How We Express Ourselves (2023-2024)
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Transdisciplinary theme: How We Express Ourselves |
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Central idea: The art of storytelling develops our understanding of the world. |
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Lines of inquiry: |
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* Different ways to tell a story * How stories express and connect our ideas * What we learn through stories |
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Visual Arts: in creating art, people make choices to construct meaning about the world around them. our experiences and imagination can inspire us to create. Social Studies: Understand the difference between past and present and changes over time. |
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Description This unit invites learners to explore the art of storytelling, and how it helps them express their creativity and ideas in many ways. Through the inquiry process, we explored a variety of story types, methods of sharing with an audience, and the storyteller’s purpose when creating. Connecting to the Visual Arts, Design and Performing Arts creative cycle, also gave opportunities to plan, practice, polish and share stories with an audience in various ways. |
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Key concepts |
Related concepts |
Learner profile attributes |
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PERSPECTIVE FORM |
Creativity Expression Technique Purpose Presentation audience |
Risk-takers Communicators |
Projects
Story #1
Storytelling through Story Workshop
What is Story Workshop?
We have noticed the children building and creating elaborate stories throughout their day in school. Therefore, we decided to introduce the children to Story Workshop.
Story Workshop is a classroom structure that is used to support language and literacy. The adults consider the space, environment, story materials, writing tools, books and props that invite storytelling.
Story Workshop is a hands-on approach that allows the children to create, talk about and use drawing and writing to share their stories.
We know that children enjoy creating with a range of materials and loose parts. It’s much easier to start thinking of a storyline when you have physical pieces in front of you.
As the children manipulate, make, build and design their structures and objects, they begin to create the base of a story. Soon they are ready to add more details, a setting and characters which result in a storytelling experience.
The hands-on experience encourages creativity and imagination. It also helps the children revisit past events that are important to them.
Dedicated quiet times to observe and draw allow the children opportunities to carefully observe and document what they see. The adults in the space listen to the children’s ideas, offering suggestions and supporting key literacy skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.
We wonder what stories live in these materials and how the children might use them to tell their own stories.
Watch this space!