Kindergarten Storytelling Adventures

The Kindergarten class embarked on a project that integrated reading, writing, creativity, computational thinking, and collaboration. Students worked in groups of 2-3 to plan out, create, and share their “Kindergarten Storytelling Adventure.” Students were introduced to story elements such as character and setting and used their plans to write their story’s script.

Each group utilized the iPad and the ScratchJr app to complete their projects. Students were introduced to the program and the various blocks, which are pieced together like a puzzle to create different actions such as moving left or right, waiting for a specific amount of time, or transitioning to the next page in their story. With these blocks, students were introduced to computational thinking, which is a type of problem-solving skill that involves expressing solutions as a step-by-step process that can be carried out by a computer or other type of digital device. For example, students learned that if they wanted their character to jump first before moving right, they needed to tell ScratchJr this by putting a jump block first and then a move right block. If things weren’t working the way they wanted, they had to look at their block sequence to see how to make changes to achieve the desired result.

Students typed out their scripts into ScratchJr and added all characters, settings, animations, and page transitions. All groups read their story multiple times and made numerous adjustments to make sure they could read their stories at a pace that was comfortable for them without their story turning to the next page.

During the course of this project, students made great progress in being able to work collaboratively and effectively with their group members. They became comfortable navigating the app and understanding that they controlled how their character and story behaved. Students were extremely excited to share their completed stories with their class and families!