Tell a Visual Story

Tell a Visual Story lesson plan

You and your classmates design 3-panel story sequence scenes about the same story, then compare how you designed them.

  • 1.

    Examine several picture books that have a clear story sequence (beginning, middle or climax and end). Observe how character's appearance, actions, and settings change throughout the story and are reflected in the illustrations.

  • 2.

    Read or listen to a new story or paragraph about an event. Use your imagination to decide how you can represent the sequence in three illustrations.

  • 3.

    Fold a large sheet of colored construction paper in thirds (or use three sheets of smaller paper).

  • 4.

    With Crayola® Scissors, cut story setting shapes and figures for all three parts of the story sequence from colored paper. Fill each of the three panels with shapes. Glue the shapes to the panels with Crayola Glue Sticks.

  • 5.

    Use Crayola Markers to add details to the story sequence.

  • 6.

    Share your work with the class and explain how you organized and designed your story sequence pictures. Compare and contrast classmates' sequence scenes of the same story.

Benefits

  • Students improve their grasp of story sequence by identifying a story's beginning, middle or climax, and end. Younger children increase their understanding of fractions as they divide a paper into these three sections.
  • Children use their auditory and visual/kinesthetic abilities to interpret, organize, and represent a story's sequence in original pictures.
  • Students describe and analyze their work in oral presentations.

Adaptations

  • Children can vary the size (scale) of figures to indicate their location in space. Small figures look far away, larger ones seem closer to viewers.
  • To assure originality, an adult or child can tell the new story orally. Choose the complexity of the story, and materials used to represent it, to fit children's capacities and levels of understanding. Very young children might collage torn paper, or draw
  • Use large display boards (typically used for science projects) to create more elaborate three-part story sequences. Display story sequence boards in hallways and around the classroom on Meet the Teacher Night or during Parent-Teacher Conferences.