Toontastic

In the fall. Ms. Conroy introduced our class to the Toontastic app. The students and I were very excited to learn how to use the app to make movies to tell our own stories. 

(You can learn more about the free Toontastic app HERE.)

 

 Ms. Conroy created a story with the students to practice. First, they had to select a setting. The app provides many to choose from. Next, they selected characters and decided on a problem one of the characters would have. Finally, they determined the solution to the problem. The students learned that they would create the actions and the voices of the characters. In fact, they would be able to use different voices and accents to speak as the characters. 

Students explored the Toontastic app on classroom ipads during writing time and WIN time.  They chose characters from those available or created their own using a drawing feature. Students touched the screen to control the movements of the characters and recorded the dialogue of each character using their own voices. This ties in with our second grade reading standards. We practice using different voices when reading dialogue orally.

  One of the benefits of Toontastic is that the story-making process is broken down into five steps, which gives students exposure to the structure of a well-told story.

 

Students also have the option to enhance the mood of each scene by selecting appropriate background music. Once students complete their story, they title their movie and it is saved to the ipad,
where it can be viewed by others.

When we began our genre study of Animal Fantasy, Ms. Conroy showed the students how to create their own Animal Fantasy story, connecting reading and writing. 

Students used a story web graphic organizer to plan their Animal Fantasy story.  Ms. Conroy also created a dialogue graphic organizer that students used to plan out what their characters would say. This allowed students the chance to rehearse the voices of the different characters.

 

The students enjoyed writing their own stories with dialogue. Below are some of the standards addressed during reading and writing time. 

This app is certainly a fun way to practice these skills!

RL.2.6 Craft and Structure 6. Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
W.2.3 Text Types and Purposes 3. Write narratives in which they recount a well-elaborated event or short sequence of events, include details to describe actions, thoughts, and feelings, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide a sense of closure.
W.2.6 Production and Distribution of Writing 6. With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.                                                                                          Mrs. Begin