Sensory Swish: An Interactive Storytelling Game

Last week I made my annual run for Easter basket goodies and found some delightfully different ‘baskets,’ pictured below, at my local Dollar Tree.  Rather than the traditional woven straw they were made to look like basketballs and I began to wonder, “How could I use these with my storytelling students?” 

Although my Storytelling Troupe classes have ended for the year, my colleague Andrea Lovett and I are currently working with students on an intergenerational project.  While we have many resources at our disposal we are always eager to add new games/movement to our classes.  I placed the baskets in my cart and continued walking through the store, and lo and behold, I found small, rubber basketballs. Now I knew this was too much of a coincidence and the Sensory Swish game was born!

  

SENSORY SWISH

 * Swish: A shot that goes through the basket without touching the backboard or rim.

Items Needed

• 5 Basketball ‘baskets’
• 10 small rubber basketballs (10 so you will have additional balls to hand the children if they miss.)

Easy Prep

• Cut off the basket straps so they will not be in the way when throwing the ball.
• Type up the five senses on the computer in large letters: Taste, Touch, See, Smell, Hear
• Paste one each on front of the baskets. Cover with clear postal tape to secure.

Directions

• Place five chairs in a straight row across.
• Place one basket on each chair.
• Place something heavy inside so they will not fall over when the ball is thrown.
• Students take turns throwing the ball at the basket of their choice.
• They have three turns at the throw line. If they miss they take one step closer.
• When the ball lands in one basket (it might not be one they were aiming for) they choose any part of their story and share one or two sentences describing something in the story using that ‘sense.’

Example: One student yesterday chose ‘smell’ and made the basket. She shared, “When I walked downstairs in the morning I could smell the delicious, crisp bacon sizzling on the stove.”

The students really enjoyed the game and cheered each other on. It was particularly fun because two of the girls actually completed the ‘swish’ on the first try while the boys did not, resulting in lots of laughter and good natured ribbing.

This game is a keeper and I actually purchased an additional set of ‘baskets.’ In the next school year when I begin working with a larger storytelling troupe I will turn this into a team relay game.

SENSORY SWISH RELAY

• There will be two sections of senses, one for each team.
• Students will line up in two teams.
• When the first makes the basket they will share a sentence from their story, run back and tag the next team member.
• Repeat until everyone on one team has completed the activity.
• First team to finish is the winning team.

* Note: I plan to have 10 additional small basketballs for a total of 20 when using this in the relay form of the game. This will make it easier to keep the game moving along.

I can also see this game being used in other ways, labeling the baskets differently. You can even use the same baskets, just tape new labels on the opposite side. Some suggestions:

• Exaggerated Gesture
• Small Gesture
• Character Description
• Dialogue
• Facial Expression
• First Sentence
• Last Sentence
• Etc.

This is a very easy game to set up and play. I offer it here for you to use in your personal storytelling work. It is not to be published in any form without permission although you may share the blog link with your colleagues. I ask that you respect copyright and offer attribution whenever you use it.

Here is another interactive game I created last year using the favorite American pastime, baseball! 

Step Up to the Plate: An Interactive Storytelling Game http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2016/03/step-up-to-story-plate-interactive.html

I would love to know what you think of this game, and if you use it, tell me how it worked out for you!

If you are interested in more original, interactive games, as well as story worksheets, please consider my award-winning book, Story by Story: Creating a Student Storytelling Troupe. I am also offering a workshop, Story Play, based on my book, at the Rocky Mountain Storytelling Conference in Colorado next week and at the National Storytelling Conference in Kansas City, Missouri in June. You will learn additional activities not found in my book, to help both you and your students.

If you would like to learn a bit more about the workshop head over to my NSN blog piece at
https://storynet.org/play-with-a-purpose/ .

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and web links may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links.  At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

Karen Chace 2017 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Spinning Stories into Gold

The Alchemist
from The Wind's Tale
"Gold! Gold! he shouted."
by Edmund Dulac, 1911

Jake’s Head
Gwen Bonilla © 2012

One of the most wonderful things about being a storyteller is the shared connection between the audience and the teller.  There is something truly magical about the giving and receiving of a story that allows everyone -- those hearing the story and the person telling it -- to grow and be enriched by the experience.

I began as a storyteller in schools, telling to elementary children -- mostly as a volunteer, but occasionally would luck into a paid gig.  I dreamed of one day making my living doing this thing I loved, creating worlds of words.  My heroes were the magnificent performance storytellers who have been talented enough and fortunate enough to make their living creating these story worlds: Bill Harley, Kevin Kling, and Elizabeth Ellis to name a few.  I loved to watch how they could hold an auditorium, a tent, a noisy gymnasium, utterly captivated with the tales they wove.

A few years ago, I discovered multi-sensory storytelling.  Multi-sensory storytelling is the use of sensory elements -- sound, smell, touch -- to enhance the story experience.  I was drawn to multi-sensory storytelling as a means to share stories with people with developmental disabilities such as Autism or Down’s Syndrome. 

For people with developmental disabilities, isolation and a sense of separateness are too often a fact of life.  Without language to receive, or to share conversation and communication, they are often left out of their communities.  Stories have always been a tool to connect people with their communities.  I wanted to bring specialized stories to these special audiences. I wanted to help them be a part of the story.

Two years ago, I formed the non-profit, Touching Stories, in order to bring multi-sensory stories to adults and children with developmental disabilities.  

Multi-sensory storytelling looks a little different than the storyteller at the campfire.  Different than the work of Bill or Kevin or Elizabeth; or the wonderful storycraft on programs like The Moth or This American Life.  In multi-sensory storytelling, the stories are simple -- short on plot and character and long on sensory experience.  They are told as the teller guides the audience, one-by-one, to explore items to touch, to manipulate, or to smell.  These stories are more snapshot than portrait.

And yet... that special connection still occurs.

Recently, I was telling at a day program for adults with developmental disabilities.  My audience on this day was a combination of non-verbal individuals, who required a great deal of hand-over-hand assistance to explore the sensory elements of the story, and others who were much more able to communicate verbally and to explore the sensory elements in their own way.

I was telling the story of The Monster on Grandma's Bed.  In that story, young Sarah, at Grandma's house for a sleepover, is awakened by a terrifying sound in the middle of the night.  When she reaches out in the dark to see what's there, she encounters something furry.  The sensory item for this part of the story is a canvas board covered in short, thick faux fur.

As always, I asked the participants what they thought it was.  Usually, the responses I get are "a wolf," "a bear," or "a monster."  But on this day, all the participants were in agreement:  the board felt like "Jake's head."

“Jake” was one of the audience members that day.  A young man in his early twenties, Jake was engaged and enthusiastic.  He had a bright smile and a lot to say.  As the board was passed from audience member to audience member, each said that they thought that the thing that Sarah was feeling in that dark room was Jake's head. Even the non-verbal participants, when asked, would point to Jake.  Each time, Jake’s smile grew wider.

The audience laughed on cue when the story went on to reveal that the furry thing was Grandma's fuzzy bathrobe and the terrible sound was Grandma's loud snores, but at this telling -- different from any other time I've told it -- that punchline was not the best part of the story. The sparkle had happened when they had made the decision to make that furry thing Jake's head. I had a lot of fun with it, but didn't really understand.

After the story was over, and I was packing up, Jake came to talk to me.

He told me that he is a cancer survivor, and had only in the last few months finished his course of chemotherapy.  His hair had just come back.

And in that telling, in that delightful, spontaneous improvisation, the whole room had celebrated the return of Jake's hair.

It just goes to show, no matter how simple, there's a whole lot of connecting that happens when a story is told.  

Gwen Bonilla has worked with people with intellectual disabilities as a Human Services Professional for the past eight years. 

She created the StoryCrafters program to bring multi-sensory storytelling to children in elementary schools.  In addition, she has presented her stories to literacy programs, after school clubs, and charity fundraisers. She has served on the Rocky MountainStorytelling Board of Directors since 2008. Two years ago, she launched the Touching Stories program for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Gwen's passions for storytelling and for working with people with disabilities have informed every aspect of the Touching Stories program.


Gwen Bonilla is a guest blogger for Karen Chace and Catch the Storybug blog. All rights to this article belong to Gwen. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without her expressed, written permission. Of course, if you wish to link to the article via Facebook or Twitter, please feel free to do so. I you would like to be a Guest Blogger contact Karen at Storybug@aol.com for the details.