One Tired Teacher
One Tired Teacher
OTT 241 When Stories Come Alive: How Makerspace Activities Deepen Reading Comprehension
What if the pages of a book could literally come to life in a child's hands? That's the transformative power of combining makerspace activities with reading—a strategy that's changing how kids experience stories.
When I first became a school media specialist, I inherited a neglected library where students dreaded their visits. Books were piled high, the space was uninviting, and enthusiasm for reading was non-existent. My goal wasn't just to get kids reading; it was to make them beg to come to the library. The solution? Letting them play. By introducing Legos, building materials, and creative supplies, I created a gateway to literacy that worked like magic. Kids who came to tinker soon became kids who came to read.
This episode explores three powerful makerspace projects that turn passive reading into interactive adventures. First, engineering a story setting allows children to build the Three Little Pigs' houses or Mr. McGregor's garden from Peter Rabbit using simple materials. Second, character-inspired design challenges have kids creating solutions for story problems—like designing a raft for the Gingerbread Man or the perfect chair for Goldilocks. Finally, stop-motion animation brings storytelling into the digital age as children create mini-movies of their favorite tales.
These hands-on approaches work because they engage multiple learning styles, foster empathy, strengthen comprehension, and preserve imagination. When children physically interact with story elements, reading transforms from a chore into an exciting creative process. The subtle shift from "have to read" to "get to read" makes all the difference.
Ready to try these activities with your own young readers? Download my free Makerspace Story Guide from the description for book recommendations perfectly suited for these projects. Then share your experiences in the comments—I'd love to hear how your children respond to these hands-on reading adventures. Subscribe to ensure you don't miss future episodes where we'll continue creating joyful, confident readers, one page at a time!
Freebies:
Makerspace Book List:
https://www.trinadeboreeteachingandlearning.com/elabooksformakerspace
Makerspace Start-Up Kit:
https://www.trinadeboreeteachingandlearning.com/msstartupkit
5-Minute Reading Fix For Parents:
https://trina-deboree-teaching-and-learning.kit.com/500af75f4b
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Welcome to One Tired Teacher. Episode 241, books Come to Life. So today we're going to talk about makerspace. We're going to talk about books, about engaging, how to really bring stories to life. Hope you stick around.
Speaker 2:Welcome to One Tired Teacher. And even though she may need a nap, this teacher is ready to wake up and speak her truth about the trials and treasures of teaching here. She is wide awake. Wait, she's not asleep right now, is she? She is awake right. Okay, from Trina Devery, teaching and Learning your host, trina Devery.
Speaker 1:Hi, what if reading didn't just happen on the pages of a book? What if kids could build and create and experiment with books? In today's video, I'll show you three simple Makerspace STEM activities that bring books to life. These hands-on projects will help kids deepen comprehension, boost creativity and turn stories into interactive adventures. Perfect for reluctant readers, hands-on learners and kids who love to tinker. Hi, I'm Trina Devery, and this is Readers in the Making. Hope you stick around.
Speaker 2:Hope you stick around.
Speaker 1:Here's what you're going to learn. You're going to learn how to connect books with hands-on creativity. You're going to learn easy makerspace projects that bring stories to life. And you're going to learn how STEM-based reading activities improves comprehension and engagement. And also, if you stick around, you can grab my free Makerspace story guide, which is all stories that you can use with Makerspace. So so much fun, and that's available in the description below. So let's get to it. Why hands-on learning helps kids engage with books. So first I need to tell you a little story about when I first became the media specialist.
Speaker 1:I walked into a giant mess in the library. Books were piled on the floor like almost as tall as I am and I am 5'10", so it was really tall piles of books, 10. So it was really tall piles of books, dirty tables, dirt everywhere. Kids were unhappy, kids were miserable. Kids didn't like coming to the library. Now, my sole goal was to get them in there. My goal was to get them to come in there, want to be in there, love being in there, ask to be in there, beg to be in there. They just love the library and I wanted them to love reading, but I knew I had to have a gateway to that reading. I knew I had to have something that sparked them so that I could ease on in with the love of reading. So kids, like I said, they hated to come, but I was bound and determined to change that and the first thing I needed to do was win them over. So and this also might be true for your child as well so the first thing that I did was I wowed them with how I set up the library. I mean, that's a story for another day, because that was pretty crazy. That was pretty incredible, honestly, and I actually have video of that. Because it was pretty crazy. That was pretty incredible, honestly, and I actually have video of that, because it was unbelievable. So I knew that when they came in that they were going to see fun supplies like Legos and building bricks and straws and popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners and cardboard and so much more, and they would think that they were coming in to play. Oh, yes, that is the key.
Speaker 1:Kids learn best through play. If we don't know that, it's time that we start to realize that and accept that and celebrate that. And play is how, that's how they learn. So if I knew, if I could win them over then and I and I let them feel like they were playing. Then I could get them hooked on books. Yes, that was the way I was going to get them hooked on books. That is how I tied Makerspace and STEM to literature and you know what? It worked like magic. So let's talk about it the power of STEM and reading.
Speaker 1:So some kids learn best by doing, not just listening. When they build, when they move, when they create, their brain processes the story in a deeper way. Stem projects reinforce problem solving and critical thinking and helps kids to connect reading to real world applications. Makerspaces challenge and encourage creativity and engagement, and they make reading exciting instead of a chore. And that's really the key. We want kids to move away from feeling like reading is a task that they have to do, and we want them to think that reading is a task that they get to do. There's that subtle shift, but it makes a huge, huge difference. So let's think about it. If kids love legos, if they love coding, if they love building, they love creating, but why not channel this curiosity into reading?
Speaker 1:Today, I'm going to share three projects that blend literacy with stem so that your child can interact with books in a whole new way. If you like what you, what you're hearing so far, then give me a thumbs up. Let me know in the in the comments. Let me know with a thumbs up. Share this video with somebody that might help them, because their child also needs to move and create while they are reading. I would love for you to share it.
Speaker 1:All right, let's talk about engineering a story setting. Engineering a story setting. So how does this work? First, you're going to choose a book with a detailed setting and a challenge, so that kids are going to use things like Legos, recycled materials or craft supplies. Ask hmm, what does this place look like? How would you design it? And an example of this might be the three little pigs Build and test different houses to see which one stands up to the big, bad wolf, or aka a hairdryer. You could do Jack and the Beanstalk Construct the tallest, sturdiest beanstalk using pipe cleaners or straws. You could do the Tale of Peter Rabbit oh, peter Rabbit. And design Mr McGregor's garden oh, my goodness. If you've read Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit, then you know that Peter is constantly getting in trouble in the garden. So you could build it with fences and paths and hiding spots for Peter. The ideas are endless. You can pretty much do this with any book, but I do have a list of books that will help you get started and help you have some kind of an idea that, yes, these are going to work really well for Makerspace or STEM, and I have dropped them in the description. So definitely be sure to check that out and grab it. It is a free list. The ideas really, they really are endless.
Speaker 1:You can do this with pretty much any book, but if you need help getting started, no problem. All you need is a solid problem in a story to agree to create a challenge for kids, and all good books have a problem. So let's talk about why it works. It encourages visualization. Kids turn words into tangible designs. It boosts comprehension and helps them picture story settings and details, which actually helps them better understand what's happening and maybe why it's happening, and even make predictions to what might happen next. It enhances problem solving. It forces kids to think like engineers and fix spots in their builds, which is really, really cool. They're gonna fix those weak spots and fix them in their building, so they're creating iterations of solutions.
Speaker 1:You're gonna try this tonight. Pick a book with your child and give them 15 minutes. It doesn't require a long time. Give them 15 minutes. That's part of the challenge to build the setting. If you wanna give them longer, you can, but sometimes the time, using time as a constraint is a really good idea because it gets kids used to oh, my goodness, I got to put a plan in action right now and then you are reading the story aloud, so that's really exciting.
Speaker 1:All right, if you like what you hear, definitely give me a thumbs up. Let me know it tells me. Yes, I want more content like this. I appreciate what you're doing and I'm a girl of that likes words of affirmation, I have to admit, and I appreciate all the likes and any comments. So thank you, and if you are so inclined, I would love for you to subscribe to this channel and be a part of Readers in the Making. It means so much. I want all kids to feel the love of reading and I want to help parents and teachers get them there.
Speaker 1:All right, so let's talk about idea number two, or makerspace project number two. Excuse me, it's a character inspired design challenge. All right, so let's talk about how this works. So have kids design a tool, an invention or an object inspired by a character's problem in the story. So ask if you were the main character, whoever that might be what would you create to help? Hmm, examples. Let me give you some examples. The gingerbread man Build a raft or a bridge so you can safely cross the river.
Speaker 1:The thing that I love is you don't want to tell the child what the answer is. You don't want to tell them to build a craft or a raft or a bridge. You want to let them think about what they would do, because they might not think so logically. Actually, they might think outside of the box, which is the beautiful part, and this is the part you can celebrate. They might think about I'm going to build a plane for them to fly away. Or I'm going to build, you know, an imaginary or a cape that makes me invisible. Like they can think of so many other ways, more than just a bridge or a cape that makes me invisible. Like they can think of so many other ways, more than just a bridge or a raft. And that's the beauty of it. And the younger they are, the better they are at this. I know this is a sad story the older they get, the less their imagination is. Isn't that so upsetting?
Speaker 1:I noticed it when I was the media specialist in my last school and I was teaching. I was like filling in for the engineer teacher and my first graders, my second graders. They came in, they were like their imaginations were on fire. They were coming up with all kinds of solutions, things I never imagined. And then comes my third graders and they're like and they're a little bit, and that's because that's when the testing year starts and things start to change. But you can change this at home. You can completely undo this at home. That is in your power. Fourth grade that was. That was a disaster. They were like I can't do this. I don't know, I mean just pathetic. It gets worse and we have to stop this, because we all have an imagination, but sometimes it's gotten stifled and we've got to do something about that. All right.
Speaker 1:So another example is Goldilocks and the Three Bears Design a just right chair. That's the obvious one that comes to mind, but I am sure there's so many other wonderful things that kids will come up with. So let them do that. But we, you know you can. You can give them constraints and criteria if they're not thinking of something you know you want it to be strong, but you want it to be comfy. And then charlotte's web. I love charlotte's web. You create a spider web design using string and glue or straws. See, it can be something simple where you tell them what it is to enhance the cre. You know their, their building and their engagement. But you can also let it be open-ended and let them figure out a solution for themselves. Maybe they figure out a solution for charlotte. They figure out a solution for Charlotte how are they going to extend Charlotte's life? I mean, that's pretty deep. And then they're really thinking about it All right.
Speaker 1:The best part of focusing on helping the character is that, while they're thinking of solutions for characters, they are practicing feeling how the characters feel, which is a great way for kids to practice empathy. We are literally empathy building and that is powerful. Let's talk about why it works. We want to foster empathy. It helps kids step into the character's shoes and problem-solve creatively. It makes reading interactive. Instead of just listening to a story, they actively engage in it. It encourages STEM thinking, which blends engineering and storytelling.
Speaker 1:Try this tonight After reading ask what invention could have changed this story. Let your child sketch it out and then maybe give them some time tomorrow to build it. All right, have you heard anything you like? Definitely give me a thumbs up and let me know. I need the words of affirmation, my friend, I need to know this is resonating with you and you need more information. Share it with a friend if you think it's helpful, and definitely subscribe so you don't miss a thing. All right, so we're going to try, we're going to.
Speaker 1:We're going to move on to the next one, which is storytelling with stop motion. Now, this is a little bit of screens involved, so if you're like no screens right now, this is one you can totally skip. But storytelling with stop animation or stop motion is so fun and it's such a great way of integrating technology in a meaningful way. So let's talk about how it works. We might use clay, paper cutouts, legos to create a stop motion animation video Retelling the book's key moments.
Speaker 1:This is great for retelling. This is great for comprehension. Use a simple app like Stop Motion Studio to capture frames and animate the story, like Stop Motion Studio to capture frames and animate the story. Examples of this might be Little Red Riding Hood create a mini-movie of her journey through the forest. The Tortoise and the Hare. Animate the race and the surprise ending. You could do the Three Billy Goats Gruff film the goats crossing the bridge while the troll lurks below.
Speaker 1:Why does this work? It strengthens comprehension skills. It helps kids retell stories in the correct order. It boosts fluency, helps kids think about dialogue and expression. It encourages creativity a fun, tech-based storytelling alternative. So try this tonight. Pick a short book and have your kids animate one scene using play to play to play to or Legos. All right, so I do have a freebie. It's right below and it's stories that go along with makerspace. I'll drop it in the description and you can download it today and you can get some great book ideas that also go along really well with makerspace. All right, final thoughts and action Reading doesn't have to stay on the page.
Speaker 1:Stem and Makerspace projects help kids interact with books, spark creativity and build deeper comprehension. So try one of these activities today and then let me know how it goes. Let me know how it worked. Drop a comment below. What's your child's favorite way to make reading hands-on? And again, if you want those quick, easy, fun makerspace book and books, then definitely grab the little freebie below and don't forget to like this video, to share this video and to subscribe so that you don't miss a thing. Together, you and I can create joyful, confident readers. Readers in the making, one page at a time.