Motivating Students with Storyjumper and Storybird

Second grade students in Mrs. Battistoni's class have been using Storyjumper.com to create class books as well as individual stories. Since the students have been using this technology tool, Mrs. Battistoni has noticed a significant change in student engagement and motivation during writing instruction. Once reluctant writers now are eager to take their netbook from the cart and login to their student account on Storyjumper. Students in this second grade classroom are encouraged to collaborate and help each other. Remember that teachers do not have to be an expert on the technology tool in order to integrate it effectively! This is a photo of a student with a strength in technology acting as a mentor and helping his classmate troubleshoot a computer problem. Check out their class Storyjumper project! Winter Poems by Mrs. Battistoni's Class


It is so fantastic to see similar results in other classrooms throughout the district. Recently, I was in Miss Towne's fourth grade and the students were completely immersed in their writing when using Storybird.com. Similar to Storyjumper.com, this website allows students to create writing pieces that can be shared in a safe and secure online environment. A storybird is a writing piece where the author (the student) is collaborating with an artist by first choosing the art collection and then writing a story to go along with it. As I was wandering the room, I was so impressed with the quality of writing and creativity of these fourth graders. Watching them help one another and share tech tips with each other was equally impressive.