
  materials

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Theoretical Perspective

• The ultimate goal of reading is comprehension of
  text
• Teaching with childrens literature is an
  excellent way to develop comprehension
• Instruction must keep the process whole

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Theoretical Perspective

• Reading is a process in which readers comprehend
  and construct meaning while moving through
  multiple stages
• The reading process includes these stages
  Pre-reading, reading, responding, exploring, and
  applying

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The Reading Process

• Prereading
• During prereading students develop interest and
  background knowledge to help them understand the
  text
• For readers to make meaning schemata must be
  activated
• Story boxes allow teachers to engage readers and
  assist them in planning for reading

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The Reading Process

• Reading
• Reading is a complex negotiation among text,
  individual readers and their purpose for reading
• Story boxes, when used during reading, assist the
  readers as they create meaning

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The Reading Process

• Responding and Exploring Stages
• Students continue to negotiate meaning
• Responses may include the use of story boxes with
  props to retell or act out a story

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The Reading Process

• Responding and Exploring Stages
• Story retelling enhances the comprehension of
  struggling readers
• Concentration on story elements with the use of
  story boxes leads to more in depth understanding
  of text

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The Reading Process

• Applying stage
• Readers extend their comprehension, reflect on
  their understandings, and value the reading
  experience
• They build on initial and exploratory responses
  from earlier stages
• Story drama assists this process by further
  extending student understanding as they portray
  the actions of the story characters

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Story Boxes

• Project Procedures
• Given the critical nature of research findings
  regarding effective comprehension instruction,
  this project is providing first grade students
  with the necessary materials for concrete
  literacy experiences.
• Students are using collections of props for 28
  selections of childrens literature that teachers
  have selected to augment the basal reading
  series.

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Story Boxes

• The objectives of the project
• Develop a set of theme-related story boxes and
  story drama props for use in reading instruction
  in first grade classrooms
• Implement the use of story boxes and story drama
  props in order to facilitate literacy development
  of first grade students and
• Document the use of story boxes and story drama
  as a tool for reading instruction.

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Development of Story Boxes

• Three or more important objects in each of the
  childrens books were selected and used in the
  boxes
• One box was created for each of the twenty eight
  books

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Implementation of Story Boxes

• Story boxes were rotated between first grade
  classrooms
• Teachers use the boxes during each stage of the
  reading process

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Conclusion

• Story boxes and story drama props provide the
  means by which students develop meaning in their
  reading beyond word calling skills.

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Conclusion

• The storytelling kits and the teacher-made story
  boxes and story drama kits include props that
  will facilitate effective comprehension in all
  stages of the reading process.

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Story Boxes in Action
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Story Boxes in Action
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Story Boxes in Action
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Story Boxes in Action
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Story Boxes in Action