Emoji Emotion II: Interactive Storytelling Game

L'effroi
Jean-Baptise Greuze
1725-1805

I’ve been teaching storytelling for 20 years, so I am always looking for new games and activities to keep it fresh, both for me and my students. A few years ago, I purchased some emoji stress balls at my local dollar store, thinking I might be able to use them in my class one day. Finally, last week inspiration struck.

Initially, I only had six of the emoji balls. I immediately knew this game was a success and I would need more for a larger group. I found them on Amazon. 

I tried the game three times with smaller groups until all nineteen of my students came together. They were eager to play the game again. It was controlled chaos, lots of laughter and the students loved playing with their stories, changing up the emotions, adding facial expressions, and gestures.

Below are the instructions for Emoji Emotion II.

• Students stand in a circle.
• Each one is given an emoji ball. 
  
• Teacher assigns a number to each student one through six since there are six numbers on the die.
• If there are more than six students the count begins at one again with the seventh student. Example: If you have a class of eighteen you would assign the numbers one through six three times.
• Teacher plays music as the students pass the balls. Note: I queued up music via YouTube on my phone.
• Teacher stops the music at their discretion. When the music stops the students keep whatever emoji ball is in their hand.
• Teacher throws the die. Whatever number is rolled, the student who has that number chooses a line of dialogue from their story and tells it with the emotion on the emoji ball, even if it is not the correct tone for the story.
• If you have more than six students then each student with the rolled number takes a turn.
• Repeat the process as time allows, playing the music each time as the students pass the emoji balls.
  
  

This is a terrific game to use after the students are comfortable with their stories but I can easily envision using it as an ice breaker game. For example, the teacher assignes one sentence to be used by all but with a different emotion, to teach them how vocal intonation/expression will change the meaning of a sentence. Another way would be to have the students share one sentence about something from their lives using the emotion on the emoji ball. For example:

• My favorite sport is baseball.
• I have a big, brown dog. 
• I went to the beach last summer.

Last year I created a different emoji-based game that also worked well. It was very successful but this new game is definitely more interactive. That game may be viewed at the link below.

Emoji Emotions: Interactive Storytelling Game
https://karenchace.blogspot.com/2022/04/emoji-emotions-interactive-storytelling.html.

This game is definitely a keeper! If you decide to try this out with your students, please let me know how it turned out for you and for your students. I would love to hear what you think about it. Please leave a blog comment if you have time.

Permission for private use is granted but I do ask that you maintain the copyright information and offer proper attribution. Publication is prohibited without my expressed written permission. 

There are many more original games I have created in my book, Story by Story, along with worksheets to help your students step into their story. 

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks 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 2023 ©

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 appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Story Wok - A Peer Coaching Worksheet

Listening Boy
Robert Henri, 1924

I am in my 20^th year teaching and directing a student storytelling program. Every year I try to develop new tools, either written or interactive, to help my students work with their stories, and their peers.

I always make time for the students to independently practice their stories during class time, but another component is a turn and tell, where students share their stories with a partner. 

This year I designed a new tool, the Story Wok. The name is an acronym, with each letter corresponding to a specific story or performance element, to be used during the turn and tell. 

Since the worksheet is fairly extensive I instruct the students to choose three things they want to focus on. As the student tells their story the partner listens deeply. When the teller is finished the listener/peer coach writes down some suggestions, then shares it with the teller. The process is then repeated with the partners switching rolls.

I only use this tool after we have met for many weeks, when trust is established within the group, and after the students have participated in one round of story coaching. Before we begin, part of the instruction process is to remind them that their role as listeners is to be supportive and encouraging. 

Below are some of the specific notes the listeners took on the various stories they heard and then shared with the tellers.

Setting: Perhaps you could describe where the alligator lives.
Talking: You could add dialogue when the king finds the fairy.
Omission: You might want to leave out the royal chair.
Reactions:  When you're climbing maybe you could use a scary expression.
Yawn! You could add more action when the horse gets its tail stuck in the fence.

Word(s): Maybe you could add some similes.
Observation: You were very calm when you told the story.
Kindness: I loved your different character voices. 

After I collected the papers I noticed some of the students wrote on their worksheets: “Thank you for the advice.” One even drew a smiley face.

I think it worked!

Permission to use the Story Wok in your personal work is granted with the following restrictions. Do not remove the copyright information and please credit the source. Do not reproduce in any publication in any form or format without my expressed written permission. 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 appreciate your support. 

If you would like me to send the Story Wok worksheet to you in a Word .doc email me at storybug@aol.com . If you do use it I would be grateful if you shared how it worked for your students.

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.

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks 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 2023 ©

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.

 

Tales and Transformations

 

Athene and Arachne
Jacopo Tintoretto, c. 1475-85



The Story of Arachne

Athena, goddess of wisdom, was a proud and talented, young goddess. In times of peace, Athena taught Grecians about the arts. She herself was a skillful weaver and potter and always took pride in her pupils' work, as long as they respected her.

One of Athena's pupils was a maiden whose name was Arachne. Arachne was a poor, simple girl who lived in the country. Her father was a quiet man of humble birth. He dyed sheep's wool to earn money for a living. Arachne wove beautiful fabrics of delicate designs, and people began to comment to her that surely she had been taught by the goddess Athena. Arachne denied this and stated that she was certainly better than Athena and that she had learned little or nothing from Athena's teachings. She even went as far as to say that she was a better weaver than Athena! For the rest of the story go to http://www.hipark.austin.isd.tenet.edu/mythology/arachne.html


This past week I've been in coaching mode, helping my third grade storytelling students fine tune their tales. They have already been through the peer coaching process during class time, helping each other by listening, then offering Compliments and "I wonder if..." suggestions. They know what to look for, eye contact, pacing of the story, gestures, etc. in others, but sometimes it is more difficult to see the process in themselves.

Later, each student or tandem team receives two separate half hour sessions with me. The first is a straight telling for me where I take notes. Then we talk about what worked, what they might wish to change, suggestions of things to try and then they tell it again, incorporating the changes.

On Wednesday, just like Arachne, one student transformed right before my eyes! Victoria is telling the Greek myth of Arachne and I suspected she was memorizing the story, although they are cautioned to put their stories in their own words. When Victoria arrived for her coaching session I asked for a copy of her story. As she told the tale I glanced down at her story a few times. Yes, she was reciting it verbatim; not a good idea.

When she finished and sat down to chat I asked, "How was your eye contact with the audience (me). She truthfully stated, "I kept looking up." When I asked her why, even though I already knew the answer, she said, "Because I was trying to remember the words on the paper." Bingo!!

I pulled out parts of the story and read them to her exactly as they appeared and modeled changing the words while retaining the meaning. I then asked her to try and she got it. I also asked, "Do you have any gestures to go with the story?"  Again, "Yes, but I was too nervous trying to remember the words." Such an honest young lady!

I reiterated that as storytellers we are artists, painting pictures with our words and asked her to think about some images she could offer the audience as she traveled through the story. Those images would naturally call up gestures for her as well. Now it was time to try the story again. What followed was so strikingly different from her first attempt it actually gave me goosebumps.

Victoria began the story once more about Arachne and the beautiful weavings she designed then added "Her work was lovelier than the roses in her mother's garden."  Such a gorgeous image and it was all her own!  She continued the story and on the spot was able to step away from the written text and tell the story in her own words. The gestures began to flow; I saw her physically relax and step into the story, taking us back to ancient times with Arachne and Athena. When she finished, she was glowing and smiling from ear to ear...and so was I!

In the nine years I have been teaching storytelling I have never witnessed a student make such wide spread changes in their story in such a short span of time.  For the next session I will bring a video camera, tape their telling, roll it back and then they will critique themselves. Who knows what will be captured then? I can't wait to find out!