Teaching with Emojis & Story Stones

This year for Christmas I got these really cute emoji stickers in my stocking.  They are really neat and it got me thinking about how fun it would be to incorporate emojis in the classroom, whether via the iPad or with these awesome stickers!

Telling a story through pictures allows students to demonstrate their creativity, but can also be useful for those students who have trouble with verbal communication.  Recently I subbed as a para in a classroom with 3 year old children with Autism.  In the classroom they use Pecs (Picture Exchange Communication System) where the students have pictures to let the teachers know if they want something or how they feel.

Emojis are more universal and in addition to showcasing the emotions of the students, they also include objects which can be used to demonstrate a "want" for something or more generalized in a story.  You can get really creative with using pictures to tell a story.

Another great product that I stumbled upon and fell in love with are Story Stones.  Jacquie, mother of two and owner of The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood (blog & Etsy) designed these beautiful stones.  She is very talented and what makes these stones great is that they are perfect keepsakes for children and give them the freedom to express themselves and use their imagination. #storystones will definitely be making an appearance in my future classroom.