App of the Week: Kid in Story

As the school year is beginning I am mulling over in my mind how writing in my classroom will take form.  Will I do more class books than last year?  Will I continue with the little books I used at the writing center during the Daily Five?  How do I balance journal writing with explicit instruction? How will I integrate technology into all of that?  Then- viola! -my granddaughter sends me a story using the app Kid in Story.  Within a short time I had used pictures from our recent visit to create a story to send back to her.  I know there are a lot of story publishing tools out there, but this one just seems so simple. Pictures, text, and voice are easily dropped onto each page.  I can see it now...using my iPad to capture key moments in an activity and then using those with the whole class, projector, and Apple TV to create a "How To" book.  I can also see working with individuals helping them write their own stories.  Eventually, I can even see the students making the whole book themselves!  I think it will really help my students get the idea of sequencing and cohesiveness in a story.  Then, since it is on the iPad, they can read the story over and over and not a single tree was sacrificed!

Kid in Story iPad App

By the way, this app is FREE!  It also has a corresponding app, Kid in Story Reader.  When students are using this app, they do not have the option to edit.