“What’s this? A competitive skateboarder falls down a rocky path? An awkward gymnast breaks a record? A disrespectful hockey player learns a lesson at the neighborhood ice rink? What kid wouldn’t love to write a story filled with such spirit or drama?

WriteShop^® StoryBuilders card decks help to jumpstart a creative writing project by providing students with the basic elements of a story—character, character trait, setting, and plot—laying a foundation for a joyful writing experience with some clever surprises thrown in along the way.

StoryBuilders may be used by students of all ages, from kindergarten through high school. Using the StoryBuilder Cards, they’ll develop their tales by picking one card from each category. Does the hero save the day? Will the notorious bad guy learn a lesson? And what twists and turns appear in the character’s path? A dropped ball? A bully? An embarrassing mistake?

Break up your routine or add punch and variety to writing lessons by offering StoryBuilders occasionally. Use them in addition to or instead of a daily writing activity. At first, to help your student write concisely, limit her to a specific number of sentences or paragraphs. As she improves (or if she thrives on writing creative fiction), allow her to compose longer, more thoroughly developed stories. And with hundreds of possible story combinations, no two will be alike!”

This is the description of StoryBuilders from WriteShop, its creator.  We received samples of two of the StoryBuilders ebooks, and I thought they were great!  The book includes card that you can print out and cut apart.  A lot of ideas are given in the ebook for fun and creative ways to use the cards in games to get your student writing.  The idea sort of reminds me of MadLibs in reverse… you take four cards and then put them together as you write your story. 

We have done a lot of free writing at my house, and often my daughter will struggle to find an idea.  I think the StoryBuilders are a great way to solve that struggle.  Also, if you get one of the topics that really interests your child, it can make it so much more fun for children to write!

WriteShop currently publishes four different StoryBuilders, all E-books. They all make a great supplement to youw writing curriculum, and can be used over and over. You can see them at our store.

1. World of Animals StoryBuilders – Retail $7.95
2. World of People StoryBuilders – Retail $7.95
3. World of Sports StoryBuilders – Retail $7.95
4. Christmas Mini-Builder – Retail $3.95