Everyone has stories and there are lots of ways we share our stories. Yes, there is "story telling" but, people share their stories in everything they do. We tell our stories and leave our marks even when we don't know we are doing it. Take time to look, listen, learn and create - music, art, poetry, dance, cooking, fashion, hobbies/sports, videos... How do you tell your stories? Whose stories do you listen to, feel, or see?
What Makes You You... Today?
For one week, everyday, when you wake up, ask yourself "What makes me me?" It can be a silly thing, a random thing, a common thing...anything. Make a short story about yourself using your 7 things. In class... share your 7 things. Exchange your 7 things with someone else - let them write a short story about you (don't show them your story). How do your stories compare?
Start and Finish
Think of a recent (or past...whatever) story about something from your life. It can be super simple. A time you had a flat tire. A time you made a horrible pie. A time you hit a home run. A time you rescued a kitten. A time you saw a really good movie. Write the first few lines of the story and stop. Exchange you story beginning with a classmate. Write two or three more lines and exchange again. Keep going. Chose a point to announce that it is time to "wrap it up" - Finish each other's stories. Were the endings connected to the identity of the person finishing the story?
We are All Connected by Stories
It will be good to have a recorder for this activity. One person begins by sharing an interesting memory or experience that they have. For example, one person can say: “One time, I accidentally locked myself out of the house. So then I spent the entire day at a coffee shop.” The next person can tell a related story that has any similar themes or elements to the previous story. For example, the next person can say, “I am a total coffee addict. Every day I drink 3 cups of coffee and it usually keeps me from being able to sleep at night.” The next person shares something related to the last comment, such as: “I don’t sleep much at night because I play lots of computer games until early morning.” Everyone must come up with something new - no repeats. The story ends with the person who began who resolves the story as best they can.
This American Life
https://www.thisamericanlife.org/
This American Life is an American weekly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass.
Code Switch: Race. In Your Face
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/
A multi-racial, multi-generational team of journalists fascinated by the overlapping themes of race, ethnicity and culture, how they play out in lives and communities, and how all of this is shifting.
The Moth
Promoting the Art & Craft of Storytelling through Live Events. Moth stories are true, as remembered by the storyteller and always told live.
Snap Judgment - Storytelling with a Beat
Snap Judgment mixes real stories with killer beats to produce cinematic, dramatic, kick-ass radio. Snap’s raw, musical brand of storytelling dares listeners to see the world through the eyes of another. This is storytelling… with a BEAT!! Snap first aired on NPR stations nationwide in July 2010. Snap Judgment now airs on over 400 public radio stations.
Choose your favorite stories from American Like Me. What connected you to them? What commonalities can you find in the stories your chose.
Compare you choices to others in the class. What common ground can you find between your chosen stories and yourselves as well.
