After finishing the "Story" chapter, I was very happy to see that Pink included StoryCorps in his portfolio. To me this is a fascinating project - recording Americans' stories and archiving them. Every Friday NPR plays an excerpt from someone's StoryCorp recording, and it is always my favorite part of my week's drive. On any given Friday, it is almost guaranteed that I will be in my car laughing out loud or wiping away tears (not always the safest activity while driving on the Northeast Extension in the dark).
For some time now, I have been kicking around ideas on how to create a StoryCorps-like project with my students. I think my best options would be to do something in either the WWII or Vietnam War units of my U.S. History class. Perhaps the students could interview local veterans about their experiences, and then archive the recordings at the Indian Valley library. Another idea would be to have the students record their own stories to save for posterity, thus demonstrating that today's events are tomorrow's history.
I completely agree with Pink's assessment that storytelling is an effective learning tool. History is nothing if not a collection of stories, and I find that my best and most engaging lessons are where I present the history as a story instead of as an assortment of facts. This is true of my own learning experiences, as well. All of my favorite teachers from high school were those who told the best stories, and could help me connect to the content through tales of their crazy neighbors or the ridiculous things their kids did the week before. On its most basic and simple level, our jobs are to disseminate information to our students; sharing the information as a story seems like an excellent way to fulfill this responsibility.
9 comments:
I agree with Karen about the effectiveness of using stories in lessons. I have found that when I tell stories from my life that help to demonstrate a point that students not only pay attention much more, but they actually remember the story when it comes time to recall the concepts. I would be willing to bet that if I were to ask former students to describe the biological process of active transport and then told them to think of a Japanese subway at rush hour, it would bring to mind the concept immediately. Hey Dave...check this out with your son. See if I'm right. :-)
I love Pink's "Riff on Opening Lines" idea! (Page 124)
It got me thinking . . . In my classroom we write in our journals everyday and we often write to a prompt, which I provide. Some prompts are geared to the mini lesson I'm doing that day, while others are more random. On any given day my students may be writing about saving the planet, making a list of things they wish adults knew about kids, or creating a fascinating story lead for one of their peers. The "Quickwrite" lasts for five minutes and is a favorite time of the day. Everyone must be writing for the entire five minutes; myself included. Writing has such a strong connection to the spoken word, in that the most effective writing conveys the author's "voice."
What I like about the "Riff on Opening Lines" idea is that it incorporates the concept of oral story telling. I've been flirting with ways to help my kids "hear" their stories ("voice") in an effort to improve them. This activity will give them the opportunity to get some instant feedback from their peers too. I'll let you know how it turns out!
Sue Mandia
5th grade
Lower Salford
Karen, I read your comment at school, and keep forgetting to ask Matthew about your illustration. I'm going to set a reminder in my handheld this time!!
I suspect part of the power of story has to do with the context of "one story" placed into our "larger story". We know the brain loves to make connections, and story is a powerful vehicle to be intensely present, recalling the past, and making predictions about the future....Dave
Sue,
Once upon a time I was a songwriter - OK I couldn't resist the most tired, and cliche opening I can think of...
This idea of opening riffs is so powerful because we all get drawn into the story. Part of my dissertation research included storytelling, and the more I research the more I realize what I don't know.
Someday I'm going to write the song or short story that negins with the lyric. "I went out on a limb for you."
Any ideas.....Dave
The funny thing about telling stories in the classroom is that the kids think they are getting me off topic and what they don't know is that is the plan! They think if I am not talking about the people from thosands of years ago we must be wasting time. But the goal I have with many of these stories, many of which come from the daily paper, is to make them understand how those people from thousands of years ago are still influencing our lives today!
It was a relief to read that telling stories is a great way of teaching. How come they don't teach that in college? (at least not 10-14 years)
My 6th grade social studies teacher loved to tell us stories, and she was quite good at it. From Greek mythology to other historial events, she was a great storyteller. It was 18 years ago (eek!), and I can still remember exactly how she looked and how she expressed things when she told them. It was a powerful and fun way to learn!
Stories are not only a great way to teach, they're a great way to communicate with others. Sometimes, especially when you're disagreeing with someone, I think the most powerful thing you can do is tell a story about what you're feeling. I heard an "expert" on relationships say that "emotional word pictures", aka stories, are the best way to communicate. I think stories let us step out of our narcissistic consumptions help us to relate to what the speaker is trying to say. Maybe this tactic would be useful for peer mediation/ conflict resolution?
One way using stories really hit home with me was when I saw the first of Ken Burns' series on the Civil War. I had never been very interested in history or social studies, for that matter, and I was stunned that I was finding that series interesting. What actually did it for me was Burns' usage of actual letters, actors reading them, and haunting music (Ashokan Farewell still gives me the chills). It obviously was a popular format, since he went on to do the same with a number of other topics, like baseball and jazz. The common denominator for me was interweaving personal stories into the factual information, which made it interesting and memorable.
Oh, How I agree with Karen! I also teach High School History and stories are what connect the students to the material. My classes are made up of about 8-10 learning support students and our best lessons are the ones that students can share experiences and make connections. We just did a lesson on "slang terms" of the 1920's and students made some great connections by discussing the slang terms from today. They thought it was "cool" that some of the terms from the 20's are still used today. History is a story and I have found my most successful lessons are when students actively make connections and participate in disscussion and sharing.
I just read the story chapter (still catching up) and your comments. I find the little kids are starved for stories. If I want undivided, open-mouthed attention, I begin a story. Because of all my curriculum requirements, I fit this in in Jan-Feb and choose a different part of the world each year. As a music teacher, I fill in the story with songs and sounds appropriate for the location. THe following year, invariably, they remember the previous YEAR's story. Contrast this with from week to week, many can't recall where "B" is on the staff. If you (all) ever get the chance, go to Jonesborough, TN the first weekend of October for the International storytelling festival. I went in 2006 and it was an absolute inspiration.
w
ps I'm still struggling with the mechanics of this blogging stuff.
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