Let Your Imagination Roll Wild

Okay, we all know that a lot of students don't particularly enjoy writing.  I work with a lot of kids who have difficulty reading and writing, so the last thing they want to do is write for me.  I've tried a variety of creative ways (at least I think so) to get my kiddos excited about writing.  I've been unsuccessful.  Then, this weekend I was shopping at Meier in Dayton and came across the game aisle.  I'm always trying to think of ways to adapt my favorite games such as Candy Land, Jenga, and Scattergories into educational games (Jenga Trivia will come in a later post!).  I came across the answer to my troubles....Rory's Story Cubes.  This game, consisting of 9 picture dice, comes in a small box that is used in the game.  There are many different ways to use this game in the classroom!  In the original instructions, students are to take all 9 picture dice and roll them.  Their job is then to create a story, beginning with "Once upon a time...", incorporating the pictures from the 9 dice into the story.  This seems a little difficulty for the students I work with, so I will have them roll 3-4 dice.  The pictures on the dice include things such as an airplane, a lock, a magnifying glass, a parachute, a question mark, and a credit card.  With the wide variety of picture combinations, the stories are endless.

For a fun twist, students can work in a group.  Each member of the group gets the same number of dice.  Starting with one player and continuing in the circle, students take turns rolling the cubes and adding to the story based on the face up image on the dice.  

After purchasing them, I played the game with my friend's little brothers who are in first and second grade.  They had a blast with it!  We just told the stories out loud and took turns rolling 4 dice.  I haven't used these in my classroom yet, but I plan on trying them out tomorrow in my after-school intervention group.  I can't wait to hear the interesting stories the kids come up with tomorrow!