Read what teachers are saying about StoryStarter
Blogger and teacher Marisa Kaplan with EdSurge met with LEGO Education North America President Stephan Turnipseed recently at SXSWEdu 2013 in Austin, Texas. She experienced the power of LEGO Education StoryStarter first hand after taking the tool back to her classroom and testing it on her students. Read here for the full review.
It is evident that student engagement is amplified when they are completing
a StoryStarter activity due to the discussions, team approach, sharing of the
materials, and the building of the story structures. I would compare this to a
2-D image of a cloud on a flat map versus a 3-D image of a thunderhead with
lightening bolts zipping about. The dynamics of student interaction quickly moves
from 2-D (just writing) to 3-D (total engagement).
Frances Irby-Fries
4th and 5th Grade Combination Teacher
South Daytona Elementary
South Daytona, FL
Working as a group was an extra benefit as it provided them the opportunity to
communicate and act out their stories. With their oral vocabulary much larger
than their writing vocabulary, the conversations’ were priceless. As a teacher I
was impressed and learned a lot by observing them work, brainstorm, plan and
build together. Those reluctant writers no longer felt threatened or shy, but instead
became very vocal.
Barb Mclain
Title I Math and Reading Teacher
El Dorado Springs R-2 School District
El Dorado Springs, MO
The greatest impact I have seen from using StoryStarter is the team aspect. Peer
teaching is amazing and the teamwork skills they are learning are priceless. I also
really enjoy seeing my students who are not engaged in a normal literacy lesson
completely engaged when using StoryStarter. Working with your hands helps your
ideas to come alive and what do I want during writing time - IDEAS!!!! I also have
been able to see how StoryStarter can be used in our writing curriculum each
week and that really excites me!
Erin Hardy
2nd Grade Teacher
East Richland Elementary School
Olney, IL
I agree that my kids are VERY motivated on LEGO StoryStarter days. I feel that the
speaking standards are being met over and over. WONDERFUL for my ELLS. I also
feel that by using a text map, they have really gained an understanding of what
makes a narrative.
Jennifer Jaworski
Reading Interventionist
Shenk Elememntary School
Madison WI
The biggest impact that StoryStarter has made on my classroom is that the
students are now eagerly looking forward to writing. In fact, according to my
students, writing has increased in rank from 4th place to 1st place on the students
list of students’ favorite subjects in school.
Eric Slay
2nd Grade Teacher
Betsy Ross Elementary
Anaheim, CA
Student engagement is much higher in my classroom. The work quality is much
better as well. I like how they children think through the whole story before they
begin writing. Developing dialogue and the other characteristics of the story really
gives every writing piece a much better voice. My principal has even been very
impressed with the writing pieces I’ve displayed in the classroom. It is evident that
the program is helping my students to write better.
Sarah Marsolek
2nd Grade Teacher
St. Joseph Catholic School
Wichita, KS
Since my students thought of it as fun, many of them didn’t realize they were
learning throughout the process. For students who do not usually think of
themselves as good writers, StoryStarter acted as a springboard into a part of
themselves they didn’t know was there.
Mary Walser
3rd Grade Teacher
Fairview Elementary School
High Point, NC
I found my students actually checking our Daily Objectives chart on the wall to
see if we would be completing a LEGO StoryStarter lesson for writing. They were
disappointed if they did not see this as an objective.
Jaime Williams
4th Grade Teacher
Emile Elementary
Bastrop, TX
The student’s engagement is much higher. StoryStarter challenges them. I time
them to complete the prototype, and time them to complete their writing. As soon
as I tell them to write they become quiet and write. This especially works well for
those students who have difficulty writing. These students now like to write, and are
writing full complete stories.
Liz Zapata-Cothran
3rd Grade Gifted Teacher
Manatee Cove Elementary
Orange City, FL
Student engagement was higher and they were all able to equally participate in the
activity.The biggest impact is that the students were eager to write their stories and
they were very proud of what they created.
Ofelia Medina
2nd Grade Teacher
TIPS South Hill Academy
West Covina, CA
