Pie Charts & Storytelling: A Unique Approach to Inspiring Tales

Elise, mother and creator of the site, Inspiration Surrounds... Creativity Abounds!, has put together a wonderful storytelling aid that will help your kinders think about objects in new ways, use their imagination, and inspire some great tales! She calls them 'imagine pie charts' and provides several examples to print and use {as well as to inspire you in creating your own storytelling aids!}.

Imagine Pie Charts

Elise's pie charts are great because they invite your kiddos to think about situations, characters, etc. from a different perspective. Best used in a small group or one-on-one setting {or even as a morning writing prompt!}, each chart contains four distinct images that can be used to stretch your students' imaginations. As your kinders take turns spinning the image "wheel", consider exploring one or more of these guided storytelling approaches:

• Invite your students to pretend they are the object in the picture. Have them describe what a typical day might look like for this particular item/character. Discuss each segment of the day {morning, afternoon, and evening} separately to help your kiddos make connections and provide more detail.
• Provide your students with focus questions to answer or scenarios to think about. For instance, if the image wheel showed a flower, you might ask/prompt them to imagine - what it would be like to live on a flower, what the earth/a storm might be like if it rained flowers, etc. Consider creating unique journaling pages that explore each prompt {see picture below for examples}.
• Have your students consider what the object/character is like by having them explore - what it might feel like, what it might look like, what it might sound like, what it might smell like, and what it might taste like {optional}.

Nursery Rhyme Extension

Since many kindergarten classrooms incorporate a nursery rhyme unit {and since May 1st was "Mother Goose Day"} consider creating nursery rhyme imagine pie charts using images, characters, and items from popular nursery rhymes. For example, to go along with Little Miss Muffet you might include a spider, porridge, a bowl and a spoon, and Miss Muffet.

Be sure to visit Elise's full post for the directions and printables, and while you're there, be sure to peruse her site for other awesome early childhood activities!