In this activity, students will be provided a question or prompt to answer using textual evidence. The prompt here is, “What effects have toys had on the world?”
The three examples provided include: inspire others, evolution to new toys, and unexpected fun.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that answers the prompt using at least three examples from Toys! Amazing Stories Behind Some Great Inventions. Click on "Add / Delete Cells" to change the number of examples.
Engage students by inviting them to share their thoughts on how toys have influenced people and society. Encourage everyone to back up their ideas with examples from the text to build critical thinking and speaking skills.
Demonstrate how to select sentences or phrases from the reading that clearly support an answer. Show students how to highlight or underline these parts for easy reference during discussions or assignments.
Teach students to restate powerful evidence from the book without copying it word-for-word. Explain that this builds both comprehension and writing confidence while avoiding plagiarism.
Encourage students to draw scenes, characters, or objects based on their chosen evidence. This helps visual learners connect more deeply with the text and makes abstract ideas more concrete.
Have students share their completed storyboards with a partner or small group. Ask peers to identify strong text evidence and suggest improvements, fostering collaboration and critical analysis skills.
Toys have inspired innovation, sparked creativity, and evolved with society. According to the text, toys like remote-controlled weapons led to new inventions, toy trains advanced from simple wagonways to electric trains, and dolls shifted from ritual objects to beloved playthings with accessories and books.
Students should cite specific examples from the text to support their answers. For instance, they can quote how British and German inventors recreated Whitehead's toy or describe the change in doll usage over time, backing up their responses with these details.
Three key examples: (1) Remote-controlled toys inspired military inventions, (2) toy trains evolved through new technologies, and (3) dolls transformed from burial objects to cherished items with accessories and stories.
A storyboard activity asks students to visually organize their answer to a prompt using examples from the text. They create boxes for the question, their response, supporting evidence, and use illustrations to bring scenes or items to life.
Dolls began as items for the dead over 3,000 years ago, but now are popular toys for the living, often sold with accessories and books, reflecting changing cultural values and uses.