"Life hangs on a narrative thread. This thread is a braid of stories
that inform us about who we are, and where we come from,
and where we might go. The thread is slender but strong:
we trust it to hold us and allow us to swing over the edge
of the known into the future we dream in words"
(Baldwin, Christina 2007).
In the past, present and future, stories connect everything and everyone. Stories are our shared link to our understanding of where we came from and who we are. They are told in many ways including traditional methods such as spoken language, religion, books, art, music, dance, architecture, and more current methods such as news media, movies, social media, and the internet. Stories inform us, entertain us, guide us and mould us. This interdisciplinary unit will reintroduce students to the art of storytelling, give them an understanding of the power of stories, and how they can be harnessed as a vehicle of change. By the end of the unit, students will become master storytellers and use their own narrative to invoke change.
By inviting experts and Elders into the classroom to speak and tell their own unique stories, students experience first hand some of the real issues and problems that exist everyday. By actively engaging with these experts throughout the unit, students will get the opportunity to apply the concepts they learned to new and relevant circumstances that otherwise would not be looked at in the traditional classroom context.
Baldwin, C. (2007). Storycatcher: Making sense of our lives through the power and practice of story. New World Library.
that inform us about who we are, and where we come from,
and where we might go. The thread is slender but strong:
we trust it to hold us and allow us to swing over the edge
of the known into the future we dream in words"
(Baldwin, Christina 2007).
In the past, present and future, stories connect everything and everyone. Stories are our shared link to our understanding of where we came from and who we are. They are told in many ways including traditional methods such as spoken language, religion, books, art, music, dance, architecture, and more current methods such as news media, movies, social media, and the internet. Stories inform us, entertain us, guide us and mould us. This interdisciplinary unit will reintroduce students to the art of storytelling, give them an understanding of the power of stories, and how they can be harnessed as a vehicle of change. By the end of the unit, students will become master storytellers and use their own narrative to invoke change.
By inviting experts and Elders into the classroom to speak and tell their own unique stories, students experience first hand some of the real issues and problems that exist everyday. By actively engaging with these experts throughout the unit, students will get the opportunity to apply the concepts they learned to new and relevant circumstances that otherwise would not be looked at in the traditional classroom context.
Baldwin, C. (2007). Storycatcher: Making sense of our lives through the power and practice of story. New World Library.