Story Circles
Duration
2 hours
Age Group
11 - 12
13 - 14
15 - 16
13 - 14
15 - 16
Objectives
Promotion of EU citizenship, EU and democratic values and human rights
Enhancement of empathy outside school (friends, family, strangers
Development of empathic behavior at school
Enhancement of empathy outside school (friends, family, strangers
Development of empathic behavior at school
Needed material
No additional materials or equipment are needed. Allow the students to place themselves in a circle.
Emotional Intelligence Areas
Empathy
Social skills
Social skills
Description
Story Circles Method addresses students who have to share their experiences when interacting with people from diverse educational/social and economic backgrounds. The Story Circles method was promoted by Darla Deardorff (2020), and looks into fundamental values such as respect, curiosity, self- and other awareness, reflection, sharing, empathy, self-regulation and relationship building.
The method focuses on the following principles: 1) ‘We are all interconnected through human rights. 2) Each person has inherent dignity and worth. 3) Listening for understanding is transformational’.
Story Circles is organised in subgroups of three/ four to five people.
The strengths of this tool:
It creates a climate of confidence and relaxation: students can share their personal experiences, explore them with their peers and learn how to listen for understanding (making an effort to perceive another's point of view and emotions). The key is in the emotional connections made with other participants.
The activity can be organised outdoors.
The method focuses on the following principles: 1) ‘We are all interconnected through human rights. 2) Each person has inherent dignity and worth. 3) Listening for understanding is transformational’.
Story Circles is organised in subgroups of three/ four to five people.
The strengths of this tool:
It creates a climate of confidence and relaxation: students can share their personal experiences, explore them with their peers and learn how to listen for understanding (making an effort to perceive another's point of view and emotions). The key is in the emotional connections made with other participants.
The activity can be organised outdoors.
Lesson Plan
Part 1
Set students in groups of 4. There are two rounds of storytelling and sharing. In each round, students get a prompt (a question) they have to answer and the others in the circle have to listen for understanding (not for response or judgment; no interruption is allowed).
In the first round (small groups) students have to respond to a prompt on pleasant familiar topics (names, family, food, customs, holidays, and so on), which creates an atmosphere of trust and comfort and enables students to get to know each other better. Examples of prompts: Please tell us your name and the story about your name. (What does it mean? How did you come to have this name?)/ What is your favourite holiday or festival, and why is this your favourite?
Part 2
In the second round (small groups), students share their experiences based on only one prompt such as: 1) What is a memorable experience you have had with a person(s) who is different from you and what did you learn from this? 2) What is your earliest memory of difference (when you first learned or realized that you were different from someone else)? The other students listen for understanding; they are not allowed to make comments, ask questions, etc.
Part 3
Flashbacks
After sharing their stories/experiences from the second round, the students engage in flashbacks and comment on the shared stories in their subgroup. First, each of them has to quickly share what impressed them most in the stories in ‘round two’. They start with the first person who shared his/her story in round two, and everybody in the group tells that person the most memorable point of his/her story. Then the group moves to the second person who shared his/her story and so on. There is no discussion at this point as the activity aims at demonstrating respect and listening for understanding.
Set students in groups of 4. There are two rounds of storytelling and sharing. In each round, students get a prompt (a question) they have to answer and the others in the circle have to listen for understanding (not for response or judgment; no interruption is allowed).
In the first round (small groups) students have to respond to a prompt on pleasant familiar topics (names, family, food, customs, holidays, and so on), which creates an atmosphere of trust and comfort and enables students to get to know each other better. Examples of prompts: Please tell us your name and the story about your name. (What does it mean? How did you come to have this name?)/ What is your favourite holiday or festival, and why is this your favourite?
Part 2
In the second round (small groups), students share their experiences based on only one prompt such as: 1) What is a memorable experience you have had with a person(s) who is different from you and what did you learn from this? 2) What is your earliest memory of difference (when you first learned or realized that you were different from someone else)? The other students listen for understanding; they are not allowed to make comments, ask questions, etc.
Part 3
Flashbacks
After sharing their stories/experiences from the second round, the students engage in flashbacks and comment on the shared stories in their subgroup. First, each of them has to quickly share what impressed them most in the stories in ‘round two’. They start with the first person who shared his/her story in round two, and everybody in the group tells that person the most memorable point of his/her story. Then the group moves to the second person who shared his/her story and so on. There is no discussion at this point as the activity aims at demonstrating respect and listening for understanding.
Assessment
General class discussion on what they learned/ how they felt about this activity:
Debriefing/discussion questions After the two rounds of personal sharing/storytelling and flashbacks, the students get involved in guided group reflection and discussion (30 minutes). Debriefing is the key to supporting the development of students’ emotional intelligence. Debriefing/discussion can be organized both in the small subgroups and then later in the plenary. The possible debriefing/discussion questions can be given to participants in a handout. Possible questions for discussion: 1) What challenged/impressed you in the stories you heard? 2) How did you manage your impulse of making comments while the others were talking? How did you feel about that? 3) What are the insights gained that will help you relate better to those who are different from you? 4) How has this experience helped you practice listening for understanding?/developing empathy? 5) Complete this statement: I used to think . . . now I think . . .6) How would you describe the others’ feelings during this experience?
Debriefing/discussion questions After the two rounds of personal sharing/storytelling and flashbacks, the students get involved in guided group reflection and discussion (30 minutes). Debriefing is the key to supporting the development of students’ emotional intelligence. Debriefing/discussion can be organized both in the small subgroups and then later in the plenary. The possible debriefing/discussion questions can be given to participants in a handout. Possible questions for discussion: 1) What challenged/impressed you in the stories you heard? 2) How did you manage your impulse of making comments while the others were talking? How did you feel about that? 3) What are the insights gained that will help you relate better to those who are different from you? 4) How has this experience helped you practice listening for understanding?/developing empathy? 5) Complete this statement: I used to think . . . now I think . . .6) How would you describe the others’ feelings during this experience?
Links for further information
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000370336
TESTING AND ASSESSMENT