When hot on the trail of a plot or a great section of
dialog, it can be easy to fly right past the physical sense of a scene and
focus solely on the psychological. An exercise to ground students (and authors)
to the world of objects is one we did in class recently.
I’ve included the video link above (and instructions below, should
anyone wish to carry it out for a creative writing class K-12+).
What stuck me was that the most entertaining and engaging
story came from a girl, DaNasia, who was improvising; she’d come to class
unprepared, quickly grabbed some objects from around the room, and told her
story, making it up as she went. Her story contained a sense of character and
setting, conflict and drama, and to top it off, humor. She is aware of her
audience—the video is intended for elementary-aged students—and amends her
story on the fly to suit the age group. See if you can spot the moment in the
video.
“Character Clues” Container
Activity
In this activity, students will use objects to help tell a
story about a real or imaginary person.
Materials needed
Various sorts of containers (bags, boxes, baskets, etc.)
Sundry items
Introduction
To introduce the topic to students, ask them if they’ve ever
explored something they found in order to determine who might have owned it.
Discuss any student comments.
Before you demonstrate the activity, explain to them that
you are about to create a story about an imaginary person (or it could be a
real person, someone you know) by choosing objects that reveal something about
the person and putting them in a container (which might also tell us something
about the person).
Demonstration
Next, show them how to do the activity by selecting a
container from a group of potential containers (bags, boxes, baskets, etc.).
Remind them that the container can also help tell part of the story. (For
example, the container might be something a child is more likely to use, like a
school bag, or something an adult is more likely to use, like a toolbox or
shopping basket.) Ask students to suggest types of containers that tell us
something about their owners.
Then, select some objects from a group of items, putting
them in one at a time so the students can see them (to generate interest and
curiosity). After you have selected several items and put them in the
container, take them out and discuss the contents of the container. Ask
students if they can guess anything about the imaginary owner of the container.
Then, tell a story about the person using the objects from the container. (See
example below.)
Assignment
Now ask the students to make their own “Character Clues”
container.
For younger students, students who cannot do homework, or
students without access to materials at home, it is useful, if possible, to
provide them with some items and containers to choose from within the
classroom. If items or containers are difficult to come by, students can draw
or describe their containers and contents when they tell the story.
If feasible, students can do the project for homework. Items
do not have to come from home, they can come from nature or even be picked up
on the walk home from school. Any object can start a story!
Once students have assembled their containers and contents, they
should gather together for the storytelling. Each student should show his or
her container, display the objects (all at once or one at a time), and tell the
story of his or her character.
Enhancing stories
Encourage students to add detail to their stories. (For
example, if a child is telling a story of a character who encounters a “scary
dog,” he or she can add description and detail such as “a dog as tall as me,
with a deep growl, bright red gums, and flashing teeth.”)
Variations/Modifications
-Stories can be written in addition to being told orally.
Some students may wish to illustrate their stories.
-For a greater challenge, have students tell or write
stories about the “Character Clues” containers that other students created before students reveal their own stories.
- Students can pair up and, together, create a story that
involves both of their characters.
-Instead of placing the containers around the classroom, teachers
can place the containers outside where the students can “find” them and bring
them back to the class. They can include the story about how and where they
found the container along with the story about the imaginary owner of the
container.
-If students are familiar with mysteries or detective
stories, they could speak of the objects in the container as clues and tell a
detective story.
-For students who need help, teachers can create the
“Character Clues” container themselves, and have each student examine it and
tell a story about it.
