Lesson Plan: Storytelling: Tales of Everyday Life

Overview

This is one of four storytelling lessons. Three lessons in this series introduce students to narrative traditions and storytelling from Alaska, Hawaii, and other cultures through work with varied narratives, objects, and performance. In this lesson, students think about how everyday events can become stories. They discuss the use of journals and diaries, then look at several accounts of stories from the real-life experiences of voyagers from all over the world who traveled to the Arctic to hunt whales. The fourth lesson has students draw on their new understanding of different types of narratives to inspire and enrich their own work.

Understanding and creating narratives is a fundamental literacy skill — it is also a universal human activity. When students work with written texts, recite or listen to stories, or present narratives through non-verbal means, such as art or dance, they are learning to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate their world. Teachers can build rewarding experiences for students that activate their natural love for and interest in stories. They can do this in a way that expands children's fluency and confidence with language, as well as their respect for the rich diversity of narrative approaches and language use across cultures. As students experience narratives from different cultures, they gain perspectives on people and stories in worlds that may be unfamiliar. This will be valuable to students in many ways, for example by helping them bring a sense of perspective to their own culture and stories.

One theme woven through these four lessons is the diverse nature and form of narratives. All of the narratives presented in these lessons draw on the great range and variety of stories related to cultural resources available to teacher and student alike. Remember that although the term "narrative" is frequently applied to written texts and oral stories, narratives may also be inherent in a painting, a dance, an object, or a historical record.

To check out more storytelling lesson plans, go to:

Storytelling: Oral Traditions Lesson Plan

Storytelling: Performance and Art Lesson Plan

Storytelling: Writers' Workshop Lesson Plan

Objectives

• Experience stories from a range of cultures and recognize both the commonalities and distinctions in styles and motifs of storytelling
• Begin to gain understanding of audience, author, and viewpoint in the context of narrative
• Begin to identify key aspects of narratives, such as character, setting, action, conflict, and resolution
• Explore how events from everyday life can become stories
• Look at how different types of narratives — a log entry, a newspaper article, and a painting can tell the story of the same event

Grade Level: 4-6

Suggested Time

• One to two class periods

Multimedia Resources

• The Voyage of Kealoha QuickTime Video
• The Wreck of the Corinthian Flash Interactive
• Iñupiaq Whale Hunt QuickTime Video (optional)
• Bowhead Whaling and Its Impact Flash Interactive (optional)

Materials

• White board or chart paper

• I See-I Think-I Wonder Exercise Worksheet PDF Document

Before the Lesson

• Print and copy the PDFs for each student.
• Arrange computer access so students can work in pairs or small groups.
• Review all materials carefully. Watch the videos, work through the interactive activities, review the worksheets, and read the background essays that relate to the lesson. For each resource, ask yourself, "How does this resource relate to my own understanding of narrative, storytelling, and my language arts goals for my class?" Make adjustments to the lesson as needed to meet your specific goals for your class.

Using Journals

If you will be doing more than one storytelling lesson with your students, it may be helpful to have them use a journal to record their notes and complete their assigned writings. Electronic journals may also be used. When using either printed or electronic journals, integrate the handouts and assignments so that all the written material produced by the students can be kept in one place and be available for reference from one lesson to the next.

The Lesson

Part I: Stories of Daily Life

Part II: Stories of Whaling

Check for Understanding

After the chart pages have been filled out, have students spend five to ten minutes reflecting on the following questions on their own. You may want to have them write down their ideas in their journals, both for your assessment and for their own reference, particularly if you will be doing the Writers' Workshop lesson at a later date.

1. Which item — the log entry, the newspaper article, or the painting gave you the most information and understanding about the Corinthian event? Why?
2. If this story were happening today, how would we tell it? What artifacts would we use? How have things changed since the 1860s with respect to creating and telling stories?

Finally, bring the class back together to discuss their responses to the questions.