Learn English with Rory's Story Cubes
So much in such a small package
Let’s talk about Rory’s Story Cubes (Story Cubes for short). Learning English with these story cubes can be fun! I have used these story cubes in various ways with success for many years with my students, both young and old. In this article, I will provide you with breakdown of some of these implementations. In addition, I will introduce you to a few related products that can enhance the experience.
Rory’s Story Cubes
Designer: Rory O’Connor
Publisher: Creativity Hub + many more
Play time: Variable
Number of Players: Variable
Contains: 9 chunky dice with 54 images
Grammar Points: Vocabulary, Sequency, Speculation, Verb Tenses, Story Creation, and more.
Description
The designer used 54 intentionally designed specific images to promote story-making. They are story-making prompts consisting of nouns, verbs, emotions, symbols, and directions etched into the dice. Each image can be used literally or creatively. For instance, an image of a crescent moon could be viewed as a moon, a smiley face, or a symbol of night or incompleteness.
Story generation is the essence of this game, and players’ creativity is challenged when adapting to images that aren’t easily associated with the storyline. Story Cubes’ success lies in its ability to naturally generate creativity and amusement among players. Starting with “Once Upon a Time,” players select one die and string their images together one by one into a coherent story. Once all dice images are complete, a story is generated.
The basic box has a few variations of rules, but many expansions and fan-made rules have flooded the market, which was the creator’s intention.
Components
9 engraved dice which are larger and heavier than a regular die. (See picture Below)
The quality of the dice are superb. I have had my sets for more than 10 years and there is no ink loss.
Further expansion sets have different themes and coloration.
How I Use Story Cubes in my Class for English Learning
I have used these cubes for single students up to full classes of 35 students or more. There are endless ways to implement these story cubes, but I will show you a few ways that I have successfully used them.
Vocabulary Generation (10-30 minutes. Single student or Teamwork race. Homework assignment possible)
The easiest method is just using them for vocabulary generation. Each student rolls a single die and uses the image as the source. Then, I provide them with a dictionary, or they use their own smartphones. They will give me a list of 6-10 vocabulary words associated with the image. For example, a turtle is slow, they can live a long life, they are old, etc.
Of course, I ensure that they copy these new words into their notebooks and have them make sentences with them to engrain the new vocabulary. (image + video)
Basic Story Generation with assigned verb tenses (Variable timeframe. Single student to entire class. Homework assignment possible)
The premise of the story cubes was to create a story. It uses the prompt “Once Upon A Time,” but there is nothing stopping you from using past (Yesterday) or future (Tomorrow) tense or adding a subject, such as a name or a cat, thus using the third person.
Also, the game was based on having up to 12 players using them at one time, but there is nothing stopping you as a teacher from using your entire class.
There was a time when I rolled all the dice in a tray, took a picture, and transferred it to the communal whiteboard for the whole class to see. Their homework assignment was to generate a story. The following week, I had them check each other’s stories.
I have also created a teamwork environment where each team must use all of the images in a coherent story. The winning team is voted amongst each group for the best composition. Generally, this kind of story-making is quite fun for the students, making them quite imaginative, and I can step back and observe. They usually laugh very hard at their own highly imaginative stories.
Can you make a story with these cubes? Let’s use the past tense. Feel free to use this picture as a reference. What story did you come up with? Leave your story below in the comments section.
Creating A Comic Book (Variable timeframe. Single student to entire class. Homework assignment possible)
Lastly, I have had the pleasure of teaching students from a conversational school. Small classes were devoted to making learning English enjoyable and educational. One way that I bridged the learning of culture and education was to provide a comic book lesson using the story cubes.
Initially, I would show the students some comic books that I have collected and let them peruse them. American comic books differ greatly from Japanese manga and holding one allows students to see the culture first-hand.
Next, I would explain how to read it. The layout of an American comic book is read from top to bottom, left to right, which mirrors that of Japanese manga. (picture)
Lastly, I usually allot each student with 6 story cubes (I have many) and have them draw a 6-panel comic book with their images and story. This allows them more freedom to flex their creativity, and it also helps me discern what they are trying to say better, especially if they are of lower English level.
The thing to keep in mind is that there are endless applications for Story Cubes. The sheer variety of sets also increases the range and scope of your teaching aims. I believe versatility is the keyword that you can assign to this product.
What can a hand full of story prompts be used for? Imagination is endless. (face+video)
Expansions and a Supplemental Product
This product has several expansions with a variety of themes. The easiest one to find on store shelves at the moment is Moomin, but there are also themes that cover numerous movie franchises such as Star Wars and Harry Potter. They keep producing more and more. The image below shows just some of the Story Cube products.
You will find many different brands copying the same style as Rory’s Story Cubes, which is a testament to how popular the product is. I have not tried all of these products, but there is one that I purchased and I am pretty happy with. It is called Imagidice!
These dice are a little smaller and the images themselves are similar to the Rory’s Story Cubes. They are fractionally smaller in size. The tin is large enough to contain all of my Story Cubes. It is a little cheaper in cost overall, but I find it works well in conjunction.
Learning English with Rory's Story Cubes Conclusion
As an educator, I can’t help but feel that it’s wise to have as many assets as possible for classes. Story Cubes are minimal by design but have a significant impact on classes. I’ve used them often as homework assignments and sometimes during my classes, depending on my focus at the time. Students usually say they are fun and interesting, but when asked if they want to do the exercise again, they unanimously and understandably say no because it’s extra work for them.
They are versatile and compact.
I haven’t used this in a family setting, but I can see the simplistic appeal that this would bring to large family groups on vacation in a hotel room. No matter what language is used.
I hope you benefited from this article. If you have, please leave a like.
Thank you for reading.
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