Story Works Resources/Curriculum
Videos
Find videos by, about, and for students here.
Materials for English/LA High School Storytelling Workshops
Please let us know if you’d like a copy of the materials for our English/LA high school storytelling workshops and we’ll send them to you by email.
Please note: These materials are still undergoing revisions, but we are happy to share our most recent draft, and we welcome your feedback.
Guidelines for Classroom Storytelling
Story Works has adapted and adopted a set of Ethical Principles developed by the wonderful and experienced team at StoryCenter (formerly the Center for Digital Storytelling). You can download our youth + educator developed version of these guidelines here.
Materials for College Essay Workshops
You can find and download the College Admissions Essay Writing workshop materials here. This booklet is designed to help users understand expectations, brainstorm ideas, and get started on a strong and effective admissions essay.
Reminder: Our materials are all under construction. We invite you to use and modify them as you wish. But please do let us know when and where you hope to use them. We also welcome your feedback and brilliant new ideas!
Stories
Whether or not Story Works is bringing volunteers into your classes, you may wish to have your students listen to recordings. Here is a small selection of the many wonderful stories from past Story Works participants.
We’ve also linked to several stories from Arctic Entries (a monthly storytelling event in Anchorage), and the Moth (a national storytelling program based in NYC).
Play these in class, have your students listen at home, or just enjoy them on your own. Please let us know if you have additional suggestions or comments.
How It Works
(It = a typical Story Works workshop)
Our workshops offer opportunities for students to share and explore their own stories with support from a team of storytellers and story coaches.
You (the partner teacher) provide:
A safe and respectful classroom environment.
A commitment to supporting students and their stories.
We provide:
Lesson plans
Student materials (developed with support from Story Works partner educators and students)
Example stories told by students (video and audio recordings + live stories if Story Works alumni at your school are available to visit your class in person)
Video resources developed by students and educators
Volunteer story coaches available to work with students in small groups
Planning and coordination of a final storytelling event
Note: As of Nov. 2019, our work happens only in Anchorage and Unalakleet, Alaska. However, we look forward to being in touch with teachers and students throughout Alaska –and beyond. Though we probably won’t be able to email any real-live story coaches, we can certainly connect students and teachers to recordings, lessons, and other resources.
Example sequence
Introduction to Workshops and Assignment: (Approx. 1.5 hours) Students are introduced to their storytelling assignment and offered alternatives if they need to opt out. They also begin listening to example stories and brainstorming their own stories.
Student Story Development: (Time flexible) Students work in class and/or at home to develop and revise their own stories.
Story Coaching Sessions: (Time flexible) Volunteer story coaches listen and offer feedback to student storytellers in small groups. Can be followed by additional feedback sessions between students.
Student Storytelling Event: (Time flexible) Students share stories with each other in-class or in an after-school performance.
Host a Workshop in Your Classroom
Step 1: Fill out the Teacher Interest Form (below) to let us know that you are interested.
Step 2: Meet with Story Works core volunteers to discuss workshop options, develop plans for your classes, identify potential storytellers, decide how many story coaches you would like per class, and set workshop dates.
Step 3: Story Works schedules volunteers to help support your workshop(s).
Step 4 and beyond: Workshops happen in your class(es). Wonderful stories emerge.
Thank you to the Alaska Humanities Forum, the National Storytelling Network, the Atwood Foundation, the Anchorage Youth Development Coalition, Spirit of Youth, the Alaska Teen Media Institute, Arctic Entries, the Alaska Community Foundation, the National Writing Project, EducatorInnovator, and the Rasmuson Foundation, and to the teachers (in Anchorage and Bering Straits School Districts) , students, and volunteers, who have helped support the creation and revision of these materials.
Thank you also to Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop (for cookies), the Bear Tooth (for pizza), and the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center and 49th State Brewing, (for sharing their beautiful theatres), Will Koeppen, Amber Johnson, Fisher Dill, and ATMI (for beautiful photos).