Telling Stories Through Objects - Brooklyn Children's Museum

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ACTIVITY 3 Make a Story Journal; Read Stories All Grades Related Objects: All objects; stories in Appendix As you introduce your students to and interact with the objects, you may wish to create a regular story time each day, when students may read the stories silently on their own, or hear you or their classmates tell them. The Story Journal will give your students a place to record their impressions of the stories they hear throughout this unit, as well as a place to draw or write down stories of their own. Materials: • Sheets of oak tag OR colored construction paper (8.5“ x 11“), one per student • Plain white paper (8.5“ x 11“) for interior pages • String or yarn • Hole punch • Glue What To Do: You may wish to construct a book yourself as a model to show the class how it is done. 1 Give each student one sheet of oak tag or construction paper, several sheets of plain white paper, and a length of string. 2 Have students fold these sheets in half widthwise to form a small book. The oak tag or construction paper should be on the outside, forming the book’s cover. 3 Students should then punch two holes evenly spaced out along the fold line. 4 Have students thread one end of their string through each of the two holes, so that the string runs along the inside of the book’s centerfold. They should tie the two ends of the string together neatly to hold their book together. 5 Students may decorate their book’s cover as they please. 6 You may incorporate the Story Journal into the class’s daily activities in a number of ways. For example: • Read aloud to the class one of the stories in the Appendix. Then give your students time to write or draw about it in their journals. They may wish to write a short summary of the story’s plot, or record their reaction to it (such as what they liked or didn’t like about the story, and any questions they have). They may also wish to draw a picture of a scene or character from the story, or a picture of the object TELLING STORIES THROUGH OBJECTS 16 that inspired it. Repeat with a different story each day, or have students themselves read the stories to the class or silently to themselves. • Have students make up and write down their own story for an object. • Use the Story Journal for other writing, drawing, and research activities in conjunction with the case. Discussion Questions: • Are all stories written down? Can you name some examples of stories (from your own life or from cultures around the world) that aren’t traditionally written down? • What are the pros or cons of writing a story down? (Hint: Writing a story down may make it easier for people to remember, or it may keep a story from being lost. However, it may also keep people from hearing the story repeated out loud, or from feeling like they can experiment with a story and make it their own.) • What different kinds of stories and writing are there? Talk about the meaning of words like tale, legend, myth, report, and other terms used for different kinds of writing (see Vocabulary). See page 23 for details on how this activity meets New York State Learning Standards.
ACTIVITY 4 All Grades Related Objects: All, DVD Show and Tell Objects that remind us of the past can also prompt us to re-tell tales of times, people, and events from the past. For us, these objects may represent a cherished family history. However, other people may look at the same object and think of something completely different. In this activity, your students will have the opportunity to tell a story about an object from their own lives, and how it conveys their personal history. Materials: • Objects brought from home, one per student • Optional: Story Journal (see page 16) OR writing paper and pencils • Optional: DVD in case What To Do: 1 Assign your students the task of bringing in an object from home. They may choose anything they like, but the object they choose should have some sort of personal story behind it, and it should be something they are willing to share with others (and thus not be too personal or precious). For example: • A student who brought in a souvenir from far away could tell a story about his or her vacation. • A student with a baby shoe could tell the story of his or her own birth, or of the day a younger brother or sister came home from the hospital. 2 Play students the Keys to Imagination DVD in the case and review the characteristics of good story telling (see introduction). 3 Have students present their object and tell their story before the rest of the class. Alternatively, they may draw a picture of their object and write their story down in their Story Journal. TELLING STORIES THROUGH OBJECTS 17 Variation for Older Students: 1 Have students place their objects on a table in the classroom. 2 Each student should choose an unknown object from the table (this activity works best if each student chooses a different object, so that all objects are used). Students should examine their object carefully, and think of a story to go with it, without consulting the object’s owner. Just from looking at the object, what do they think it is about? Their stories should, of course, be respectful since the objects are personal to their classmates. 3 Students may tell the stories they created to each other in small groups, present them out loud before the class, or record them in their Story Journals. 4 After students have told the stories they made up, they should reclaim the objects they originally brought in. They may write or tell their classmates the stories they chose to go with their own objects. 5 Optional: Have students write down on separate pieces of paper the two stories they created to go with the unknown and familiar objects. Place the objects from home around the classroom, and post the two stories that were written about each object (one by its owner, and the other by a classmate) next to it. Have students go around the classroom and see if they can tell which story was written by the owner. Discussion Questions: • What made you choose this object as the one you wanted to share with the class? • What story does your object have to tell? • What do you think people can tell about you from the object you brought in? See page 23 for details on how this activity meets New York State Learning Standards.
Page 1 and 2: Portable Collections Program Tellin
Page 3 and 4: ■ CHECKLIST: WHAT’S IN THE CASE
Page 5 and 6: ■ INFORMATION FOR THE TEACHER ■
Page 13 and 14: Hold Emerge Hope Fix Listen Enter I
Page 15 and 16: PREDATORS AND PREY 13 What color or
Page 17: MASKS 15 What color or colors is th
Page 21 and 22: A Fragmented Story: The Blue Willow
Page 23 and 24: ACTIVITY 7 Additional Activities an
Page 25 and 26: ■ RESOURCES AND REFERENCE MATERIA
Page 27 and 28: ■ RESOURCES AND REFERENCE MATERIA
Page 29 and 30: The Myth of Osiris An Ancient Egypt
Page 31 and 32: Cupid and Psyche (continued) By thi
Page 33 and 34: The Necessity of Salt An Austrian f
Page 35 and 36: The Dreaming Prince (continued) sev
Page 37 and 38: The Game Board (continued) "Here,"
Page 39 and 40: How the Kiwi Lost Its Wings (contin
Page 41 and 42: How the Hopi Indians Reached Their
Page 43: Acknowledgments Beth Alberty Chrisy

Telling Stories Through Objects - Brooklyn Children's Museum

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