StoryMaking: The Maker Movement Approach to Literacy for Early Learners

Learning® Magazine 2020 Teachers’ Choice℠ Award for Preschool winner!
2019 Midwest Book Award Winner in the Education category!

After studying the current research on literacy learning for young children, delving into the beliefs and schools of Reggio Emilia, and discovering the Maker Movement, the authors created StoryMaking. With great success, they implemented it in their diverse and large public school district. StoryMaking shares the processes, first steps, next steps, uses for materials, and lessons learned so teachers can implement their own versions in their classrooms. The book shares practical suggestions, student samples, photographs, anchor charts, and other forms of documentation.

As an educational consultant, Michelle Kay Compton has been in the educational field for 16 years and specializes in inquiry practices throughout the content areas with early learners up to children in the middle school years. She holds a master's degree in varying exceptionalities from the University of South Florida, and endorsed in gifted as well as reading and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). For the last 10 years, she has worked to design curriculum aligned to state and international standards. Michelle provides training to teachers within the district of Manatee County, FL as well as at the state, and national level related to reading and writing instruction, inquiry practices, and content area literacy.

Robin Chappele Thompson, PhD, has worked in education for 25 years. She has a master's degree in elementary education, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) endorsement, certification in K-12 reading, certification in preschool education, and a PhD in curriculum and instruction with an emphasis in childhood reading and language arts. She has been a teacher, a literacy coach, a curriculum coordinator, and an instructor at the University of South Florida. Currently, Robin works as the director of early learning in the school district of Manatee County, FL where curriculum design and implementation for PreK--2 has been a focus area for her work.