Digital Storytelling Ideas

This past week we've been introduced to Digital Storytelling. It was interesting to see how others had made their own digital stories. I'll probably use digital storytelling in a number of ways with my students. As I have many grade levels, I can pick and choose what might work best with different grades. For example, all fourth graders in the district have just listened to a storyteller from Madison tell all about the immigration process that happened in Wisconsin from the early 1800's on. She told stories about her own ancestors, as well as other peoples. She admitted she did a lot of research from the historical society to make sure her information was correct. One of the students had asked if all the stories she told were true. "Yes!" she said.
She then asked the students to raise their hands if their ancestors/parents came from Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, etc. She then asked if they themselves were an immigrant, and we did have a few students raise their hands. One is from Romania, one from Germany, one from Mexico, and one from Costa Rica. She asked them a little bit about their remembering of the process of coming to America. The students were informed their ancestors were all immigrants, unless they were Native American born. Interestingly enough, none of the students were of Native American descent. This was a great way for her to inspire the students to start their own studies of ancestry, which leads right into the aspect of digital storytelling. The students were asked to find out about their own ancestry; immigration to Wisconsin is a unit taught in fourth grade. Here's one way I can integrate digital storytelling into the technology/library/research skills in the fourth grade social studies unit. What perfect timing!
Another idea would to take a look at biographies at the third grade levels and have them create one of their own. As students read about another person's life, they can create a digital storybook about their selected person. In kindergarten, first, or second grade, students could scan a picture or pictures they drew that told a story. They could use PhotoStory3 for Windows to record their voice to their scanned pictures, telling their story. Their story can then be emailed to their parents, and shared with the rest of the class.