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Common Sense Review
Updated June 2013

StoryLines for Schools

Silly fusion of Pictionary and "telephone" makes vocabulary fun
Common Sense Rating 3
Teacher Rating (3 Teacher Reviews) 5
Price
Free
This grade range is a recommendation by the Common Sense Education editorial team, not the developer/publisher.
Grades
3-10
Platforms
iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
Show Additional Product & Pricing Details
Subjects
Arts
  • drawing
English Language Arts
  • naming
  • vocabulary
  • writing
Skills
Communication & Collaboration
  • conveying messages effectively
  • multiple forms of expression
  • teamwork
Critical Thinking
  • deduction
  • making conclusions
  • thinking critically
Standards
Common Core State Standards
  • Choose three to nine players.
  • Work is recorded at the end of each round.
  • Practice vocabulary and drawing without pressure.
  • Completed storyline reveals twists and turns.
  • Basic drawing kit costs $.99.
Pros
Kids explore the meanings of phrases and drawings through mistake-friendly fun.
Cons
The only outlet for solo players is to connect to a peer through Edmodo.
Bottom Line
Free, easy-to-use game is a fun complement to vocabulary lessons.
Dana Villamagna
Common Sense Reviewer
Classroom teacher
Common Sense Rating 3
Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return? 4

StoryLines' pass-and-play mode is a safe, fun, and social game experience.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer? 3

Switching between drawing and captioning gets kids thinking creatively and critically, but maybe not deeply.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students? 3

A clear tutorial explains the game at the outset. An in-app purchase provides kids with more drawing options.

About our ratings and privacy evaluation.
How Can Teachers Use It?

For teachers, StoryLines for Schools would work well as a supplement to any class in need of vocabulary practice. Due to its low barrier of entry and adjustable and brief rounds of play, you can use it at any time to add variety to a day's activities.

And while free play will certainly be fun, to get students more actively learning, split them into groups and have the first student start a custom storyline using a concept or definition covered in class. For younger students, assign each group a specific concept or even the same concept. They can either look up a definition or write their own, depending on the desired outcomes. The group then passes the device around, completing the storylines. When groups finish their storylines, play them back for the class using a projector. Students will find the storylines funny, but try to edge the discussion more toward reflection on why and how assumptions about the meaning of things are made and what the impact is on their lives (e.g., misinterpretation of a text).

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What's It Like?

StoryLines for Schools is the classroom-friendly, social media-restricted version of the vocabulary building iOS drawing app StoryLines. It's a creative, fun experience best played in small groups -- three to nine players -- with one device. It's perfect for classrooms needing vocabulary practice with limited iPhones or iPads. But be aware that kids are free to draw or write whatever they want, including iffy words and pictures.

A StoryLines session begins with a student writing or choosing a well-known saying, idiom, phrase, word, or quote, and then passing the device to the next player who must draw what's written. Then the device goes to a new student who writes down what he or she sees. Depending on the size of the group, this can be repeated for up to nine students. StoryLines compares this game to the old-fashioned game of telephone, in which players whisper a sentence from person to person, morphing the sentence little by little into something entirely different.

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Is It Good For Learning?

This game is a pressure-free, fun way for students to practice vocabulary, writing, and drawing while also trying out deductive and inductive reasoning. And with good discussion, kids can think about what happens when assumptions are incorrect. The only potential downside of this app is that kids need other willing participants to play the game; there's no real effective way to play solo, although Edmodo users can use the OpenMinds platform to play remotely with classmates.

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