caught up and trying to come up with an answer. You could feel the engagement.
What if you can’t do a story for a topic?
In short, use story structure
In ‘why students don’t like school’ Daniel Willingham suggests that story structure can be used when lesson and unit planning.
In particular he suggests to organise a unit around conflict. He gives the example of following the japanese version of pearl harbour instead of the US one to better engage students.
In the Epic Classroom, Trevor Muir talks more about using the elements of a story to create a unit of work. The one I particularly liked was the climax, which could be something like a presentation, a race, a launch, etc.
Do stories need to be real and about real life events?
No. Aesop’s fables are a good example of stories that aren’t real (with the animals as the main characters).
No need to trivialise with reality, stories only need to be believable.
My students won’t sit for a video, do you still think they will sit and listen to a story?
If you have tried to play a movie during class in the last 15 years and had students disengaged then you might be thinking, stories don’t do enough.
I mean Hollywood does stories that are good but they have a lot more resources than I do.
Good stories aren’t about money or how short they are, they are about making them believable.
What’s the difference between a good story and a bad story?
Great question, haven’t figured it out yet, but if you know something contact me.
I did find this video of a very persuasive story teller that I think could be a good start. He says that stories are about creating emotions. Particularly 3 emotions.
Happily ever after
Even the Victorian State Government is going on about stories, although their point is a little different to the one I am making.
Stories are one way to engage students. They probably suit some stiutations and not others and are going to take some practice.
The thing I like about stories in the classroom is how universal they can be (as long as everyone has the background knowledge they need).
I don’t have all the answers, but I hope this has informed you in some way. Don’t be a stranger.