We all tell stories. Stories shape our life histories and our social life. They are the voice of our cultures, impressions, and thoughts. They give us the window to other worlds and slake our thirst for discovery. Stories are the maps of our souls and the key to our humanity.
Stories tell us who we are and where we are going. They give us insight into our community. They also are powerful instructional tools promoting critical thinking and problem solving. In the classroom, stories can be used to improve reading and writing skills by allowing the student to explore the basic structure of a story. Every story has concievable beginning and a definite ending.
A exercise used in theater that would help students with story structure is called " Storytime". In this activity, the students are given partners. They choose a letter, A or B. Partner A is then given a minute to think of something significant that happened in his or her life. Then Partner A is instructed in three minutes to tell that story to Partner B. If the story is finished before the minute is up, then Partner is A is instructed to tell the story again with any embellishments they can think of. After Partner A is done, Partner B is to make a comment beginning with " I noticed" The comment can be an observation, positive feedback, or anything else that struck Partner B. For instance, Partner B can say " I noticed that you used the word "and" a lot. It really helped me follow the story." ect.
Then Partner A and B switch.
Throughout the course of the activity, the teacher can build by switching the Partners throughout the classroom and encourage students to add to their stories or use different aspects. Usually, as the person switches telling partners, the story grows with gestures and embellishments.
Dicussion can be follwed with:
How did you feel when you told your story?
How did Partner B feel?
What did you notice happening with the stories in this activity?
Did stories differ from person to person?
What does this say about the story?
Could you pick out Beginning, Middle, and End?
Coudl you draw out anything significant from your story or others?
How might we use this when we read a story? What things should we look for?
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