unit: storytelling
grades 6th - 8th

Enduring Understanding
In this unit, you’ll learn to take control of your own life story and create tons of other stories as well! First we will explore zine-making and the use of art activism (artivism) to tell the stories of different social groups. Then we will use flipbook animation to create a moving story. Finally, we will create puppets and tell a story through them while learning about character creation and expressive/performance art.

Essential Questions:

What are different mediums I can use to tell a story?
How does my storytelling change when using one vs. multiple images?
How can I utilize movement within my story telling? How does that assist the story?
Why is my story important? What can I learn from others’ stories?
What makes storytelling as a skill & art different from just “telling someone what happened”?

Rationale:

Being able to express stories through art helps students comprehend other stories from outside their lived perspective. This is a major aspect in SEL as it helps students relate to the world around them. This is relevant to middle schoolers who are starting to develop their own identities through socialization, while their artwork begins to focus more on personal narratives. Creating a space where students can listen to other narratives can help give them clarity on their own stories, as well as learn to see things from different perspectives. Understanding their peers’ backgrounds will create a healthy, cooperative community that fosters interdisciplinary growth.