Like I’ve mentioned before, Storyline is a great fit for Oregon’s English Language Proficiency (ELP) standards. Below is an example of ELP standard 6: analyze and critique the arguments of others. This was part of our Big Orange Splot Storyline that we just finished during distance learning.

Please consider joining us at the 8th International Storyline Conference in Gothenburg, Sweden. The dates are March 25th-27th, 2022. For more information, go to the conference website: https://storyline.education/outputs/conference-in-gothenburg

Here’s a picture of our completed frieze for the Eric Carle Storyline for K/1. I tried to keep it as simple as possible for distance learning. The students drew their characters, houses and other items for the frieze and then dropped them by the school. A KG student exclaimed, “I want to go there!” when he saw the completed frieze for the first time.

Right now we’re working on an ELD Storyline based on the book, My Heart is a Compass by Deborah Marcero. It tells the story of a girl, Rose, who wants to find something extra special to bring to her class for show-and-tell. She embarks on an imaginative journey, creating maps to help her locate that one special thing. The students join the story as readers and create maps alongside Rose. It has been a great fit for distance learning. All 10 ELP standards are included in this ELD Storyline.

Here a couple of student quotes that illustrate how Storyline ignites curiosity and imagination:

“If she drew the wind, she would know exactly where to go. It would lead her to the mountain.” -3rd Grade ELL Student

“It’s always sunset in my land because there’s always a bit of unicorn magic.” -1st Grade ELL Student

During distance learning, I chose to do a simple, book-based Storyline with my K/1 students. It’s based on the bilingual book, Señorita Mariposa by Ben Gundersheimer. The students became Monarch butterfly characters and “travel” from the United States to Mexico along with the butterflies in the book. Drama, research, writing, art and map skills are all included in this ELD Storyline. At the end, we’ll have a butterfly fiesta!

This ELD Storyline is based on the book, Colette’s Lost Pet by Isabelle Arsenault. Colette, the main character in the book, moves to a new neighborhood and invents a pet in order to impress her new neighborhood friends. The students become kids in Colette’s neighborhood. They follow along with Colette and make up their own stories of missing pets. The Storyline culminates with a pet show. All 10 of Oregon’s ELP standards are covered in the this ELD Storyline.

This Storyline is based on the book, Cactus Hotel by Brenda Z. Guiberson. The story tells about the life cycle of Saguaro cactus and the animals that depend on it for survival in the Sonoran desert. The students become animals in the desert and experience the events in the story through the eyes of their animal characters. All 10 ELP standards are included in this Storyline.

We just presented at the English Language Learners Alliance Conference in Eugene, OR.

This Storyline is based on the book, Weslandia by Paul Fleischman. It tells the story of boy who creates his own civilization as an elaborate summer project. After his garden is mysteriously planted with magical seeds one night at the beginning of the summer, unknown plants begin to grow. From these plants, he is able to create his own civilization. Students participate in the story as schoolmates of Wesley. They get to experience the story through process drama, research, writing activities, etc. This Storyline was originally written for the regular classroom by Colleen Vallerga. I adapted it for ELD. All 10 ELP standards are included.

I just finished presenting at the International Storyline conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The Honeybee Man ELD Storyline will now travel the world!