Transform Student Writing into Professionally Illustrated Books

Storybird

What if, instead of giving students another writing assignment that they are likely to dread, you could tell them that the stories they were about to write were going to be professionally illustrated and published and shared? Storybird provides everything you need to make that happen. From beautiful artwork and a simple interface, to great tools to help teachers manage student work. It’s also completely free and works on any device.

Write Your Book

Choose Your Artwork

Students can pick from more than 10,000 original pieces of art to use in their books. Students must select the artwork they are going to use before starting their books. They can select the work of a particular illustrator or search to create a portfolio of images using one or more keywords.

Chose a Format and Start Writing

Poem

Poems consist of a single image. Students are provided with a list of words that they drag and drop onto the page to create their poem. Teachers can add custom word lists (great for spelling/vocabulary lists and word walls).

Picture Book

Picture books are multi-page books with an emphasis on illustrations. Students drag and drop images onto pages. Simply moving an image allows student to rearrange the layout of text and images on each page.

Longform Book

Longform books are multi-chapter books with less pictures. Creating them is similar to making a picture book, but students can change their artwork selection with each new chapter.

Publish

Once a student has finished their book, they can select “publish” under the Menu icon. All books made with student accounts are automatically private. Only other students in the same class will be able to read and comment. Student writing can be shared with links or embedded into a website or blog. Educators can also create a school library of student work.

Manage Classes with Storybird Studio

Create Classes

Teachers can create multiple classes and add create student accounts; student accounts don’t require email addresses. Teachers can either type student details, copy and paste a roster, upload a .csv file, or provide an access code so that students can create their own accounts. Teachers and students who use Google Classroom or Google Apps for Education can sign in with Google.

Create Assignments

Teachers can create assignments within Storybird Studio. After adding details and direcitons, teachers can choose to restrict artwork to a particular artis of theme. Students can be directed to create a specific book format (Loongform, Picture, Poem). Teachers can provide custom word lists when creating Poem assignments. In addition to commenting on student work, teachers can choose to assign letter or number grades within Storybird Studio.

Share Student Writing with a Parent Showcase

One of my favorite features of Storybird Studio is the Parent Showcase. Teachers can invite parents to view their child’s work. Parents go to https://storybird.com/parents/ and enter the teacher-provided password. Parents can only view the work of their own child (not that of other students). This is a great way to involve parents in their child’s learning. Parents are also given the option to buy their child’s work as a PDF, eBook, or even a printed edition. Teachers can even set up fundraisers that earn their school 30% of all sales.

Get Started by Creating a Teacher Account

Teachers can get started by going to storybird.com, click Sign Up For Free, and select Educator/Teacher.

Resources for Educators

There are so many ways great ways to use Storybird in any classroom. I’ve gathered links to some resources to help you get started:

• How to Create a Class
• How to Create a Picture Book
• Monthly Writing Challenge
• How to Start a Fundraiser
• Lessons, Ideas, and Examples from the Storybird Blog
• Educator/Student FAQ

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