Giving Voice to Our Learners: Digital Storytelling in a Grade 3 Classroom
By Lori Woods
In the age of 21st-century learning, the tools we bring into our classrooms should not only build skills, but also empower students to share their stories and identities. One such tool is digital storytelling, which combines images, audio, video, and narrative to create powerful personal stories. For English Language Learners (ELLs), digital storytelling is more than a tech project—it is a bridge between language development, identity exploration, and multimodal literacy.
Why Digital Storytelling Works for ELLs
According to Dillingham & Stanley (2016), digital storytelling supports the fundamental practices of language learning by:
Encouraging contextualized, meaningful communication
Integrating listening, speaking, reading, and writing in authentic ways
Promoting self-awareness and reflection
Encouraging multimodal and translingual communication (Vinogradova, 2014)
It’s especially powerful for younger ELLs, such as those in Grade 3, who are developing both their cognitive and language abilities. Creating digital stories allows these students to share about their lives, cultures, and ideas using multimedia, which can reduce the anxiety of writing and speaking in a second language.
A Practical Example: Storytelling in the Classroom
One practical example comes from the Learning for Justice article “Empowering ELLs with Digital Stories.” The author describes a college-level class in which ELLs used digital storytelling to express themselves more freely. What stands out is that students like Oleksii, who were initially shy about their accents or language skills, gained confidence by sharing their personal stories through multimedia. His project about Ukraine resonated with peers, reinforcing the idea that every voice matters.
You can read the full article here: Empowering ELLs With Digital Stories
My Review of the Resource
This article offers a clear, relatable pathway for implementing digital storytelling in classrooms. While it focuses on older students, the step-by-step process described by Samantha Morra (generate idea, write script, create storyboard, compile media, edit, share, reflect) is easily adaptable for younger learners. It also highlights the emotional and community-building impact of sharing personal stories—critical for culturally and linguistically diverse learners.
Benefits:
Builds student confidence
Encourages language use in meaningful context
Fosters community and empathy
Supports multimodal literacy
Potential Roadblocks:
Requires access to technology (computers, tablets, microphones)
Younger students may need extensive scaffolding
Time-intensive to manage each phase of the project
How I’d Use This in My Grade 3 Classroom
As a Grade 3 teacher, I see digital storytelling as an entry point for even beginning ELLs to share their voices. Here’s how I would adapt it for my learners:
Unit: “All About Me” Digital Stories
Week 1: Introduction to storytelling – read mentor texts and watch sample digital stories.
Week 2: Students create a simple storyboard with a graphic organizer (Who am I? Where am I from? What do I like to do?).
Week 3: Work in pairs to write simple sentences (dictated or written with support), then record audio.
Week 4: Students find or draw images to match their story, then use a simple tool like iMovie, Book Creator, or Adobe Spark to build their story.
Week 5: Share digital stories with families during a class showcase or via private classroom blog.
Through this process, students would engage with speaking, listening, writing, and reading in a way that feels safe, purposeful, and connected to their real lives. It also aligns with the principles of project-based learning and supports the development of multiliteracies (Vinogradova, 2014).
Final Thoughts
Digital storytelling is more than a creative assignment—it’s a means of honoring the student and their voice, especially for those who are learning new languages and identities. When students see their own stories valued, they engage more deeply, take more risks with language, and grow in confidence and skill. For Grade 3 ELLs, it’s a strategy that turns the classroom into a community of storytellers—each one with a unique voice worth hearing.
References
Dillingham, B., & Stanley, C. (2016). Making connections with multimedia: Using digital storytelling to engage students. Retrieved from https://www.storycenter.org
Lambert, J. (2006). Digital storytelling: Capturing lives, creating community (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: Digital Diner Press.
Learning for Justice. (n.d.). Empowering ELLs with digital stories. Retrieved May 13, 2025, from https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/empowering-ells-with-digital-stories
Robertson, L., Hughes, J., & Smith, K. (2012). Teacher candidates' perceptions of digital storytelling: Implications for learning to teach writing. Journal of Technology Integration in the Classroom, 4(3), 19–25.
Vinogradova, P. (2014). Digital storytelling and language learning: Students’ voices and cultural identity. The FLTMAG. Retrieved from http://fltmag.com/digital-stories/
Hi Lori,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate how you highlight the importance of a young student's developing cognitive abilities and skills. So often, I feel like many of the strategies discussed in coursework are high level, and therefore applicable to older students. Considering the skill level and cognitive developmental stages of the young students I work with, I sometimes struggle to apply these ideas to my own teaching. I appreciate that you consider this. You go into great detail explaining the steps to implement such a project in your own classroom, and I feel as though I can take some of your ideas and implement them with my first graders next school year. I really love how you note that "digital storytelling is more than a creative assignment—it’s a means of honoring the student and their voice". So often we focus on the logistics and who has attained the skills that we forget to honor and foster creativity in our assignments. I love your outlook on this! Thanks for sharing!