Are you looking for an engaging alternative to paper/pencil report writing?
You will be amazed to see how motivated your students will be to research and write a report about almost anything!
Sonic Pics is a digital story telling app.
It's as easy as 1-2-3
1 Add pictures
2 Add text
3 Narrate
Ta..da..! They have made a digital report!
I introduce the project as a movie, and explain that movie makers always start with a storyboard.
Now the storyboard is really the rough draft and it is the key to guide their research and their writing.
The first project my second graders did with this app was a ‘documentary' about where they live.
Students used the Google Earth app to research the names of their
continent, county, state, city, street, and address.
Then they wrote out the sentence that they would narrate when they were ready to make the ‘movie'.
After the storyboard is complete it is time to add add the pictures. We went back to Google earth and took screenshots of each location.
Continent
Country
State
Town
Street
When all the pictures have been added, students are ready to add the narration to their ‘documentary'. This is a wonderful opportunity to review reading fluency.
Sonic Pics is very forgiving and allows one to move pictures around, switch pictures, and re-record as many times as students want. It can then be shared in a variety of ways; mail, photos, YouTube, and even Google Drive.
I am sure that once you and your students start playing with this app, you will think of dozens of ways to use it in your curriculum.
Here are some additional ‘Story Boards' we have used for other topics of study:
I especially love this one, because it provides the
framework for a well-constructed paragraph.
Click on the picture to see Sonic Pics
in the App Store.
I would love to hear ways you are planning on using Sonic Pics with your students!
My name is Peggy Means. I am a child of God and a retired elementary teacher. I loved teaching and creating engaging resources for my students. Now, I love sharing my resources and ideas with busy teachers around the world.
