Celebrate World Storytelling Day!

By Debbie Kerman, NIU STEAM Assistant Director, with Newt Liker, NIU STEAM Media Associate

People of every culture have used the ancient art of storytelling to entertain and pass along knowledge. Just look around. From the books we read, to the shows we watch, to the music we listen to and the conversations that take place around the water cooler, it’s easy to see that we’re surrounded by stories.

Stories impact us in so many ways. They help us connect to people and ideas, process and make sense of the world around us, and even improve our ability to learn and remember information. We use stories to teach important life lessons, separate right from wrong, show the relationship between decisions and their consequences, and demonstrate how to handle hardships and failures. Whether real or fictional, we relate to the characters when we identify with their emotions and experiences. The emotions we feel can even inspire and motivate our own behaviors.

Each year, storytellers across the globe celebrate the art of oral storytelling on March 20, World Storytelling Day.

One of the reasons we love storytelling at NIU STEAM is because of the natural way it combines cross-curricular STEM subjects and simplifies complex content to promote a deeper understanding. For example, using the problems characters face in a story is a great place to launch an authentic design challenge. These are the types of activities students regularly engage with at our STEM Read events.

We’d love to learn how you plan to celebrate World Storytelling Day! Here are some of our favorite ideas:

• Pick a traditional story that you enjoy. Break the story down into the beginning (setting the stage), middle (problem or struggle) and end (resolution). Practice telling the story to others, following this format.
• Practice telling a story using only motions – no words! See if your audience can guess what your story is about.
• Interview someone you admire and ask them to share a story from their life.
• Choose your favorite picture book (no words, just pictures) and write out a story to go along with the pictures.
• In a small circle, select one person to begin a story, using one sentence. Moving around the circle, have each person add one sentence to the story, until the story comes to an end. Start the story again, this time asking each person to elaborate with greater detail.

Storytelling and Media

Once good story tellers have fought through their writer’s block, creatively jumped across plot holes and tested unwitting characters, they’re ready to take their writing into the hands of their adoring public. This summer, try something different by attending one of NIU’s camps centered on storytelling. You’ll learn how to share your story through video games, podcast, videos and other cool technologies.

At Creative Media Camp (for middle or high school campers), young writers will create a short story and then craft that story into some form of digital media. You’ll learn a full gamut of skills, ranging from the basics of storytelling to the technicalities of audio or video editing.

If you love Minecraft, then you’ll want to check out our Minecraft and Storytelling Camp for middle schoolers. At the end of the week, campers will come away having built their own 3D world, complete with characters and an endless possibility for adventures.

To learn more about these and other STEAM Camps taking place on the campus of NIU this summer, visit niusteamcamps.com.