Issue #13 - May 27, 2025.

Hi there, .

You know how movies start as storyboards?

That same technique—used by filmmakers, animators, and designers—is a powerful classroom tool for helping students organize ideas, visualize meaning, and show their thinking step-by-step.

This week’s strategy, Storyboarding Concepts, invites students to turn what they’ve learned into a visual “scene-by-scene” explanation.

It’s part narrative, part summary, part creative thinking—and it helps students make abstract ideas click.

This Week's Strategy: Storyboarding Concepts

1. Choose a Concept or Process
   Pick something that has a clear flow or stages: a math strategy, science process, historical event, or theme progression.
   

2. Set the Frame Limit
   Give students a storyboard template with 4–8 boxes (or have them fold a blank page). Each box will represent one step, stage, or key moment.
   

3. Sketch the Story
   In each box, students sketch what’s happening and include a short caption or thought bubble to explain the idea.
   

4. Share and Reflect
   Students pair up or do a gallery walk to explain their storyboards. Ask: What did you include? Why that order? What part was hardest to show?
   

Why This Works?

🎬  Helps students visualize sequences and cause-effect relationships
🧠  Combines literacy, visual thinking, and synthesis
🖍  Offers an accessible creative outlet—even for students who “don’t like to draw”
🎯  Works well as a review tool, assessment, or collaborative activity

Alternatives:

• Use sticky notes in sequence for a movable version

• Pair with a script-writing exercise for ELA or Theater

• Try digital tools like Pixton, Canva, or Google Slides for virtual storyboards

Ways to Make Connections:

You can use this strategy to enhance:

• ELA – Break down a story’s structure or show a character’s transformation.

• Social Studies – Map out events in a trial or cultural shift.

• Science – Depict the steps in the scientific method or a natural process like erosion.

• Math – Represent each step in solving a complex problem or real-world scenario.

• Visual Arts – Plan out an artwork or reflect on an artist’s process from concept to completion.

• Music, Dance, or Theater – Storyboard a composition’s progression through tempo, mood, or structure.

Happy creating and connecting,

Susan

Psst...if you find these strategies useful, you'll love what's being shared at this year's National Arts Integration and STEAM Conference. Tickets are almost gone - don't delay!