Elementary + Activities: Roller-Box TV

by Deborah Pace Rowley

In my Spiritual Learning post last week, I suggested making a roller-box TV. My Mom taught me how to make this simple contraption when I was a little girl and I loved creating my own TV “shows” into my teens. Back then I didn’t have iMovie, but I did have boxes, broom sticks and an imagination. There are so many ways you can use this simple idea to teach your family. It is amazing to see how fascinated high-tech kids become when you unveil this old-fashioned “TV.”   

For your first TV show, decide what story you want to tell. Fairy tales are a great place to start. With your child’s help, decide what happens in the beginning, the middle and the end of the story. Divide the story into parts. Each part will have its own picture. The story should have at least 7 or 8 parts, but can have as many as 15 to 20 if multiple children are working on the story together. Create a story board or make a list so everyone knows what to draw for each page of the story. Here is an example of how we divided up the first half of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Mama Bear made some porridge but it was too hot so the Bear Family decided to take a walk until it had cooled down.  

Goldilocks came to the Bear’s house in the woods while they were gone. She knocked on the door but when the Bears didn’t answer, Goldilocks walked right in.

First she saw the porridge. She sat down and ate Papa Bears’ porridge. It was too hot. Then she ate Mama Bear’s porridge but it was too cold.

Then she ate Baby Bear’s porridge and it was just right so she ate it all gone.

Then she went in the living room and sat on Papa Bear’s chair. It was too hard. Then she sat on Mama Bear’s chair but it was too soft.

Then she sat on Baby Bear’s chair and it was just right. But she broke it all to pieces. Etc.

For added fun, give the fairy tale your own ending. What would happen if Goldilocks fell asleep in Baby Bear’s bed and grew fur while she slept?

When you are finished, use the list or the story board to create illustrations. One person can draw all the pictures or you can cut the list apart and share the illustrating duties with several family members. If several children participate, make sure each person has oriented their drawings in the same way. All the pictures should either be vertical or horizontal on the page. Once all the illustrations are done, follow the instructions below to create your own roller-box TV.

First, you will need to gather a box, some scissors, two rods and some tape. For the box, you can use something as big as an apple box or something smaller such as a large shoe box or family-size cereal box. Just make sure that you can cut an opening on one 

side about 8 x10 inches.

1.     Cut a rectangle in the side of the box. The opening should be slightly smaller than the 8 ½ x 11 pictures to be displayed.

2.  Cut two rods about six inches longer than the width of the box. You might use dowel rods, an old broom handle that has been cut up, wrapping paper tubes or sticks broken off a tree in your yard.

3.  Cut two holes for the rods at the top and bottom of each side of the box.

4.  Insert the rods through the holes.

5.  Tape the ends of the pictures together in the proper sequence so they form a single scroll of paper.

6.  Tape the last picture on the scroll to the rod on the right hand side of the T.V. Roll up all the pictures around this rod and then tape the first picture to the rod on the left hand side of the T.V.

7.   Choose a narrator to tell the story as you scroll through the pictures on the “screen”.

When you want to reuse your TV, simply remove the old scroll of paper and insert a new one. Let the show begin!