Inquiry Question: How might we transform the classroom into a storytelling community where narratives become bridges between learning, lived experiences, and belonging.
This question arises from a few problems of practice that I have encountered in the last few years as Middle School teacher. The first being my desire to be more intentional in de-centering myself and uplifting student voices in the classroom. My goal is for students to view themselves as knowledge producers and as agents of their own stories. When students see themselves as storytellers, they can better understand that great stories are not only those available in a revered “canon” but can come from their own peers.
In addition, I have noticed that students in my classrooms are finding it more difficult each year to really connect with eachother without screens acting as intermediaries. As screens increasingly compete for our attention, students seem to become more and more detached from real-time engagement with their peers, and the real-world consequences of their online actions. This is exacerbated by the over-packed schedules of students in a particularly high-achieving school setting. Having little free time to slow down, connect and engage with peers in a meaningful way means that rifts between students grow wider, and the ability to find points of connection becomes more difficult. One symptom of this is that I have students who, many months into the school year, do not know some of their peers names. I believe that storytelling could be a bridge between students, a way in which they might unearth things about eachother that they otherwise wouldn’t.
A few prompts that I have proposed for my students recently:
-Tell the story of a time where you felt most like you belonged. What was it that made you feel that way?
-Tell the story of a time where you had to say goodbye to someone or something, and how did you grow from it?
Because of the subjects that I teach (English and Humanities), there are some clear connections to storytelling. Middle schoolers are natural storytellers and I was looking for ways to really facilitate and encourage this. In my humanities classroom, the concept of oral storytelling could be an entrypoint to discussing decolonizing ways of knowing. I also see broader potential applications for this inquiry question. For now, I have been trying to find small ways to incorporate more opportunities for storytelling in my English and Humanities classrooms. Moving forward, I wonder if “Storytelling”might become the thematic thread that runs through my Grade 7 English course. I could imagine each unit being tied to a different form or element of storytelling, with students studying various text types and genres throughout. Units could include, for example:
-Oral Storytelling
-Digital Storytelling
-First-Person Storytelling
Below is an excerpt from my conversation with the AI Coach:
- Because in my classroom, there is a fight against the curriculum — always trying to get through content means less opportunity for student connection. Perhaps not enough time for them to really talk to eachother and engage — too much independent work or lecturing happening. If students don’t already know each other socially, they don’t find class time the appropriate time to be asking deeper or meaningful questions of eachother.
2.Connections not naturally occuring because of reasons stated above. Also, students in their overall schedule have so little time to interact, have unstructured time, play, talk to eachother and connect, even outside of class time. Lack of agency over what happens to them during a regular school day. - Preventing this from happening – partly teen social dynamics, unwillingness to engage with others that they perceive as outside their social circle. Partly students seeing others as a hurdle to their own learning, if they feel they will be “brought down” by others who are not as willing to engage or participate.
Thank you for this insightful analysis. Several key tensions are emerging:
- Curriculum coverage vs. community building time
- Structured vs. unstructured interaction opportunities
- Academic achievement vs. social connection
- Individual success vs. collective growth
Before we craft our HMW question, let’s focus on reframing these challenges into opportunities. You’ve identified that when given the right structure (like the artifact activity), students will share meaningfully. You’ve also noticed that the system itself (curriculum pressure, limited unstructured time) might be working against your goals for building belonging.
Let me propose a draft HMW question, and then we can refine it together:
“How might we integrate meaningful peer connections into academic learning time so that students develop deeper relationships while engaging with curriculum?”
What do you think about this as a starting point? Consider:
- Does it address the core tension between curriculum and connection that you’ve identified?
- Is it too broad or too narrow?
- Does it leave room for multiple possible solutions?
- Does it miss any crucial aspects of the belonging challenge you want to address?
Feel free to suggest modifications or share what aspects resonate or don’t resonate with you. We can iterate together to make it stronger.
It does leave room for multiple possible solutions. My interest, in particular, is around using storytelling as a method for creating that student connection. I see this as a potential way into the problem because it is something that has natural connections to the curriculum that I teach.
Ah, this is a valuable insight! Your experience with the artifact storytelling activity, combined with your recognition of storytelling’s natural curriculum connections, gives us a more focused direction. Let’s refine our HMW question to leverage this specific approach.
Before we craft the revised question, let me ask:
- What subject(s) do you teach? This will help us understand the specific curricular connections to storytelling.
- When you envision storytelling as a bridge to belonging, what forms could this take beyond the artifact activity? For example:
- Student-to-student storytelling?
- Written narratives?
- Digital storytelling?
- Personal connections to curriculum content?
- What makes storytelling particularly powerful for building belonging in your experience? Is it the vulnerability, the shared experiences, the cultural connections, or something else?
This will help us craft an HMW question that specifically leverages storytelling as a tool for belonging while maintaining those important curriculum connections you’ve identified. We want to build on what you’ve already seen work while opening up new possibilities.
- I teach English and Humanities/Social Science. 2.I think any and all forms, including oral storytelling, sharing about their daily lives, as well as higher level stories with a particular purpose. 3.Storytelling is a particularly powerful tool because students are natural storytellers, and every one of them has a story to tell. This is innate, and something that they do all the time anyway. Creating a framework and making it more intentional is just a vessel through which to have them share this in the classroom.
This is fantastic! Your insight about students being natural storytellers and the universal nature of storytelling is particularly powerful. You’re essentially looking to harness something they already do naturally and create intentional spaces for it within the academic framework. This aligns beautifully with both your English and Humanities curriculum while addressing the belonging challenge.
Let me propose a refined HMW question:
“How might we harness students’ natural storytelling abilities to create meaningful connections while deepening their engagement with English and Humanities content?”
Alternative version to consider:
“How might we transform our classroom into a storytelling community where personal narratives become bridges for belonging and academic learning?”
Let’s evaluate these questions:
- Do they capture the intentionality you want to bring to storytelling?
- Do they maintain enough flexibility for various forms of storytelling?
- Do they address both the belonging and curriculum aspects you’re trying to balance?
- Are they specific enough to guide action but broad enough to allow for creative solutions?
Which version resonates more with your vision, or how might we adjust them to better capture what you’re trying to achieve? Remember, the perfect HMW question should feel both inspiring and actionable.
Hi Lauren,
Your How Might We question is both deeply student-centered and pedagogically rich—storytelling as a bridge between belonging, lived experiences, and learning is a powerful way to bring meaning into the classroom. Your reflections on the disconnect between students, the impact of digital culture, and the pressures of curriculum coverage highlight some critical tensions that your action plan aims to resolve.
Your approach to centering student voices, creating opportunities for personal narratives, and embedding storytelling across English and Humanities is incredibly promising. Below are some ideas, next steps, and resources to help you refine your approach.
1️⃣ Storytelling as a Pedagogical Tool for Connection & Belonging
You are absolutely right—middle school students are natural storytellers! Tapping into this innate ability can help students develop a sense of identity, agency, and empathy. Since you are considering different types of storytelling, here are a few structured approaches that could scaffold this work:
📌 Oral Storytelling Circles:
• Inspired by Indigenous oral traditions, these can be student-led discussions where each student shares a personal experience related to a theme.
• Example themes: “A time I felt seen,” “A lesson I learned from failure,” “A moment I felt strong.”
• Resource: National Museum of the American Indian: Oral Storytelling – https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/informational/oral-traditions
📌 Digital Storytelling:
• Students record short audio or video stories reflecting on their experiences, which can be shared in a “Story Archive” for the class.
• Resource: Digital Storytelling Guide from the University of Houston – https://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/
📌 Narrative Podcasts & Audio Journals:
• Have students interview a peer or family member about a meaningful moment in their life.
• Example: The Moth Podcast (https://themoth.org/) as an inspiration model.
📌 Writing as Self-Discovery:
• Building a personal anthology where students write and collect their own stories throughout the year.
• Could include poetry, microfiction, memoir-style reflections.
• Resource: Write the World (Student Writing Community & Prompts) – https://www.writetheworld.com/
📌 Reflection Question:
How might different forms of storytelling allow students to engage at different comfort levels while still fostering belonging?
2️⃣ Storytelling as a Curriculum Thread in English & Humanities
You mentioned potentially structuring your Grade 7 English course around storytelling. This could be incredibly impactful—students experience themselves as part of a living, evolving narrative while still meeting curriculum goals. Here’s a possible unit structure:
🔹 Unit 1: Oral Storytelling & Cultural Narratives
• Study Indigenous, African, or folktale traditions as models.
• Activity: Students create and share a family or personal legend.
• Resource: Indigenous Storytelling as Pedagogy – https://www.edcan.ca/articles/indigenous-storytelling/
🔹 Unit 2: Digital Storytelling & Modern Media
• Analyze how social media, news, podcasts shape modern storytelling.
• Activity: Students create a 2-minute digital “day in my life” story about an ordinary but meaningful moment.
🔹 Unit 3: Personal Narrative & Memoir Writing
• Read memoirs by diverse authors (e.g., Jacqueline Woodson, Trevor Noah, Thanhhà Lại).
• Activity: Write a memoir piece focused on a turning point in their life.
🔹 Unit 4: Storytelling for Social Change
• Study how narratives have shaped history & activism (e.g., speeches, protest literature).
• Activity: Students craft a spoken-word piece or video advocating for an issue they care about.
📌 Reflection Question:
How might you build in flexibility so that students can engage with different forms of storytelling while still covering curriculum needs?
3️⃣ Storytelling as a Social Tool to Build Peer Connection
One of your biggest concerns was that students struggle to connect with peers without screens mediating interactions. Storytelling can help create opportunities for deep peer conversations.
📌 Ideas for Integrating Storytelling into Classroom Community-Building:
✅ Storytelling Triads: Students pair up and tell each other a personal story based on a prompt, then rotate partners.
✅ Story-Based Advisory or Homeroom Rituals: Once a week, one student shares a story with the group.
✅ Empathy Interviews: Students interview someone outside their usual social circle and present that person’s story to the class.
📌 Resource: Harvard Project Zero – Storytelling for Deep Learning & Connection – https://pz.harvard.edu/resources/the-art-of-storytelling
📌 Reflection Question:
How might structured storytelling activities help break down social barriers between students who don’t normally interact?
4️⃣ Balancing Curriculum & Connection: Making Time for Storytelling
One major challenge you raised was curriculum coverage vs. time for deeper connection. Here are a few ways to embed storytelling without feeling like it’s “extra work”:
✅ 5-Minute Story Starts – Instead of a bell-ringer journal, start each class with a quick storytelling prompt (e.g., “What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?”).
✅ Story-Based Exit Tickets – Rather than answering a content question, students write a 1-2 sentence “story” of what they learned today in a creative format.
✅ Mini-Podcasts as Formative Assessment – Students record a 1-minute oral response rather than writing a summary.
📌 Resource: Humanizing Pedagogy through Storytelling – Stanford d.school – https://dschool.stanford.edu/resources/a-humanizing-pedagogy
📌 Reflection Question:
How might micro-storytelling moments be woven into daily lessons without requiring major time adjustments?
5️⃣ Next Steps: Small Wins & Actionable Steps
Your big-picture vision for storytelling is powerful—now it’s about breaking it into tangible first steps. Here’s a possible action plan for the next few months:
🗓️ February-March:
✅ Test a weekly storytelling ritual (oral, written, or digital) in your classroom.
✅ Identify a “low-lift” curriculum area where storytelling could replace a traditional assignment.
🗓️ April-May:
✅ Gather student reflections on how storytelling has impacted their learning & peer connections.
✅ Collaborate with one other teacher to experiment with storytelling in another subject (e.g., Science narratives, Math problem-solving storytelling).
🗓️ June:
✅ Draft a course framework for a storytelling-centered English 7 model.
✅ Present findings to colleagues/admin as a possible direction for future curriculum integration.
📌 Final Reflection Question:
If one student walked away from your class seeing themselves as a storyteller, what would that look like?
Looking Ahead
Lauren, this is such a meaningful project, and your reflections already show thoughtful iteration. Your approach of aligning storytelling with curriculum, connection, and student voice is setting the groundwork for something deeply impactful.
Would it be helpful to:
✔ Create a structured framework for your units?
✔ Find digital platforms to capture student storytelling?
✔ Pilot a storytelling exchange with another school?
Best,
Justin