The Story Telling Stick
- Level: lower intermediate and up
- Targeted Skills: speaking & listening
- Class size: small and large classes
Background
Traditionally some Native American tribes would use a ceremonially decorated talking stick at council meetings. Whoever was holding the stick could speak freely without interruption whilst others listened. When they had finished, they would pass the stick to someone else for their comments.
You can create a talking stick for your class and bring it out for this (and other) activities. Decorate it as you like.
Story Telling
Gather the class into a single group (or, if your class is large and the students are familiar with this activity you can have them work in several smaller groups). Explain the meaning and significance of the stick. Stress that only the person holding it can talk and when they are finished speaking, they must hand it to another person in the group at random who will continue speaking.
The class is going to tell a story. It can be on any subject or theme and each person will contribute a couple of sentences at a time. Make sure your students understand they only need to give a couple of sentences to the story and not more.
To begin with you, as teacher, might like to begin. Start with a couple of thoughtful or provocative sentences to get the ball rolling and then hand the stick to a student who must continue the story. They add to the story and pass it on.
You could begin like this:
When you start the story off, make sure there is a main character who is facing difficulties. That way the students must think how the story will be resolved.
Homework
At the end of the exercise you can get the students to write out the story in full for homework, adding anything they wish or changing things as they prefer.
