Sharing Their Story
NonFiction and Personal Narratives, Docudramas: Narratives are written from the perspective of something, anything, and take on a life of their own. Lead students through personalizing their research topic or subject of choice by writing as if they were the topic or subject....a much more meaningful and memorable sharing of information. See more on NonFiction Narratives and intgration after descriptios.
Vision Videos The I-imagine Project: Inspiring students to find the best of themselves and then envision how they will do good for the world was at the heart of the creation of the I-imagine project. While working with Bernajean Porter to create the activities and pilot the project, it was moving to see how students realized their strengths and how they could use that as a vision for their future - 20 years in the future.
Persuasive StoryTelling
Public Service Announcement: PSA's are written with a very specific purpose, to persuade the viewer to your line of thinking. How do they get you to contribute, to get involved, to change your views? They use targeted words and plan the voice, image and sounds that will get the job done....to leave an impression on you.
Book Trailer: Like Movie Trailers, Book Trailers also have a very specific purpose, to get you to read the book. Have students reflect on movie trailers and just how much is told....or not....and other ways they are persuaded to go. What key elements must be included....woven in to the essence of the video to get the job done.
Elevator Pitch: An elevator pitch is a short description of what you or your organization does. It's like a promo, just a couple sentences you can recite that will give the listener a good picture and leave an impression...and hopefully inspire more conversation.
Audio and Visual StoryTelling
Podcast and Vodcast: Any age and any topic are now part of the podcast world. Personal interests, advice, curricular topics, reflections, book reviews and storytelling, business, and of course politics are just a few of the areas covered in podcasts. You don't need a lot of equipment...recordings can be done easily with an ipad or computer, and there are several free podcast formats to consider.
Photo Story: The power of visual storytelling elevates thinking to the highest levels of Blooms as images need to share the essence of the story being used to illuminate the emotion of the story. Image can be combined with taglines and/or music in the final product.
Sharing Story of Real Events
Documentary: A documentary is a powerful way to present factual information and tell the story behind real events and the real people involved. Primary source research and intreviews are the foundation of the story. Every stiuation has opposing sides or opinions, and it is the job of the designer of the documentary to dig through the information gathered and determine the direction they want to hightlight, often showing both sides so the viewer has the whole view.
A Moment in Time/Historical: Like a documentary, a moment in time reflects on an event or situation. It will often share the story behind both sides of whatever conflict may have occurred, or share a timeline of events with additional facts behind each part of the story. It is not a bed to bed...and then..and then..and then type of story, but rather one that reflects on the facts behind each part of the event.
Re-enactment: A re-enactment can become almost like a play where the events are retold throught the eyes of the characters involved. A great opportunity for primary source interviews and/or research.
Fantasy and Fun
Fairy Tales: Fairy Tales are stories where improbable events lead to a happy ending. The main character often has obstacles to overcome in order to win the prize and live happily ever after.
Fables: A Fable is a short story which often features animals as the main characters or representing the main characters with similar characteristics. Fables have an underlyihg message and close with a esson learned or moral.
Tall Tale and Porquoi: The Porquoi is a fun story style for younger students to stretch their imagination and create story. Creative fun begins when they design the story that answers the question like how the tiger got its stripes, or how the beaver got its flat tail, etc. The Tall Tale is often linked to a real life situation but has a bigger than life story line with exagerated characters and situations.
Choose Your Own Adventure and Game Stories: With a storyline established, planning is a huge part of a Choose Your Own Adventure story, often using a graphic organizer to set up the choices and results of each choice made. All Games have a storyline as well, with characters, setting and a plot. Moving through the story, the game levels, reveals more about the storyline and the goal.
Engaging NonFiction Narratives-Docudramas Bring Student Research to Life
Telling the story about the topic of research from the point of view of that research topic provides the viewer with a meaningful and a memorable experience....one with sticking power. If that item was a living thing...what did it see, smell, hear...in general what did it experience and most importantly what feelings did it experience.
Imagine the pride of the American Flag or the Olympic Torch, the energy of a volcano about to explode, the excitement of a butterfly erupting from its cocoon. When students are allowed to share their research from the point of view of the research it takes on a whole new meaning and experience.
Options include a full story or the portion of research that spoke to the student. Example: one of my students researching Abraham Lincoln found some interesting facts and stories about his iconic hat. She asked if she could create her story based on the hat, and the results are one we all remember. Another example includes a group of students who wrote their research on the importance of the buffalo to the plains natives from the point of view of the buffalo, sharing its fear of the hunt and how the people used every part of it making it an essential part of their survival.
Much like a documentary, NonFiction Narratives engage the students in the process of writing, planning, and producing a meaningful experience for the audience. Numerous primary and ressearch resources below!
Digital StoryTelling Resources
Seven Steps of Digital StoryTelling by Bernajean Porter
http://digitales.us/resources/digitales-storymaking-steps
Take 6 - Elements of a Good Digital Story
http://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/v04/articles/Take_Six
Pitch a Book Lesson Plan and Resources
http://sites.google.com/site/pitchabook/home
http://sites.google.com/site/gavinshamletmoviepitch/
I-imagine - Waking Up a Generation to Their Greatness
http://digitales.us/i-imagine-project