A story with all action and not enough reflection sounds childish and lacks depth. But a story that is all reflective thoughts and emotions can bore a reader and run the risk of not teling a story at all. Today’s mini move will help us think about the see-sawing effect of balancing actions with thoughts and emotions so that our story has the perfect amount of both!

According to Navajo tradition, this is a winter tale. Coyote stories should only be told in the winter time. This Navajo story booklet is part of the Native American Indian Literacy Project storybook series for the six main Utah Tribal Nations. The project was led by Shirlee A. Silversmith, American Indian education specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. There are five stories per Tribe, with a total of 30 booklets, plus an ABC book. The set of Indian Tribal stories may be utilized by elementary classroom teachers to (1) develop an understanding and appreciation of Native American culture and societal contributions (2) provide a genre of text for the application of reading strategies, and (3) facilitate the mastery of various Utah Core Content Curriculum objectives. The Native American Indian Literacy Project was made possible by funds from the Utah State Office of Education (USOE). It is a joint effort of the USOE and San Juan School District Media Center.
The original set has 30 booklets, measuring 5.5” x 8.5” each, and illustrated by tribal members. The booklets were formatted to be printed and assembled. This version of the book has been updated to accommodate using a projector or smart board with pages appearing in order.

According to Goshute tradition, Coyote tales should only be told during the winter time. Traditional Goshute elders are botanists. They use many herbs and plants from the area for food, medicine, and spiritual healing. This Goshute story booklet is part of the Native American Indian Literacy Project storybook series for the six main Utah Tribal Nations. The project was led by Shirlee A. Silversmith, American Indian education specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. There are five stories per Tribe, with a total of 30 booklets, plus an ABC book. The set of Indian Tribal stories may be utilized by elementary classroom teachers to (1) develop an understanding and appreciation of Native American culture and societal contributions (2) provide a genre of text for the application of reading strategies, and (3) facilitate the mastery of various Utah Core Content Curriculum objectives. The Native American Indian Literacy Project was made possible by funds from the Utah State Office of Education (USOE). It is a joint effort of the USOE and San Juan School District Media Center.
The original set has 30 booklets, measuring 5.5” x 8.5” each, and illustrated by tribal members. The booklets were formatted to be printed and assembled. This version of the book has been updated to accommodate using a projector or smart board with pages appearing in order.

The Honeeshgish, or fire poker, is sacred to traditional Navajo. They believe that the Holy People blessed it and gave it to the Diné to use in their fireplaces, their homes, and their ceremonies. This Navajo booklet is part of the Native American Indian Literacy Project storybook series for the six main Utah Tribal Nations. The project was led by Shirlee A. Silversmith, American Indian education specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. There are five stories per Tribe, with a total of 30 booklets, plus an ABC book. The set of Indian Tribal stories may be utilized by elementary classroom teachers to (1) develop an understanding and appreciation of Native American culture and societal contributions (2) provide a genre of text for the application of reading strategies, and (3) facilitate the mastery of various Utah Core Content Curriculum objectives. The Native American Indian Literacy Project was made possible by funds from the Utah State Office of Education (USOE). It is a joint effort of the USOE and San Juan School District Media Center.
The original set has 30 booklets, measuring 5.5” x 8.5” each, and illustrated by tribal members. The booklets were formatted to be printed and assembled. This version of the book has been updated to accommodate using a projector or smart board with pages appearing in order.

Tookwee’nup, legends, are Paiute stories told during the winter months. They are mythical, often humorous, and they contain a moral. Tookwee’nup teach Paiute children why things are like they are. The stories give spiritual instruction and expose the children to human characteristics that we all possess. This Paiute booklet is part of the Native American Indian Literacy Project storybook series for the six main Utah Tribal Nations. The project was led by Shirlee A. Silversmith, American Indian education specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. There are five stories per Tribe, with a total of 30 booklets, plus an ABC book. The set of Indian Tribal stories may be utilized by elementary classroom teachers to (1) develop an understanding and appreciation of Native American culture and societal contributions (2) provide a genre of text for the application of reading strategies, and (3) facilitate the mastery of various Utah Core Content Curriculum objectives. The Native American Indian Literacy Project was made possible by funds from the Utah State Office of Education (USOE). It is a joint effort of the USOE and San Juan School District Media Center.
The original set has 30 booklets, measuring 5.5” x 8.5” each, and illustrated by tribal members. The booklets were formatted to be printed and assembled. This version of the book has been updated to accommodate using a projector or smart board with pages appearing in order.

The Ute Mountain Ute people live in southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado, near the base of Wisuv Káruv, or Sleeping Ute Mountain. The Ute Mountain Ute tribal headquarters are located at Towaoc, Colorado. The Ute Mountain Ute Sun Dance is held there every year on Sleeping Ute Mountain. This Ute Mountain Ute booklet is part of the Native American Indian Literacy Project storybook series for the six main Utah Tribal Nations. The project was led by Shirlee A. Silversmith, American Indian education specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. There are five stories per Tribe, with a total of 30 booklets, plus an ABC book. The set of Indian Tribal stories may be utilized by elementary classroom teachers to (1) develop an understanding and appreciation of Native American culture and societal contributions (2) provide a genre of text for the application of reading strategies, and (3) facilitate the mastery of various Utah Core Content Curriculum objectives. The Native American Indian Literacy Project was made possible by funds from the Utah State Office of Education (USOE). It is a joint effort of the USOE and San Juan School District Media Center.
The original set has 30 booklets, measuring 5.5” x 8.5” each, and illustrated by tribal members. The booklets were formatted to be printed and assembled. This version of the book has been updated to accommodate using a projector or smart board with pages appearing in order.

To the Navajo, the owl is a bearer of bad news. When an owl appears, it may be a warning that something terrible is about to happen. When a traditional Navajo sees an owl, he prays for intervention, protection, and guidance. This Navajo booklet is part of the Native American Indian Literacy Project storybook series for the six main Utah Tribal Nations. The project was led by Shirlee A. Silversmith, American Indian education specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. There are five stories per Tribe, with a total of 30 booklets, plus an ABC book. The set of Indian Tribal stories may be utilized by elementary classroom teachers to (1) develop an understanding and appreciation of Native American culture and societal contributions (2) provide a genre of text for the application of reading strategies, and (3) facilitate the mastery of various Utah Core Content Curriculum objectives. The Native American Indian Literacy Project was made possible by funds from the Utah State Office of Education (USOE). It is a joint effort of the USOE and San Juan School District Media Center.
The full set has 30 booklets, measuring 5.5” x 8.5” each, and illustrated by tribal members. The booklets were formatted to be printed and assembled. This means that they do not read well when using a projector or smart board because the pages will appear out of order. If a teacher did want to use the books in an electronic format, they would be best off screenshotting the pages and arranging them in a slide presentation.

Students will create their own constellations.  They will give it a name, design what it looks like, and write a backstory of how it came to be. This will be paired with Indigenous stories of constellations.  Then, students use the Star Chart app to identify their own constellation and create a story that explains it. Students will use Flipgrid to create and share stories with a wider audience. Students can screen share with Flipgrid to show their constellation. Students can also import their constellations and other images into Flipgrid to have visuals as they narrate their story.

Students will pick out the main theme for the book and discuss the elements used to make up the story. They will use the iPad App Story Creator to illustrate and write their own story. They will be learning how to take a paper illustration and put it into a digital story and add their own text. This can be adapted to 4-6 grades.

This is a lesson plan to end a unit on Narrative.  During the unit, students came up with a time in their lives that was significant ("a defining moment") and will tell their stories digitally -- through a photo journal using Google docs. The lesson is a remix of Google's Applied Digital Skills lesson "Create a Photo in Google Docs".  

Often the difference between a drab, lifeless personal narrative and an engaging, lively one is the use of concrete details. In this video, we will learn about how concrete details help us take the guesswork out of reading our narrative while showing our unique voice and perspective.

This is a computer science lesson plan created by educators in the South Sanpete School District. Using ozobots, the lesson challenges students to draw a map from their house to the school using color codes to show speed and cool moves. The lesson is designed for third grade and includes modifications for grades 1-5.

Learn how to add details to make the setting of your stories come alive in this Story Pirates video from Camp TV. By using words to describe how a place looks, sounds, feels, smells, and even tastes you can make your writing more compelling.

Sherry and Justin from Story Pirates show you how to keep a reader on the edge of their seat in this clip about suspense in this video from Camp TV. They explain all the steps to make a story where the reader has to know what happens next and share their own mysterious and exciting examples.

Students will have the opportunity to write a personal narrative which they will turn into a storyboard to make a digial story. Image citation: https://unsplash.com/photos/Z5JJifMtbCo

This one week lesson plan outlines daily activities for a lesson using Adobe Spark to create a final digital telling of student's narrative stories they wrote in class. This lesson adds a technical element to the overall lesson and works as an assessment of storytelling digitally and otherwise. 

This lesson was designed to help students break down a problem into steps, creating a comic strip about their problem, writing about the problem and then taking everything they have done and creating their own Adobe Spark presentation with commentary. This provides students the opportunity and an alternate way to present without having to stand in front of the class. They are writing a narrative about a personal experience and creating their own information. 

Student learn to create an if-then adventure story using Google Applied Digital Skills

Beginning any piece of writing is a challenge, but it is particularly harrowing to begin a personal essay. Many writers use the same strategy: a scene drop. In this video, we’ll look at three mentor texts in which writers use the strategy of dropping readers directly into the thick of the story with pairs of actions. It’s a no-fail way to engage your reader and kick off your personal statement.