So part of my new job is travelling to schools and assisting them in utilizing technology as a tool to support diverse learners. Yesterday I spent the afternoon with 3 lovely educators at Errington Elementary in Richmond, BC. Together we looked at the school’s newly purchased iPad and we shared apps to help students in their primary classrooms. One stood out called “Storywheel.” This particular app is a tool that can be used to assist oral language development as well as for those writers who may need a scaffold to get those ideas flowing (and we all have some of those!).

At it’s basic (and free) level, the storywheel is filled with random picture prompts. At a small cost, themed wheels can be purchased (e.g. space, pirates etc.). Players spin the wheel and record part of the story using the picture as a cue. Once that section is recorded, the storywheel is passed to the next player and the process is repeated. players an be from 1-4 players and up to 12 sections, and by the end, the entire story is played back and paired with the animated picture prompts.

I have used this app with small groups of Kindergarten students as well as an opening community builder activity with a group of teachers on a professional development day. It is a great way to get the creative juices flowing… and can get pretty hilarious depending on the group.

Give it a try and let me know what you think and how you have used it! Did I mention it is FREE!!!

To see the overview of details that this app (and others) have to offer check out my App review.