The Art of Storytelling

MYP UNIT CONCEPTS

• Key = Communication
• Related = Self - Expression, Style, Audience Imperitive
• Global = Personal and Cultural Expression

Statement of Inquiry

Students will explore the art of storytelling and understand that authors communicate their cultural and personal experiences through self-expression, style, and audience imperatives.

WHAT ARE SOME VARIATIONS TO THE COMMON STORY?

Forms of storytelling

Personal Expression-
if you experienced something - anything, even as seemingly insignificant as how you got to school today - and you convey that experience to someone else, you are telling a story.

Cultural Expression -
Groups of people who experienced something in common- immigrants who arrived together, people who suffered the same experiences of war, shared religious beliefs, etc. - form a culture. when those shared experiences are conveyed to others, the culture is expressed in story.

Think about how you got to school today. The fact that you are going to school is part of American culture and our shared values of public school education. Your personal experience of it - was it cold? was it exciting? did you see a dog off leash? or perhaps a bear in a tree? - it is part of your unique point of view on this cultural practice. When you tell the story of how you got to school today, this is an example of both Personal and Cultural Expression.

Purpose of a story

• Entertainment
• Teaching or passing on old knowledge
• Wisdom

Elements of Storytelling

• A Central Premise or Purpose of the Story
• Narration and Point of View
• Setting or Space of the Story
• Characters, Characters, Characters
• Laguage

Central Question -

How do the Elements of Storytelling work together to convey the Personal and Cultural Expression of a story?

Your assignment

paper clip the previous entries

FOR each story we read...

• describe in detail the PERSONAL EXPRESSION of the story
• describe in detail the CULTURAL EXPRESSION of the story
• answer the CENTRAL QUESTION of the unit

Your journal will be due when we are finished with the storytelling unit. Expect journal checks as we go, to hold you accountable to your work.

Always ask questions to clarify along the way.