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2.0 Stories
2.0 Stories has students use their creativity and knowledge to update existing stories to the present day (or beyond). Folktales, fables, classics, movies, or even newspaper clippings can be used in this storytelling activity.
Preparation
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Select a well-known story (well known to your learners) that is set in a time in the distant past (20, 30, to 100 years and beyond). For example, Cinderella is a classic tale dating back as far as the 1600s. Focus on the story’s time setting (clothing, furniture, expressions), and have students retell and update the story to reflect the present day.
Procedure
1. Elicit well-known folktales, fables, and other stories from the class. 2. Decide on one as a group to model the activity. 3. Elicit the time frame of the setting from the class — write it in the middle of the mind map and relate the various items offered by the students that illustrate the time frame around it to show the relation.
transportation carriage horse
When to Use It
• To have students bring their own creativity and imagination to a well-known story frame • To practice critical thinking — updating items should lead to other changes in the story • To encourage collaboration amongst students
Level
Skills
Practice
Materials
Paper
Preparation Time
20 minutes for the sample story
Activity Time
30 minutes
1600s
clothing drab dresses for working women very full skirts on ball gowns waistcoats for men
4. When at least three big time-setting categories are identified, have students work in pairs or small groups to give updated versions of the items listed (e.g., convertible for carriage, classmates’ clothing to replace that in the story, etc.). 5. Students then rewrite the story, changing it to reflect the updated items.
Variations
1. Change other elements of the story: a. location (instead of taking place in a jungle, the story takes place in the Arctic) b. characters (people are animals, or animals are people) c. technology (add in technology or remove it) 2. Weave elements of a couple of classic stories into one.
