Tech Tuesday: Internalizing Icons!

Story Grammar Marker^® provides visual support for understanding and forming narrative, but part of its work depends on students ascribing meaning to its icons. Helping students internalize these visuals, their connections and meanings can take some review, and the more fun, the better! Here are a few tech-infused ways to drill-play the SGM^® icons!

1. Use a Slideshow! Google Slides can be a great way to make a digital “manipulative” for review, such as this one (click and select File>Make a Copy to save to your Google Drive). Pick a personal narrative or reviewed story to talk through, then use the Slideshow mode as a “quiz” on the icons alone or linked to contextualized story elements (e.g., “Kick-Off—the Bear’s kickoff was that someone stole his hat!”). You can also download this slide deck to shuffle in your PowerPoint application or use the Google Slides free add-on Randomize Slides.

1. There are some great low-tech, similar ways to provide added exposure and practice with identifying icons. MindWing’s Universal Magnets are as fun to hold and interact with as they are to stick. Also STAMPede ink stamps are available on the MindWing website!

2. Quiz Em! Students love gamification and a number of websites make this process easy-peasy. You can make your own playable multiple choice “game shows” with Kahoot, where most of the core game features are free. As imagery is important for quizzing with icons, you can screenshot them to make images for your quiz. Digital versions of the icons are available on the MindWing site. We’d just ask you keep your quizzes private to your account for these trademarked icons. You can also make quizzes with no images and just hold up a story icon as you play to direct student’s attention to it (ala Vanna White!)
3. Sing it! Music can be a great way to activate both sides of the brain and aid in memory. Don’t forget that you can use The Braidy Song in activities with digital or low-tech icons to aid students in starting to “own” the icons!