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Story
Scavenger
Hunts
Take your students or workshop
participants on a story scavenger hunt. How? You provide
a list of story prompts; then invite your participants to gather
stories from each other.
Story Scavenger Hunts are a strategy my
colleague Cynthia Changaris and I have been using for years now.
We especially like it as an opening activity for workshops and other
instructional settings. People have a reason to talk with each other
by playing the Story Scavenger Hunt game. By telling and listening
to each other, they begin building a community together.
Just as ordinary scavenger hunts contain
a list of things to be found, our Story Scavenger Hunts
contain a list of stories to gather from others. Our lists are always
headed by the instruction: Find someone who will tell you: followed
by a list of story possibilities. We also include the following
advice: When you are asked by someone else to tell a story, tell
only what you are willing to share. We include this advice because
Cynthia and I know stories can be very personal. While we do want
to build community, we don’t want to make folks uncomfortable
by invading their privacy.
Just like ordinary scavenger hunts,
the list of stories to scavenge can be tweaked depending on the
reason participants are gathered. When we’ve lead workshops
for teachers, we’ve included, “about a shining moment
in their life as a teacher” and “about something he/she
wishes someone had told them before they began teaching.”
With storytellers, we’ve included, “about their earliest
memory of hearing a story” and “what happened to the
first two pigs in The Three Little Pigs.”
Story Scavenger Hunts
Go to School
Teachers could use the Story Scavenger Hunt strategy to
begin the school year, especially in grades where students
could be expected to be able to read the prompts either independently
or with the help of a partner. I’ve been thinking lately about
the types of prompts that would have students talking about their
ordinary experiences that put into practice the everyday relevance
of particular subjects. Here are some story prompts I’ve developed.
I’ve arranged the ideas by subject application. You’ll
notice I have not listed Language Arts as a subject. All this talking
and listing is Language Arts. Some prompts will elicit a narrative.
Some will elicit descriptions. Some may elicit both. So, language
arts all the way through! Math teachers, I’ve also not listed
math separately because every math prompt I thought of also fit
with other subjects, so look for “& Math” repeatedly
in the lists below.
Although this list provides lots of possibilities,
I think five -- seven prompts are enough for a typical Story Scavenger
Hunt. After all, you want everyone to talk and listen, not race
around barely attending to one another.
Find Someone Who
Will Tell You:
(Learn the details. Why was this happening? Who else was involved,
if anyone? Why do they remember it? How do they feel about it now?)
Science
- about a storm they will never forget
- about the strangest place they’ve ever
seen grass growing
- about a time they sat in a tree for a long
time
- about a time they were involved in growing
something
- about an unforgettable outdoor walk
- about a time they smelled an unusual odor and
how they finally figured out what it was
- about a time when they heard an unusual sound
and how they finally figured out what it was
Science & Math
- about a collection they have and how they
organize it
Social Studies
- about a time they got to vote
- about something that happened before they were
born and how they learned about this happening
- tell about a relative or friend who lives in
another country
- their three “rules” for using a
cell phone and why they follow these rules
- how to say hello in three languages and how
they learned to do this
- about a time they got into trouble for something
they did not do
- about a time they should have gotten into trouble,
but didn’t
Social Studies & Math
- about a time when they used a map
- about a time they had to figure out how to
share something fairly
- about a time when arriving too late or too
early caused a problem
- how to handle the situation when dividing teams
and one person is left over
(Math? They are handling a remainder. Social Studies? Issues of
fairness)
Arts and Humanities
- what their favorite CD art looks like
and why it is their favorite CD art
- about the ugliest object they’ve ever
seen
- about their favorite photograph -- It can be
of them or someone else, but they need to describe it, and tell
you why they like it
- about their earliest memory of dancing
- about an object they love to look at and why
they love to look at it
- about their favorite game of pretend when they
were younger
Arts & Science
- about the best sunrise or sunset they’ve
ever seen
Arts & Math
- about the most beautiful building they’ve
ever seen
- about a time when they folded paper to make
something
(Math? Both of the above prompts can be related to geometry.)
Arts & Social Studies
- about a time they wore a costume – Why
did they wear it? Did they want to wear it? What did it look like?
(Why social studies? This could be a cultural or religious event
that called for a costume -- not special occasion clothing or
an outfit worn for ritual purposes and not referred to as a costume.)
Practical Living & Math
- about a time they saved up to buy something
Practical Living & Social Studies
- about a time they dressed up for a special
occasion -- What was the occasion? Did they want to dress up?
What did they wear? (Why social studies? Sometimes people dress
up, but not in what the individual would call a “costume”
for some cultural or religious events. Why practical living? It’s
worth being aware of different ways of dressing for different
situations.)
- about a time when a misunderstanding caused
a problem
Practical Living, Physical Education &
Social Studies
- about the first time they were ever on a team
(did they have fun? what sort of team was it? what did the team
do together)
Physical Education & Social Studies
- about a time someone taught them how to play
a game
(Why social studies? Folklore -- handing down of a game)
Any and Every Subject Area!
- about a time when following directions would
have made everything easier
Okay, that’s over thirty from me. I’m
sure those of you who are immersed in specific subjects every day
will have no trouble thinking of many more prompts to get the stories
flowing to build community, have fun, and help your students grasp
that what they will do in your class really does have connections
with everyday life.
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Permissions: Mary
grants permission for the above article to be printed in newsletters
serving storytelling organizations. Reprints must include the entire
article and Mary's brief bio. In exchange, Mary expects to receive
a copy of the newsletter containing the published article. Mary
also gives permission for links to these articles to be posted on
other websites in exchange for notification that such a link has
been created. For all other uses, contact Mary for permission.
Brief Bio: Mary Hamilton has
earned her living telling stories and pondering how the art of storytelling
works since 1983. Learn more about her work at http://www.maryhamilton.info.
Contact her at mary@maryhamilton.info, or 800-438-4390, or 65 Springhill
Road, Frankfort, KY 40601-9211.
HOME/PROGRAMS/ABOUT
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STORE/ARTICLES/WHAT'S
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Mary
Hamilton, Professional Storyteller
65 Springhill Road, Frankfort, KY 40601-9211
Phone & Fax: 1-800-438-4390
Email:
mary@maryhamilton.info
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