This story elements pocket chart set is awesome! It is in excellent condition, considering how long I have had it! There is a .375" thin green marker line on the red portion of the "g" in the word, "Beginning". On the back, there are a few light pink lines. I have enclosed pictures of these 2 issues. Other than that, this set is in great shape! I used this pocket chart set in my kindergarten classroom, and my students absolutely loved it! This set is clean and comes from a smoke free home.
This pocket chart set was made by Kaplan Early Learning Company. It consists of a heavy-duty, blue pocket chart that measures 38.5" tall x 34" wide, 10 plastic-coated write-on/wipe off cards that measure 8" x 2.5", and a set of 8 plastic, black and gold pirate coins that I added. The pocket chart has 16 pockets. The pocket underneath "Title" is the longest and measures 16.5" in length. All other pockets measure 8.5" in length. All pockets are 2" in height. There is one pocket under "Title" and "Author". All story elements have 2 pockets underneath them. The gold coins are 1.25" in diameter. They have a pirate skull on one side and an open chest with coins on the other.
The pocket chart has a 1" wide, heavy duty magnetic strip, across the top on the back side, so it could be attached to a magnetic whiteboard or any other large magnetic surface. It also has 5 strong, metal grommets for hanging and a dowel sewn into the bottom. The title at the top of the pocket chart is composed of red letters outlined in white that "pop" against the royal blue background. Underneath that "Title" and "Author" are printed in white capital letters.
The "Story Map" is basically divided up into 3 basic parts with "Beginning Of Story" and "End Of Story" printed over on the left-hand side in white capital letters and "Middle Of Story" printed over on the right in white capital letters. The "Beginning Of Story" area of the pocket chart consists of a sailing ship and the "Setting" and "Characters" islands. The "Middle Of Story" area is comprised of "Problem", "Events", and "Outcome" islands. And, the "End Of Story" area consists of "Solution" and "Conclusion" islands and an untitled island with a palm tree on it and a red cross. All of the islands are yellow on the outside and brown in the middle with a green area. All of the major islands have headings that are also printed in red letters outlined in white just like the title of the "Story Map". There are also some sets of small islands on the pocket chart to add to the blue ocean background. All of the islands are outlined in white to show up even more dramatically against the dark backdrop. There is a white dashed line from the sailing ship that runs through the titled islands to the island at the very end of the "Story Map".
To use this pocket chart, the ship's travel path is followed as it progresses through the important story elements of setting, characters, problem, events, outcome, solution, and conclusion to get to the very last island where "x" marks the spot and the pirate treasure can be collected! The title, author, and story elements are written on the cards with dry erase markers as children dictate them to the teacher. I would reward the class by putting a gold coin in one of the pockets under each story element if they gave me the correct answer. Once we had finished the last story element, I adhered all the pirate treasure they had earned to the last island with the red "x", so my students could visualize their reward for the job they had done. I just used small pieces of masking tape to do this. My kids were always motivated to get all of the coins! And, when they didn't, they sure were determined to do so the next time!
This item is rare and very hard to find! I have not seen any others currently selling online.
As a former educator, I purchased many items from Kaplan Early Learning Company. They are high-quality items that kids love! I would highly recommend them to both teachers and parents.
This pocket chart set would make a wonderful addition to a kindergarten or primary classroom! It would also be great to have in a household with young children if you wanted a fun way to reinforce story elements. I am hoping to find this neat set a good home.