Share Intergenerational Stories

1. The Knowledge Baseline: Ask an adolescent or child a series of questions about their parents' or grandparents' lives before the child was born (e.g., "Do you know where your parents met?" or "Do you know an obstacle your grandmother overcame?").

2. The Storytelling Session: Set aside 20 minutes for an elder to tell a "Redemptive Narrative"—a story about a specific hardship or a mistake (transgression) they made in their youth and how they grew from it.

3. The Perspective-Taking Retell: Have the adolescent retell the story back to the elder, specifically focusing on the elder’s internal thoughts and emotions during that time (e.g., "You felt disappointed because...").

4. The Identity Connection: Finally, ask the adolescent to identify one way that the story relates to their own life today (e.g., "I have that same 'rhythm' gene" or "I learned to handle teachers the way you did").

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