Stories from scratch
Need an activity to help kids continue learning from home? It’s difficult to think of longer assignments that will keep students focused and thinking creatively. Post-it® Super Sticky Notes and the Post-it® App are great tools to spark imagination and enrich learning exercises. This free activity is a great supplement to schoolwork that will build storytelling skills for kids in grades 2-10.
For kids, storytelling is a unique way to develop an understanding of the world around them. It can create a sense of magic and wonder. It can help them develop skills, knowledge, and confidence in a wide range of other areas.
Albert Einstein once said “If you want your children to be smart, tell them stories. If you want them to be brilliant, tell them more stories.” Kids don’t just love listening to stories, they also love to create and tell their own.
In this distance learning activity, parents can help their kids capture new ideas, outline and write a story using Post-it® Super Sticky Notes and the Post-it® App. Post-it® Super Sticky Notes are great for school activities like storyboards because they have 2x the sticking power on vertical surfaces.
After the initial storyboarding, your student can share their digital notes with a classmate and receive feedback before they craft their story.
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Create the story framework
1. Start your student out with an exciting topic like “Cat Detectives” or “Outer Space Race.” Be creative!
Give your student bright colors of Post-it® Super Sticky Note, 3 in. x 3 in to create elements of the tale. Help them get imaginative and brainstorm characters, actions and places for their story. They can even sketch some of the elements.
2. Have your student place Post-it® Super Sticky Notes on the wall and capture them with the Post-it® App.
Just open the App and tap the + on the main screen. Then hold the camera icon on the pop-up menu to capture the notes.
OR work on screen: your student can create digital notes directly in the Post-it® App. They simply open the app and tap the + on the main screen. Then they tap the note icon on the pop-up menu and type, write or draw on the digital note. Students can pick from an array of note and pen colors. Then tap “Add”. They can continue to tap + to continue to add characters, places, actions, etc. on individual notes as they brainstorm possible ideas for their story.Tip: If writing notes with a finger, the app also displays the words in text that can be edited.
3. Students can hold and drag notes to organize the Post-it® Board.
They can group story points or characters or tap and drag notes off by themselves to create new categories. -
Share the story
4. When finished, they can share their work with a classmate or teacher.
Your student can simply tap the share button in the upper right corner of the board screen. Export as a Post-it® Board to share to another student who is also a Post-it App user. Or export into a PowerPoint® to share over email.5. The classmate can open the .postit board file in the free Post-it® App on their phone, iPad® or MacBook®, or open an exported .ppt file in PowerPoint® on their computer.
The classmate can then rearrange the notes on screen, supply new thoughts and send back in the App or through email.Tip: If they use PowerPoint® they will need to ungroup the notes.
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Build on the story
6. Ask your student to consider the feedback on the story.
Does it make sense, what would they do different? If the classmate has added notes directly in the Post-it® App, your student can combine boards by tapping and holding the entire board and moving it over to the existing board.7. Next the students can arrange selected elements of the story in sequence within the Post-it® App.
Then they can add drawings and additional plot points to complete the storyboard.8. Now students can start writing the story and refer to the storyboard for structure, focus and inspiration.
Tip: by tapping a note, your student can look at a large image of the note and swipe to see the next note in order.9. When the story is finalized, students can share the Post-it® Board with their teacher to show the ideation behind the short story.
This short story process can be tailored to jumpstart a variety of school writing activities, such as poetry writing, essays or reports.
For 40 years, Post-it® Notes have set creativity free. The Post-it® App helps students quickly organize ideas, expand thinking and connect with others, from anywhere.
Find more activities to help virtual students succeed at Post-it.com/Study and download the Post-it® App for free.
5 tips to help your student ignite short story inspiration:
- Start with a problem a character could have.
- Expand on personal interests. For example: dancing or camping.
- Think of a favorite family story or something funny that happened.
- Ask “What if” questions. “What if dogs could talk?”
- Replace ordinary with unusual. What’s something that makes a character unique?
If you want more information about how to use the Post-it® App, visit Post-it.com/App.
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