THE STORYFACE MAP STRATEGY
The Story Face strategy is very similar to using a story map to identify important information in a text, except, in a more engaging way! This strategy is great for elementary students and secondary students and even especially for those who are visual learners. There are a number of ways that teachers could use the story face strategy to enhance students' reading and writing skills. By dividing the important information pulled from the text and writing it on the story face map, this allows students to better understand and comprehend what they are reading.
Staal, L. A. (2000). The story face: An adaptation of story mapping that incorporates visualization and discovery learning to enhance reading and writing.The Reading Teacher, 54(1), 26-31. Retrieved from http://proxy.geneseo.edu:2073/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? vid=12&sid=fdacdc4d-0875-4282-8768 ab20dcfa4c49%40sessionmgr15&hid=110 |
CONNECTION/ TEACHING POINT
Many times, when students are involved in reading a text, they become overwhelmed with comprehending the content because their is too many details and important information to remember. Therefore, with the use of an engaging and fun "Storyface Map," the students can easily organize their thoughts to help them understand the important information. The "Storyface Map" consists comprehending the setting, main characters, problems, events, and the solution. It is often the case that when students can connect the text they are reading to a visual image, map or personal experience, it will help them comprehend the information. The "Storyface Map" is a great resource to use for elementary students when they are reading fictional texts because they usually have all of the main parts on the map. Not only is this helpful for comprehending information, but this strategy helps students begin their framework for narrative writing pieces. To activate prior knowledge, the teacher will have the students do a "two-minute talk" with a partner about anything they already know about identifying important information from a fictional text. This will get the students brains thinking about pulling important components of a story.
TEACH AND MODEL The teacher will begin the mini-lesson by introducing the "Storyface Map" to the students and explain the different components that make up the map. They will then discuss the benefits of using a "Storyface Map" rather than a traditional story map. The teacher will model using the "Storyface Map" by reading aloud the book, The Three Little Pigs, by James Marshall. During the read aloud, the teacher will remind the students to be thinking about how they could fill out the "Storyface Map" for identifying important parts of the book. When finished reading the book, the teacher will model filling out a storyface map on chart paper, therefore, the students can actively participate and assist in completing the storyface map.
As the teacher is modelling the "Storyface Map" on the chart paper, it would be beneficial to discuss the benefits of using this type of graphic organizer. Another reason why this strategy is very useful for the students is because it can be flexible. Ears can be added onto the "Storyface Map" to include another piece of important information to remember from reading. For example, Laura Staal (2000) describes that students in a fourth-grade class asked about adding ears to the map. She asked the students what other information they could put in the ears. The student suggested that the ears could be for writing down the names of other classes friends, or family members who might enjoy listening to the story. This student came up with a creative idea that addressed the element of audience in reading and writing. The teacher could also ask students to come up with a few other ways to include additional information to the "Storyface Map." Staal, L. A. (2000). The story face: An adaptation of story mapping that incorporates visualization and discovery learning to enhance reading and writing.The Reading Teacher, 54(1), 26-31. Retrieved from http://proxy.geneseo.edu:2073/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? vid=12&sid=fdacdc4d-0875-4282-8768 ab20dcfa4c49%40sessionmgr15&hid=110 |
ACTIVE ENGAGMENT
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As a sendoff, the students will be able to use their "Storyface Maps" to help them create a written summary of the text that they read. The "Storyface Maps" are beneficial for students to use because it includes all of the important information needed to write a summary. Next, the teacher will remind students to include transition words to help the flow of their summary.
The teacher would have the students read a similar fictional story, such as The Little Red Riding Hood. It would be beneficial to have the students practice with a story that they are all familiar with that is easy to fill out the "Storyface Map" for. The students would begin by reading the text with a partner and incorporate a think aloud to activate their brain and to get them thinking to find information for the "Storyface Map." Next, the students would individually complete their "Storyface Maps." Once the maps are completely filled out, the students will be able to pair up with their partner and compare answers. This will give them the chance to better understand the content by discussing it with a peer in a more "kid-friendly" type of way. The teacher will ask each pair of students to share with the class one of the components from the "Storyface Map."
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