Pop-up Story

Objectives

Story

After learning about literary elements of a story, we wanted students to actively apply the lesson through story creation. Students were expected to creatively develop and construct the five parts of a plot, while delivering a centralized theme through their work, which had to contain elements of nature. 

Presentation

Although the story itself was an important part of the project, the presentation of their work was equally or even more important because students would ultimately be evaluated on their performance. Utilizing a strong voice, maintaining eye-contact, and tone variation were aspects of their delivery that were emphasized during preparation, in order to engage and excite the audience. 

Visual Aid

The purpose of the visual aid was to display the organization of their written work in a more tangible way for the audience, resulting in a better understanding of how the events unfolded. Pop-ups were a dynamic way to give depth to more conventional methods of illustration, but simple enough for 2nd graders to build successfully on their own.

Reflection

Looking back on the project, the results were bittersweet. Becoming mini-authors and creating a story within a short period of time was an extremely difficult challenge for our students. On top of that, having to combine ideas and divide up the work load, while maintaining a cohesive story was a constant battle for them. Despite their struggles, it was uplifting to see their growth and resolve to complete their work. We pushed them to their limits and now have a better direction for 2nd grade, thanks to the effort of our students.