Lesson Overview:
In this lesson, students will learn about how history has been preserved through oral storytelling. Students will interview a family or community member to find out what life was like when they were young, and share this person's story with the class. This lesson will explore the following questions: How does storytelling help preserve memory, explain our present, and imagine our future? How does learning about history through the stories of people who lived through the experience differ from reading about it in a history book?
Length of Lesson:
Three 45-minute periods
Notes:
This lesson is particularly suitable for grades 3-4.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- dramatize a story that explains an adult's childhood experience.
- demonstrate how to use facial expressions, gestures, and voice to express emotions.
- combine various storytelling techniques to make stories come alive.
- compose a story that portrays what childhood was like in the past.
Instructional Plan:
Activity One
Watch a story on PBS's site, Circle of Stories, and point out how the storyteller expresses emotion, setting, and character using his/her face, body, and voice.
Activity Two
Explain to students that, because of storytelling, historians are able to know about events that happened before there were written records. Tell students that you are going to tell them a story that took place in West Africa in the thirteenth century. Share the story of Sundiata: Lion King of Mali with your students, making sure you use your face, body, and voice to make the story come alive.
After you have shared the story with your students, discuss the following:
- How did a griot help preserve the story?
- How would you describe Sundiata as a young child? What were his strengths and weaknesses?
- What did Sundiata do to prepare for his future when he was in exile?
- How did Sundiata win the kingdom of Mali?
- What were some of the images and details included in the story?
- How did the storyteller (you, the teacher) use his or her voice, face, and body to make the story come alive?
- What could the storyteller do to improve the telling of the story?
Activity Three
Involve students in a discussion about how family stories often are not written down, but are instead passed along by family members much the same way as the Sundiata story. Ask students if they would like to share with the class an interesting story they have heard about their grandparents, great-grandparents, or an older person in the community. If students have trouble recalling stories, you may wish to ask them more specific questions, such as: Can you share a story about the way your grandparents celebrated a holiday? Can you recall a story about the toys your grandparents played with?
Teacher Note: As a homework assignment, students may ask their family members about the oldest story that is told in their family.
Share some stories with your class to provide examples. On the BBC Lifestyles site, listen to the "Sunday Dinner Ordeals" (in the Food section) and the "Under Canvas" (in the British Holidays section) stories.
Tell students that they are going to interview a family or community member about their childhood.
Conduct an interview in front of your class to model interviewing techniques outlined in the Interview Techniques handout. For this practice activity, you might enlist help from someone in your school, such as the principal or a cafeteria worker, etc. You will model how to conduct an interview while the students practice their note-taking skills.
Break students into small groups and ask them to generate a list of interview questions. Discuss how general interview questions might help trigger memories. These might include questions like the following: "Can you remember a time when you got into trouble for doing something you were told not to do?" or " Can you take us back home with you for a childhood holiday meal?" After students have finished writing their questions, have them share their questions with the class. Discuss the questions and have students select questions from the list that they would like to ask during the interview and record them on the handout. Students may also write their own questions.
Pass out the Interview Techniques handout and discuss all of the sections with your students before the interview. Discuss how they will be following the same steps when they conduct their interviews. Generate a list of questions for the interview. See the Library of Congress: Guidelines for Oral History Interviews for ideas on how to prepare questions.
Direct students' attention to the "Note-taking" section of the handout and discuss how they will be taking notes on the interviewee's mannerisms, voice, facial expressions, and body while you are conducting the interview.
After the interview is completed, have students compare notes to see what particular things they observed during the interview. Provide time for students to do a practice interview with a partner. Students should take turns being the interviewer and the interviewee.
Tell students to conduct an interview with a family or community member. Explain to students that for safety's sake they need to discuss and have their parent's approval on the details of the interview, the person they are interviewing and the interview setting.
Have students generate a list of interview questions and write them in the "Interview Questions" section of the Interview Techniques handout. You may choose to return to the Library of Congress: Guidelines for Oral History Interviews site for this activity.
After students have completed their interviews, tell them to pick one story that came out from the interview. Tell students that they should include a setting, problem, and outcome in the story. Have them create a storyboard, map, or web to organize their story. SCORE, Schools of California Online Resources for Educators, provides examples of several graphic organizers you may use.
Teacher Note: Another fun activity leading up to the interview is to have students keep a "Spy Notebook" over a period of several days. They could record observations about people's mannerisms, voices, physical characteristics, etc. in their "Spy Notebook." After a period of two or three days, ask the students to share some of their observations and discuss whether the activity has helped hone their observation skills.
Activity Four
After students have completed their interviews and collected their stories, watch storyteller Kuniko Yamamoto tell a story in the character of her grandmother on the video clip, then watch Kuniko explain how she came to develop the facial expressions and voice of her grandmother, using the clips below:
Discuss with students how Kuniko incorporated her grandmother's physical features and gestures into her storytelling. Have students practice saying one sentence as themselves, someone older, and someone younger. Ask students to look at their interview notes, listen to the recorded interview and think about which two mannerisms they observed in their interviewees that would make them come alive.
Teacher Note: You may wish to read the ARTSEDGE How To, Telling a Character's Story, for tips on how to make a character come alive without disrespecting the person who the storyteller is portraying.
If possible, provide time for students to practice their techniques in front of a mirror.
Activity Five
Teacher Note: You may wish to read the ARTSEGE How To, Tips on Coaching Youth Storytellers, before completing this activity.
Tell students that they are going to help you with your storytelling skills.
Discuss how and why telling a story can be an exciting yet sometimes scary experience. Discuss how everyone needs to be listened to, encouraged, and supported when they are telling a story.
Pass out the I Liked It When You worksheet to the students. Tell the students that you are going to tell them a short story and they are going to record what they like about your storytelling techniques. Tell a short story to your class. Visit Story Arts Online to find various stories you could tell. During the telling of the story, incorporate the following elements into the telling:
- Speak in a monotone voice. Speak too loud. Speak with the right volume and add dimension to the characters by using sound effects and establishing a mood, etc.
- Insert "ums" and misplaced pauses, pretending that you can't remember what comes next. Speak without "ums" and pauses.
- Look up at the ceiling or down at the floor. Maintain proper eye contact.
- Sit on your hands when you tell the story. Use excessive gestures. Include appropriate amount of gestures.
- Tell the story using no facial expressions. Incorporate facial expressions into the story.
After you have finished the story, ask students to share what they wrote on the worksheet. Point out the setting, problem, and outcome of the story you told. Remind students that their stories must also have a setting, problem, and outcome.
Activity Six
Pair students and tell them to take turns telling their story to their partner. Explain to students that they are going to be telling the story from both their perspective and the perspective of the person that they interviewed. Show students the video of Kuniko telling the story of her grandmother again. Discuss how she switches between herself and the character of her grandmother. Tell students that they will be incorporating the two mannerisms they picked in Activity Five into the telling of their stories.
Ask the person who is listening to think about the elements of good storytelling that you discussed in Activity Five, and provide feedback to their partner when they have finished telling their story. Remind students to use the "I liked the way you," technique when responding to their partner's story.
Students should also give feedback on the story itself. Students should ask themselves the following questions:
- What did you like best about the story?
- Did the story make sense?
- Were there any parts of the story that need explaining?
- Does the story have a clear beginning, middle and end?
After students have had an opportunity to tell their stories to their partners, have them share their stories with the entire class.
Teacher Note: Some students may want additional opportunities to tell their story. These students may benefit from practicing their stories in front of a mirror.
Closing Discussion
After the students have finished telling their stories, involve the class in a discussion about how life in the past was different from life today. Create a chart to compare the results. The chart might look something like this:
Topic |
The Past |
The Present |
Similarities |
Chores |
Feed cows |
Load the dishwasher |
Hated doing chores & parents get
mad when you forget |
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Assessment:
Assess student performance using the accompanying Assessment Rubric.
Extensions:
Activity One
Create a class book based on the stories. Have students write and illustrate their stories and collect and bind the stories together. You might also choose to take photographs of the students when they tell their stories and include them in the book.
Activity Two
Borrow tapes of folksongs from your local library to share with your students. Discuss how songs can be used to tell a story.
Authors:
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Bay Breeze Ed. Resources, Educational Resource
Bay Breeze Educational Resources, Inc.
Greenville, NH
