Teaching Toolbox: A Digital Classroom

by Larissa Juliano

More and more teachers and librarians are utilizing digital magazines in their classrooms, including me! Let’s explore all the different ways you can make the most out of each issue of Story Monsters Ink! Be sure to head to your library and do a “book hunt” after learning about your students’ favorite authors, newly released books in the Book Reviews section, and dozens of books and authors featured across the colorful pages of each and every issue. Most have active links so you can hover your mouse over the text and you will quickly see what links are available to you.

When I open a new issue or look through a back issue, my first stop is the table of contents to see which articles and books are being featured, and how I can incorporate them into my class:

Do an author study

Every issue will have someone for you and your students to meet. Jeff Kinney, Sandra Boynton, James Patterson, Lauren Child, Tomie DePaola, Kate DiCamillo, and so many others have all graced the covers. Choose one to research further and follow along in their writing journey, or have your students write the author a letter.

True life inspiration

Real-life heroes with wisdom and insight into life’s challenges (big and small) which will certainly motivate and personally connect with readers.  

Fresh ideas for tweens  

Ann M. Martin’s Babysitters Club is featured on the August 2018 issue and will surely generate interest for a whole new generation of Kristy, Mary Ann, Stacey, and Dawn followers. Stars like Kelly Clarkson, Ruby Jay, Danica McKellar, and more can be real role models for girls learning to find their voice and navigate through the complexities and challenges of middle school relationships and academics.

Classroom projection devices

Bring up your magazine on your Smartboard, Prometheum, or other computer/projector device and ask questions for children to come up and click, or circle with computer pens, to get them moving and interacting! There are extra fun and interactive pages to bring up on your projection device, such as the reading guide, book reviews, author websites after reading the article, videos, and movie reviews. With so many districts using computer projection technology, many classrooms will have the ability to project this literary resource for all students to see!

Nonfiction scavenger hunt

Focus in on the magazine for a high-interest resource to begin a nonfiction feature scavenger hunt (prep ahead of time). Explicitly teach what nonfiction text features are (they are to nonfiction what story elements are to fiction!) and what purpose each one serves (this can be open-ended!)  Text feature examples: captions, table of contents, headings, photographs, quotation marks, bold words, graphs, charts, glossary, index, and more.

Bonus things to ask children/tweens/teens as you flip through the magazine…

*What genre of books are featured in this section?

*What is the theme of this author’s work? What is their inspiration? Find out if the author Skypes and set up a visit with your class! I have done this multiple times in my school district and in my graduate studies! Same with real-life heroes!

*Follow Story Monsters’ social media pages to stay up-to-date of upcoming articles and writing contests

Explore the Monster’s website

The Story Monsters team is constantly updating their site with so many features and tools for teachers/students to access on their own. Teaching guides are available as PDFs to go along with each issue. Questions in the teaching guide can be modified depending on the child’s age—use your teaching experience and love of literature to make Story Monsters come alive in the hands of your students!

Feeling nostalgic

When Mister Roger’s and Levar Burton’s familiar faces pop up on your screen, take that opportunity to share some of their magical and inspirational shows, find books about friendship and kindness, and even act out some puppet shows!

Student writers

One of my favorite links on the website is “Student Writers Wanted” which gives our readers monthly opportunities to feature their own writing pieces—book reviews, articles, essays, poems, and drawings! This would be a dream come true for me as a middle schooler in love with writing!

Share with us!

Send us pictures or comments of how your classroom and children are using the digital version of Story Monsters Ink! Email or go on Facebook @StoryMonsters and tag us or Twitter and use the hashtag #teachingtoolbox. We would love to feature them in future Teaching Toolbox columns and/or Story Monsters social media! Let’s learn and grow together with this literary resource at our fingertips!

Download our helpful classroom questions for teachers to use as a supplement when reading interviews and articles about their students’ favorite authors.

Closing the Gap: A Student Project

by Keith Brayman
AP Macroeconomics, River Bluff High School

In March 2017, I sat down with my principal, Dr. Luke Clamp and said, “I want my kids to write a book and I want them to present their findings to the United Nations.” His reply is what all educators pray for. “Let’s make it happen. Let me know what I can do to help you get there.” That conversation was exactly what I needed and gave me the energy to embark on a journey with my students that would span a calendar year and include a nearly 400-page publication.

I assigned the first of many tasks to be completed over the summer break. I really wanted my students to select a country that they had personal ties to because that would give them ownership over their work, as this would be a long process. In fact, one piece of feedback that I got from a student was that they wished they had chosen a country more dear to them. Having that connection would also make this case study a labor of love and not merely labor. 

Once they had chosen their country of interest, they were to visit the United Nations site regarding developing nations and the Human Development Index. I chose this index as our starting place so that students would not only have a basis of comparison against other developing nations, but also to have sound data that they could refer back to over time. I had them compile their country’s data onto a spreadsheet, which we aggregated on the first day of school. It was very important to me that they realized the gap between industrialized nations and the developing world. Needless to say, it didn’t take long.

After that stage, it became a process of “we,” and not “I.” I thought that I had planned for every contingency possible, but I was wrong. Like, really, really wrong. The stage between compiling data and writing the first part of their research had some significant speed bumps. My students began to show that they had taken ownership of their research and were quickly becoming more knowledgeable about their specific countries than I was and I was constantly playing catch-up. Honestly, this was a great problem to have. 

Their first piece of writing was due just before the Christmas break—the history of the government and economic system for each country. I was blown away. The writing was fantastic. There was a definite realization from me that moving forward was going to be challenging. But, I feel the need to back up a bit. Closing in on the due date for their research, students began to come to me to express concerns about the clarity of what I wanted in their writing. I was taken aback. Hadn’t I explained it well? It was written clearly, or so I thought. 

What I had excluded from my planning was to ensure that there were enough checkpoints for my students to ask questions and gain the clarity that they needed. So we talked, a lot. Again, my students surprised me with their maturity and their ability to approach me with questions and concerns. There was even a point that I considered ending the case study with the research papers. Another testament to the level of students is that they shot that idea down nearly before I finished explaining my reasoning. They wanted to continue. I am so happy that they did. We worked together to ensure that they had all of the information that they needed to move forward and we were set for, in my opinion, one of the most meaningful semesters of their school careers.

Once back from the break, we shifted our focus to finding ways for our countries to move forward, to enhance the standard of living, and/or to generally make life more manageable for business to be successful. To be clear, my students were tasked with developing economic plans to move their countries further toward development. I had hoped that we would follow the rules and laws that are in my curriculum for our AP Macroeconomics class. We quickly outgrew them. The entry-level Economics formulas that we planned on using weren’t equipped to handle the data that my students wanted to adjust in their plans. This was the ninth or tenth time that I found myself on the struggle bus. Luckily, my students are brilliant and we were able to work together to ensure that we were using the correct formulas and that their calculations were correct. Difficulty came in situations where a country was in financial crisis and the news and data were changing by the minute. It truly was amazing to watch them work within very specific parameters while still thinking outside the box. 

Nearing the conclusion of the school term, it was a mad dash to finalize ideas and calculations. I became clear that the students weren’t procrastinating, but that they wanted their best work published. They owned their writing. They owned their work. They want you to read their best piece. Hopefully you will have the opportunity to read their findings and their plans for development. It is an amazing piece of student writing.

A message to any teachers who are contemplating publishing their students’ work: Do it! It will be one of the most meaningful pieces of work they will ever complete.