SHU Stories from the Heart

World Storytelling Day        The art of storytelling has been a staple of humanity for thousands of years. Telling stories connects us, and helps us understand the ever changing world around us. While storytelling is something we all engage in every day, there is a special day dedicated to celebrating languages, stories, and human connection. Every year on March 20th, the spring equinox, we celebrate the global holiday “World Storytelling Day”. This is a day for telling stories in our own languages, and listening to the words others share . And while today it is celebrated all over the world, and in our own classrooms, the origins of this holiday can be traced back to Sweden in the early 90s with something called “ Alla Berättares Dag”. Read on to learn more about World Storytelling Day (WSD), and how we can foster a celebration in our own classrooms. History of World Storytelling Day:      In 1991 an event was organized in Sweden called Alla Berättares Dag, translated to “All Storyte

Now more than ever, teachers are utilizing technology in their everyday teaching. There are so many amazing technology based educational tools available to us that it can be overwhelming when trying to figure out where to start. This post highlights 3 digital tools that will promote student engagement by providing them with opportunities to authentically participate in storytelling activities. Flipgrid https://info.flipgrid.com/ Flipgrid is a video sharing tool that can be utilized by teachers of all grade levels and subject areas. It is quick to set up an account, and very user friendly for both teachers and students. Once the account is created, teachers create topics that students can then respond to by recording videos. In my experience, I have created  topics for book reviews, writing publishing parties, and book club discussions. One thing I love about Flipgrid is that students are able to view each other’s videos and leave positive comments! The commenting feature can also be to

Wisdom Is Power  Many people use the common expression "don't get old" but rather than thinking about how we as humans can keep ourselves from aging, we should appreciate what we have accomplished in life and the gift of wisdom we attain the older we get. The word "Wisdom", in its purest form is defined as "the quality of having experience, knowledge and good judgement." The wonderful gift of wisdom allows us to not only reflect on our own accomplishments, but then give our knowledge we have accumulated in our lives to the younger generations so that they can improve and become more well rounded people.  As teachers, we have this wonderful ability to use this wisdom that we have to teach our students and guide them in the right way through life. Wisdom is essential in stories as well because with the use of wisdom in our stories, we teach students important life lessons that they will keep with them for eternity.  Using Wisdom: In Story    Yo-Yo master

Feeling Lost? Let's Make it Worse.      Writing, reading, speaking, and even listening to stories is therapeutic and has the power to put the overworked human brain at ease. Storytelling makes us feel comfortable, right at home. Just like how one writes things down to remember or memorize, one can do this to also reflect and dig deeper into the human psyche—our minds. Being open to wanting to expand our understanding of ourselves is necessary for human growth. Where would we be without some of life’s most daunting questions: Who am I? What is my purpose? How much of my person is based on my purpose? And where would we be without some of the most daring theories proposed by say Walker Percy, Abraham Heschel, and Plato? Not all of these thoughts and stories were passed down on paper, but through word of mouth. Although some of these, dare I say all of these, are not answered, these essential questions and answers have been brought to our attention through a form of storytelling with