Image-Making Research-Based Animal Stories
The Image-Making Research-Based Animal Stories Unit engages students in informational and narrative reading and writing using collage as a medium for developing and recording ideas. Students conduct visual and written research on an animal of their choosing, study narrative structure through analyzing quality picture books, and develop fact-based storylines. Students then create their own portfolios of hands-painted textured papers as they explore a variety of simple art techniques. These papers become the raw materials for constructing their collage stories. Storyboards, accordion folders, community word banks, and specially designed brainstorming sheets provide the scaffolding necessary to insure detailed, fact-based stories. Students learn how to bring their stories to life through the artful marriage of image and text.
Image-Making Research-Based Animal Stories Instructional Materials
Awareness Video
Now available online!
This video brings viewers into a first- and second-grade classroom to view the Picturing Writing and the Image-Making Research-Based Animal Story Units in action. The narrated overview gives viewers a peek into each process as it unfolds as well as provides opportunities to listen to students reading and reflecting on their experiences. This video also contains highlights from standardized test data.
The Instructional Video Package includes the video, the manual, all 6 mentor texts, Image-Making Station Labels, the IM Artists Frame, an Artists/Writers Workshop Poster and a Times of Day Poster. This video does not contain individual lessons.
Watch Video Clip: Introduction to Picturing Writing and Image-Making
Watch Video Clip: Overview of Image-Making
Teachers Manual
The Image-Making Integrated Curriculum Research-Based Animal Stories Manual provides step-by-step daily lessons from making hand-painted papers to creating storyboards to constructing collage images to writing to each literary element. All masters are included. This manual is distributed as part of the Image-Making Research-Based Story Workshop or as part of a larger instructional package.
Mentor Texts
Underwater Escape by art educator Kimberly Wade Cheifer offers a compelling 5-page research-based animal story that takes the Image-Making collage process to new heights. With exceptional skill, Kim crafts stunning collage images and detailed text to move her readers through the story of an otter family’s escape from an oil spill. This story provides many well executed examples of the key elements of story (setting, character, problem, solution, and ending) in both pictures and words. Underwater Escape can be used to inspire and instruct. Available in English or French.
Owl’s Night by teacher Maggie Mattson offers a captivating 5-page research-based animal story. Through her breathtaking collage images and well crafted text, Maggie artfully draws readers into her story about Mother Barn Owl and her owlets’ close encounter with a predator. This story serves as an excellent mentor text, addressing key literary elements in image and text. Owl’s Night offers a treasure trove of teaching opportunities. Available in English or French.
Bamboo Dreams by teacher Marlene Oda provides an example of a 3-page researched-based animal story about a giant panda cub in search of bamboo. In addition to her lovely collage images and detailed text, this book includes an informational text page about giant pandas and a scientific sketch. Marlene’s simple yet compelling collage images and well-crafted text provide wonderful teaching models and inspiration for students.
Siberian Tiger’s Adventures was written by Ms. Dion’s first-grade class to collage images created by Beth Olshansky during the classroom modeling process. This 3-page research-based animal story provides examples of a simple descriptive lead, a realistic problem and solution, and use of strong verbs and adjectives. The collage images offer examples of establishing a sense of setting/habitat, creating interesting ground-lines, and showing reflected light on snow. This book uses changes in perspective and changes in the sky to drive the story forward.
Rhinoceros Rescue was written by Mrs. Carmichael’s first-grade class to collage images created by Beth Olshansky during the classroom modeling process. This 3-page research-based animal story provides examples of a simple lead, a realistic problem and solution, and use of strong verbs and adjectives. The collage images offer examples of establishing a sense of setting/habitat, creating an interesting ground-line, and showing reflection from the sky to the water. This book uses dramatic changes in perspective and changes in the sky to drive the story forward.
Station Labels
Image-Making Station Labels –This set of 20 laminated station labels are folded to create “tabletop tents.” Each provides a visual example of a paper-texturing technique on the front and directions on the back of how to set up each station and model that painting process. Available in English or French.
Posters
The Times of Day Poster is used during this research-based animal stories project as a reference to remind students to consider what color skies they need to paint depending on when their animal is awake. It is also referenced during the collage-making process as students embed facts about their animal into each collage image.
Available in English and French.