Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world.
-Robert McKee
By Kathleen A. Gill
K-12 ELA Instructional Coach
Chagrin Falls Exempted Village Schools
A LOOK BACK…
The theme “This is Chagrin…Write the Story” was revealed at convocation on August 15. Teachers have been working hard to get to know their students’ stories by giving students opportunities to tell their stories in so many different ways.
“All About Me” poems, lists of favorite things, goal setting plans, and friendship wheels that compare student similarities and differences are just a few of the many examples of work that adorn the hallways and classrooms at Gurney Elementary School. In classrooms, students are busy bringing stories to life by focusing on a small moment and how this moment has impacted them. Teachers are helping students create writing portfolios to save special pieces. Also, it is not uncommon to see a student walking down the hallway, clutching a personal memento that he or she is eagerly waiting to share with peers during a designated time.
At Chagrin Falls Intermediate School, students are working on personal narrative writing in language arts, exploring the culture of Chagrin Falls, choosing personally significant numbers to turn into equations, and comparing events in the world with moments in their own lives, using double-tiered timelines. This work requires students to research current events in history that correspond to ages in their lives, showcasing how multiple stories happen at the same time to different people, yet these stories connect us.
Chagrin Falls Middle School students read a story from the book, Real Stories Real Kids Real Change. Students were encouraged to find their voices and create poems or short narratives examining the need for acceptance, peace, and unity in their writing notebooks. In addition, journals were given out to students for writing during advisory time. On a warm day late in August, students were spotted walking around campus with a partner. They were split into groups and used conversation starters to learn more about one another.
There are so many stories unfolding on the high school campus. Ninth graders will be writing autobiographical pieces about a significant episode in their lives. Also, thematic arguments and philosophies gleaned from life experiences will soon be recorded by way of narrative essay writing. In a timely twist, the inaugural Dungeons and Dragons club is now meeting. Dungeons and Dragons is all about writing and participating in stories.
MORE RECENTLY…
A Google Form was sent to staff at Chagrin Falls Schools. The first question asked respondents to recall a favorite book from childhood. Next, respondents were asked to explain the importance of the chosen book. Here is the list that was generated. We hope that over the break you will have time to share stories as a family as well as create new ones. LINK