Storyboarding Letters

Overview

In this lesson (8 of 11), students develop storytelling ideas using letters as visual anchors. They plan a short story or poem and produce a simple storyboard layout showing how letterforms, colour, and composition communicate meaning.

Learning intentions

• WALT explore how visual elements in letterforms can communicate story meaning and mood.
• WALT plan a short story or poem using personal letters as key visual elements.
• WALT storyboard ideas clearly, showing sequence, key images, and text placement.
• WALT give and use peer feedback to improve clarity, purpose, and visual impact.

Success criteria

• I can explain how my letters (shape, style, spacing, colour, placement) connect to my story or poem.
• I can create a storyboard with a clear beginning, middle, and end (or clear progression of stanzas).
• I can show where personal letters appear as the main visual elements and why.
• I can use feedback to make at least two specific improvements.

Curriculum links

• Art and Design (Communicating and Interpreting): students create and present artworks, developing ideas that communicate meaning through visual language.
• Design for Purpose: students plan and make visual work that responds to a specific purpose and audience (storytelling using letterforms).
• Key competencies: Thinking (developing ideas and planning), Relating to others (sharing, listening, and responding to feedback), Managing self (staying on task and meeting deadlines).

Lesson structure (50 minutes)

1. 0–5 min · Starter: Letter mood hook. Teacher shows 3–4 examples of letter styles (e.g., bold/block, thin/airy, jagged/rough) and asks students to quickly choose what mood each suggests and why. Students jot a one-sentence response in their books: “This letter style feels … because …”.

2. 5–12 min · Direct teach: Storyboarding with letters. Teacher models a short storyboard concept: 4–6 frames, each frame including (a) one key letter element, (b) a small piece of story text (one line), and (c) a compositional focus (where the eye goes first). Students identify the storyboard “jobs” (sequence, key visuals, short text, cause/effect or progression).

3. 12–20 min · Plan: Choose your story structure. Teacher asks students to decide: either a 4–6 frame mini-story or a 4–6 stanza poem progression. Remind them this is Lesson 8: planning, not final artwork. Students sketch rough thumbnail frames and write the story beats/stanza lines for each frame.

4. 20–30 min · Letter design decisions (personal letters as anchors). Teacher circulates with prompts:

• Which personal letters matter most (initials, a chosen word, a repeated letter)?
• How will you make them “stand out” (scale, colour contrast, texture, framing, negative space)? Students develop a mini letterplan for at least two key frames: sketch 2–3 letter style options and select one, including colour choices.

5. 30–40 min · Storyboard layout: draft your final storyboard page. Teacher demonstrates a clean layout: consistent frame size, clear reading order, and visible links between frames (same letter motif carried through). Students produce a neat storyboard on A3/A4 paper or a prepared template: 4–6 frames with the chosen personal letters as the main visual elements, plus brief text.

6. 40–47 min · Peer feedback: “Glow and Grow”. Teacher explains feedback protocol: “Glow” (one thing clearly communicated), “Grow” (one specific improvement linked to story clarity or visual emphasis). Students swap with a partner, give two Glow and Grow comments, then record one improvement they will act on.

7. 47–50 min · Exit ticket: Storyboard check. Teacher asks students to complete a quick checklist before handing in: purpose, sequence, personal-letter anchor, and a next step from peer feedback. Students submit the checklist and hold their storyboard ready for Lesson 9 development.

Resources

• A3 or A4 storyboard paper/templates with 4–6 frame boxes (pre-prepared)
• Pencils, erasers, fine-liners/markers for draft lines
• Coloured pencils, crayons, or marker set for colour tests
• Example letterstyle images (printed or on classroom display)
• Sticky notes for peer feedback (optional)
• Teacher feedback prompts on the board (Glow and Grow sentence starters)

Assessment

• Formative checks during circulation: students can articulate how letterforms connect to story meaning.
• Review of thumbnails: evidence of a clear sequence and deliberate placement of personal letters.
• Exit ticket checklist: readiness for artwork-making in the next lesson and one actionable improvement based on feedback.

Differentiation

• Support: provide sentence starters for story beats and storyboard text (e.g., “First, … Then, … Finally, …” or “In stanza one, …”).
• Support: offer a limited choice of storyboard structures (4-frame mini-story or 5-frame poem progression) to reduce decision load.
• Extension: challenge students to add one visual symbol/visual device (e.g., repeated letter motif, arrow flow, changing letter texture) to show progression and theme across frames.
• EAL/SEN: allow storyboard text to be partial (key words only), while requiring clear visual storytelling; provide additional peer support through guided feedback forms.

Extension (optional)

• None.