Google Slides: iStory 1

Google Slides: iStory 1 Defining and planning an interactive story

By Mr. Goins

Unit Objectives

In this unit you will

• Understand the structure of a branching story and how hyperlinks can be used for interactive storytelling.

• Brainstorm story ideas and create a flowchart to plan multiple pathways. 

• Draft story content and organize it into slides. 

• Use hyperlinks to connect slides and create interactive decision-making. 

• Learn formatting, design, and inserting images to enhance the story. 

• Explore how sound enhances interactivity and mood in storytelling. 

• Test and refine all hyperlinks and slide transitions. 

• Apply final revisions, edit text, and enhance the visual presentation. 

• Share completed projects and receive feedback. 

• Reflect on learning and discuss project takeaways. 

OUTCOMES

You will plan, write, edit, and design an interactive Choose Your Own Adventure story using Google Slides with hyperlinks, images, and audio.

Defining an Interactive Story

An interactive or choose your own adventure story is a story that typically places the reader into the role of the lead character and as the story unfolds allows them to choose different actions that guide the direction of the story.

​Click Here to View an Example

Decision Points and Branching

Imagine you are playing a video game where you choose what happens next—if you pick one path, the story goes one way, but if you pick another, something completely different happens. That’s called a branching narrative!

A branching narrative is a story that changes based on the choices you make. Instead of having just one ending, there are many possible endings, and you decide how the story unfolds!

What Are Decision Points?

A decision point is like a fork in the road where you have to make a choice that affects what happens next. Think of it like this:

 You are walking through a forest and find a mysterious cave. What do you do?

• Go inside the cave 🦇 → You might find treasure or a sleeping bear!
  
  

• Walk past the cave 🚶‍♂️ → You might find a hidden path or meet a talking owl!
  
  

Each choice leads to a different part of the story, and as you keep making choices, the story branches out like a tree.

In our Google Slides project, we will create stories where readers get to make choices and use hyperlinks to jump to different slides based on their decisions. It’s like building your own adventure where you’re in control of what happens next!

​Click Here to View an Example

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Hyperlinks Make It Possible

What is a hyperlink?

A hyperlink is a connection inside a document, website, or in our work today, Google Slides that takes the user somewhere else when the link is clicked.

Imagine you are reading a Choose Your Own Adventure book, and at the end of a page, it says:

Go to page 10 if you want to enter the cave.

Go to page 15 if you want to climb the mountain.

A hyperlink works the same way, but instead of flipping pages in a book, you click on a word, picture, or button, and it jumps to another slide, website, or document instantly!

Imagine that a hyperlink is a bus that takes you from one place to another predetermined location.

For example, if you are making a Google Slides story, you can add a hyperlink to a word or picture so that when someone clicks it, they go to the next part of the story. It's like creating secret doors that connect different parts of your slides!

Hyperlink
Click Here