I believe that people have an innate love of stories. Stories create magic and a sense of wonder about the world. Stories teach us about life, about ourselves, and about others. Storytelling is a unique way for students to develop an understanding, respect and appreciation for other cultures, and can promote a positive attitude about people and places.
Connection to a story, place, and people makes the knowledge come alive. From my attempts to walk a path of reciprocity and learning Indigenous Ways of Knowing, the realization that unless knowledge is connected, it does not become lived, experienced, or valued. Stories can explain, engage, warn, and delight. Stories resinate in children's imaginations, creating visual images for complex concepts.
Sharing stories is one of the most powerful approaches for making meaningful connections to the land. Stories on and from the land provide provocation, inspiration, knowledge, and help focus learning. Telling stories, orally, without the benefit of reading the words, is an even more powerful technique, even magical. Honing your own oral storytelling abilities will take some time and practice, but stick with it. Here are a few land-based story tips to consider:
There is something transformational about teaching and learning outside. Standing in a circle, as members of the group welcome one other, acknowledging the land, and all the potential for your time there together. These are opportunities to recognize land as a partner in a reciprocal relationship.
Activity Ideas:
Circles:
Sitting in circles helps with learning because everyone is on the same level, can see and hear one another clearly, and can pass a talking stick around to reflect on a topic or share their learning. Use sit-upons or blankets/tarps! Introduce the idea of a ‘talking stick’- only the person with the stick gets to share, and everyone else listens respectfully.
Loose Parts (imagined stories):
Loose Parts are materials that are often collected from nature, or selected items that can have multiple purposes (such as recyclable materials). Many items have interesting textures, shapes, or any other properties that help build our senses to add to our ideas for writing.
The idea of 'loose parts' uses materials to empower a creative imagination. In 1971, Simon Nicholson wrote an article in a Landscape Architecture journal called How NOT to Cheat Children – The Theory of Loose Parts. His idea was to create a way students could have free exploration, creation and connections (that can equate to formal learning).
Story Stones:
Rocks and stones can be considered a “loose part”. That means they do not have a pre-determined story attached to them, and children are free to use their imaginations to create stories and playscapes that best reflect their stories. Story stones can offer an introductory opportunity to connect imaginative play with oral and written storytelling.
Lego-person Village:
This activity can be as simple or as complex as you want and can either just a photo or can last multiple weeks. Students take their lego person to an outdoor area and have to build them a shelter. Eventually you can turn all the individual shelters into a community. Each lego person homestead has resources that they share or trade, each lego-person provides a service to the community, etc. The students can share the story about their lego-person by writing a diary of their time on the homestead, or they can write/tell character backstories.
Found Items Poetry or Story:
Students choose a found item - either from a prepared pile or from nature - and they spread them out in an area, then form a circle around them. The students silently choose an item with their eyes, then say their poem or story about that item out loud, the rest of the group tries to guess which item they are talking about.
Describe something in nature using first person, from the perspective of a natural object or species, without giving away the identity of that object or species.
Students come back together and present their description to the class, and the class needs to guess who or what the character in the poem is.
Example:
I am part of a never ending cycle.
I take things away and I bring them back.
I fall, but never climb.
I am every colour of the rainbow or no colours at all.
I am an artist, a carver to be more exact.
I am both gentle and powerful.
(Answer: Creek or water)
Story with Two Voices:
Weaving different voices together into one cohesive writing piece. Have students in groups outside, give them a prompt and
a timeline, ask each student to write a piece independently, based on that prompt. This can be more a form of poetry, or a summary of a nonfiction topic or prompt. This can be extended to any subject area, so the writing could be a culminating piece at the end of a cycle of learning about a specific topic.
Then, instruct them to get in groups and figure out how to weave their writing together - they could just take turns integrating one sentence at a time, or collaboratively decide how their writing best fits together. Their goal is to create one cohesive piece
of writing based on the prompt. Have them present their shared pieces to the group. Some examples of prompts could include:
■ Describe your childhood.
■ What is unique about the place that you are sitting?
■ Your most special place in nature.
■ How have humans adapted to their environment in this area?
■ How has nature been modified in this area?
Connection to a story, place, and people makes the knowledge come alive. From my attempts to walk a path of reciprocity and learning Indigenous Ways of Knowing, the realization that unless knowledge is connected, it does not become lived, experienced, or valued. Stories can explain, engage, warn, and delight. Stories resinate in children's imaginations, creating visual images for complex concepts.
Sharing stories is one of the most powerful approaches for making meaningful connections to the land. Stories on and from the land provide provocation, inspiration, knowledge, and help focus learning. Telling stories, orally, without the benefit of reading the words, is an even more powerful technique, even magical. Honing your own oral storytelling abilities will take some time and practice, but stick with it. Here are a few land-based story tips to consider:
- Build a nurture relationships with the Elders and/or Knowledge Keepers which have been identified for your area or school. This is, of course, most ideal and special.
- Learn what stories are sacred (to only be told by an Elder) and which are public stories (available for you to share as they are widely and commonly distributed).
- Spend time collecting appropriate land stories and compiling land-based story resources at your school and share them with your teaching team.
- Share your own stories! Model your connection with nature by telling and retelling your stories of experiences, sightings, awe and wonder.
- Create and tell your own tales about the wonder and drama unfolding on the land. Find inspiration from guide books or children’s books.
There is something transformational about teaching and learning outside. Standing in a circle, as members of the group welcome one other, acknowledging the land, and all the potential for your time there together. These are opportunities to recognize land as a partner in a reciprocal relationship.
Activity Ideas:
Circles:
Sitting in circles helps with learning because everyone is on the same level, can see and hear one another clearly, and can pass a talking stick around to reflect on a topic or share their learning. Use sit-upons or blankets/tarps! Introduce the idea of a ‘talking stick’- only the person with the stick gets to share, and everyone else listens respectfully.
Loose Parts (imagined stories):
Loose Parts are materials that are often collected from nature, or selected items that can have multiple purposes (such as recyclable materials). Many items have interesting textures, shapes, or any other properties that help build our senses to add to our ideas for writing.
The idea of 'loose parts' uses materials to empower a creative imagination. In 1971, Simon Nicholson wrote an article in a Landscape Architecture journal called How NOT to Cheat Children – The Theory of Loose Parts. His idea was to create a way students could have free exploration, creation and connections (that can equate to formal learning).
Story Stones:
Rocks and stones can be considered a “loose part”. That means they do not have a pre-determined story attached to them, and children are free to use their imaginations to create stories and playscapes that best reflect their stories. Story stones can offer an introductory opportunity to connect imaginative play with oral and written storytelling.
Lego-person Village:
This activity can be as simple or as complex as you want and can either just a photo or can last multiple weeks. Students take their lego person to an outdoor area and have to build them a shelter. Eventually you can turn all the individual shelters into a community. Each lego person homestead has resources that they share or trade, each lego-person provides a service to the community, etc. The students can share the story about their lego-person by writing a diary of their time on the homestead, or they can write/tell character backstories.
Found Items Poetry or Story:
Students choose a found item - either from a prepared pile or from nature - and they spread them out in an area, then form a circle around them. The students silently choose an item with their eyes, then say their poem or story about that item out loud, the rest of the group tries to guess which item they are talking about.
Describe something in nature using first person, from the perspective of a natural object or species, without giving away the identity of that object or species.
Students come back together and present their description to the class, and the class needs to guess who or what the character in the poem is.
Example:
I am part of a never ending cycle.
I take things away and I bring them back.
I fall, but never climb.
I am every colour of the rainbow or no colours at all.
I am an artist, a carver to be more exact.
I am both gentle and powerful.
(Answer: Creek or water)
Story with Two Voices:
Weaving different voices together into one cohesive writing piece. Have students in groups outside, give them a prompt and
a timeline, ask each student to write a piece independently, based on that prompt. This can be more a form of poetry, or a summary of a nonfiction topic or prompt. This can be extended to any subject area, so the writing could be a culminating piece at the end of a cycle of learning about a specific topic.
Then, instruct them to get in groups and figure out how to weave their writing together - they could just take turns integrating one sentence at a time, or collaboratively decide how their writing best fits together. Their goal is to create one cohesive piece
of writing based on the prompt. Have them present their shared pieces to the group. Some examples of prompts could include:
■ Describe your childhood.
■ What is unique about the place that you are sitting?
■ Your most special place in nature.
■ How have humans adapted to their environment in this area?
■ How has nature been modified in this area?