How to Make a Story Wheel

The next time that your child has a sleep over or birthday party and you want something fun to do, try a story wheel. The story wheel will help all the children to develop a great imagination and other skills that will help them in their school years. Making a story wheel is fast and simple if you know the steps.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Cardboard or heavy paper
• Fastening clasp
• Compass
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Fine tip marker

1. Cut out five cardboard wheels. Cut them in diameters of 10", 81/2", 7", 5 1/2",
   and 4". Use a compass to make certain that they are completely round. You can also trace the bottoms of appropriately sized bowls.
2. Draw and cut out a 7" X 2" rectangle from the cardboard. Cut an opening in it that begins about 1/2" from the edge and ends an inch from the middle. The opening of this rectangle should measure 1" wide. It needs to be wide enough to read all the words inside the area.
3. Stack the cardboard wheels, and then punch holes in each circle after you center them evenly. Use a bit of rubber cement to keep them together temporarily. Punch a hole at the end of the rectangle that has the most surface area left. Attach all of the items together with a wire clasp. Make certain to remove any rubber cement by rolling it off.
4. Write the elements of a sentence on each wheel. These should all line up with one another and seen through the opening of the rectangle on top. Write adjectives on the outer, largest wheel, such as ferocious, hungry, or blue. Use nouns for the next size of wheel, such as boy, dog, lion, or goblin. On the 7" wheel put helping verbs such as is, are, was, were, be, being, or been. On the 5 1/2" circle place action verbs, some examples include jumping, hopping, falling, or drinking. The smallest wheel contains prepositional phrases such as over the mountain, under the bed, or around the block. To keep consistency, use singular or plural nouns for all, but not both. The verbs and helping verbs must agree with them.
5. Twirl around the disks and the center marker. Read the newly created sentence, and then have the children or adults continue the storyline. You and all of the participants will enjoy a community story. This is one for all age groups.