Visual Aids Ideas

Story wheels are made with 2 paper plates. I use large ones for class visual aids and small plates when the children make one to take home. You can also use cardstock or tagboard to print onto instead of using paper plates.

Cardstock templates:  Large storywheel     small storywheel

1. Divide one paper plate into quarters and illustrate the story with simple drawings or clipart. (fig. 1)
   
2. Decorate and title the other plate; cut out a wedge shape that is just less than 1/4 of the plate. (fig. 2)
   
3. Stack the plates with the cutout plate on top. Put a brad through the center of both plates.
   
4. Tape or glue a craft stick to the back of the top plate, if desired, for a handle.

Use a fairly shallow cardboard box

1. Tape box closed and Cut a square out of one side for the "screen".
2. On each end cut out a circle large enough for a paper-towel roll to fit.
3. Cut out a slit on the top the width of the "screen" OR cut a second set of circles above the first set on the ends.

To use illustrate a story on a long strip of paper that will fit your screen. Tape end to a paper towel roll if you have a slit in the top of your TV or tape both ends to two paper towel roll if you have two sets of cicles cut in the sides. Pull the paper up through the slit in the top or turn the top set of paper twowel rolls to move from illustration to illustration.

Opt. - Use an old remote control to let students take turns turning on and off the "TV program".

www.makingfriends.com has a great picture of what the finished product should look like. You could probably easily alter thier directions to make a larger one that would workable for visual aid use.

Use either a shallow box with a lid or a special sandbox table with small figurines (I like to use McDonald's Happy Meal Barbies found at garage sales or the small action figures work well). Toy stores also have bagged sets of small plastic animals which work great.

Paint the bottom blue or cover with blue paper and add about 2 inches of sand box sand. If you need a river, lake, or other water, just scrape back the sand to reveal the blue on the bottom.

Copy or draw characters or objects from your lesson, color, laminate (or cover with clear contact paper) and glue or tape to craft sticks.Make one set per student.

• As you tell the tell the story have the students hold up the characters as you mention them.
  
• Have the students re-tell the story (with help from you if needed) using their puppets.
  
• Ask quetions about the story and have the students hold up the stick puppet that is the answer to the question.

1. Take 4 same sized square pieces of paper. Fold in half matching opposite corners [fig 1].
2. Open up and fold in half matching the opposite corners.
3. Open up and cut up ONE fold to the center.[fig 2]. Lap the cut pieces over top of each other and glue together [fig 3].
4. Repeat for the other three pieces of paper.
5. Glue two of the pieces "side-by".[fig 4] Glue the other two "side by side" then glue the two together back to back to make a 4-sided display.
6. Create 4 scences from the story, one on each side of the diaroma [fig 5].

          Fig.3            Fig. 4

Fig. 2

These are especially useful when covering Israels' exodus from Egypt and the years spent wandering through the wilderness from the OT and the Apostles' journeys in the NT.

Make an overhead transperancy of a map and using a projecter shine the map onto a wall that has a piece of paper the desired size taped on it. Trace the map.

I let students take turns placing a "story disk" (included in the lessons) on the map where the lesson took place.

1. Just add illustrations from the story to each side
   
2. Cut out
   
3. Fold on solid lines to make a box and glue tabs to inside of box.

Have student roll die and tell something about the illustration.