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First: Collect a variety of both mundane and unusual
small objects and place them in an opaque cloth or paper bag.
Second: As a group, decide on a main character
for your story and a starting location for the tale.
Third: The first teller (perhaps the teacher
or a group leader) begins the story, describing the character
and setting up an initial problem. To solve the character's problem,
reach into the bag and randomly select and pull out an object.
That object must then be used to solve the problem and advance
the story to the next problem.
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An
example: Joey is
walking through the woods when he comes to a wide river. He must
get across, but there is no bridge or boat and he doesn't know
how to swim.
You reach into the story bag and pull
out a ball of string. How is that ball of string going to help
get Joey across the river?
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Here
are a few possible solutions:
Since it's a windy day, Joey uses
the ball of string, along with some branches and his shirt, to
make a kite. Then he rides the kite across the river.
Joey uses the string to trap several
large birds, who then fly him across.
He builds a raft using the string and
some logs from the forest, or some reeds that grow near the water's
edge.
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Some
objects will suggest obvious solutions, while others may require
more imagination. What if the obect had been a small bottle?
Joey puts a note asking for help
in the bottle and floats it down the river.
The bottle contains a magic potion, giving
Joey the ability to fly.
The bottle in the story is actually a
very BIG bottle, which comes floating down the river. Joey uses
a branch to pull the bottle to him, then floats across the river
holding on to the bottle.
Joey uses the bottle as a magnifying
glass to start a fire that he uses to signal for help.
How else could you get across using a bottle? |
The solution to the original
problem can set up the next problem. If Joey uses the string
to make a kite, then he might get blown into a dangerous situation.
Fourth: Once this new problem is set up, pass
the story and the story bag to the next person.
Some guidelines that you
might need to use:
The teller can't feel around in the bag,
trying to identify the objects. It's best to have the leader
(or the whole group) chant "3...2...1". At the end
of the count the teller has to remove from the bag whatever object
he/she is touching.
The story belongs to the person holding
the bag. Others have to save their ideas for when it's their
turn.
You can't kill the main character off.
(At least, not until the end of the story!)
Decide ahead of time whether the solutions
should be realistic or if they can involve magic.
Decide how the story is to come to an
end. If your group is small enough, you might just plan to have
the leader end it after each person has had a turn. Or you could
have a set number of tellers, then start a new story. Or you
can put a "The End" tag on one of the objects and the
person who draws it has to finish the story.
Variations:
Instead of objects, the story bag could
contain cards with vocabulary words written on them.
Use picture cards instead of objects.
A testimonial:
This was e-mailed to us by Karen Chace.
She does storytelling at an afterschool program at the George
A. Austin Middle School in Massachusetts. She saw the story bag
directions here and decided to try it with her students.
"I
wanted to tell you that I have been using your story bag idea
with my group of kindergartens through 4th graders. They LOVE
IT!!! At first they cried "We can't storytell!" They
soon learned that they could.
"The
first time I did this with them the story was centered in Africa,
the girl was the heroine and she was walking through the jungle...and
of course there was magic! At the end of the story the last child
pulled a magnifying glass out of the bag and said that the heroine
used the magnifying glass to find magic dust on the ground and
then she turned herself into an eagle and flew home!
"This
week we went to a medieval castle in ancient Germany. They can't
wait to take their turn with the story bag! Thank you for such
a creative idea. I think it helps them not only to imagine but
also helps them with their public speaking skills. I don't know
who has more fun with it, the students or me.
"The children are actually disappointed
if I don't bring the story bag! One boy last week said "You
forgot to ask if we wanted to use magic?" Oh they are so
smart! I have begun to keep a written log of the stories they
come up with and hopefully, at the end of the year, I will give
them each a little story book of their own creation."
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