Written by: Shelley Li & Medha Mulabagal, FCSN Voices Youth Reporters
Graphics by: Angel Li, FCSN Voices Graphic Artist
Whether it's children falling asleep to bedtime stories, families passing down their histories, or memorable moments captured and shared, storytelling serves as a powerful medium for learning and building community. It binds together those with different perspectives, backgrounds, and culture; it allows each individual to build a mutual connection with the story based on their own experiences. In the past winter and spring semester, FCSN's newest virtual enrichment class, Storyland, explores this storytelling medium, sharing morals and stimulating imaginations, all while strengthening vocabulary and reading comprehension skills.
Each semester, the class has six sessions, once every week, with a group of approximately 5 students. Every session runs for 45 minutes, in which one to two stories are read by the instructors, each followed directly by a short activity or game. In the past two semesters, the stories chosen were seasonal-themed and a mix of nonfiction and fiction. For example, the winter class included books such as Snowmen At Night, in which upon seeing his melting snowman in the morning, a little boy imagines all the exhilarating nighttime activities of the snowman, and The Carpenter's Gift, a historical fiction book about the touching story behind the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Similarly, books in the spring semester included Loujain Dreams of Sunflowers and Tomatoes in My Lunchbox, layered with themes about persistence, family, and the experience of feeling out of place.
Activities accompanying the stories range from "Get to Know You" type questions in the beginning, facilitating bonding between students and with the instructors, to later more vocabulary-focused games. For instance, a popular game played was hangman using words from a story just read. Students would take turns guessing letters to collectively uncover the hidden word. Through these activities, the students not only acquired new vocabulary, but also in the process, established joyful learning moments with their fellow peers.
Initiated by high-school volunteers Francesca Lin and Brian Zhang, the class deviates from the typical lecture teaching method, and instead, aims to curate a memorable learning environment. "Stories can be interpreted differently by different people…As we read, students can also place part of their perspective within the character's journey," Francesca said. "I believe this also allows a chance for imagination that lecture-style classes lack at times [and provide a] memorable way to remember words and their meaning that can resonate with the students and benefit them moving forward."
Over the course of the past two semesters, the instructors have received numerous positive feedback for the class and witnessed the progression of their students, whether it be their interest in the stories, reading comprehension skills, or bonding with fellow students. With a diverse spectrum of interests, students have also suggested expanding the genre of books read. "Each student was interested in different styles of books, [so in the future] we may revolve the course around different themes [rather than the seasons] and introduce a variety of new genres each lesson," Francesca reflected.
Building on experiences from the first two semesters of the class, the instructors have expanded their team to include one more member in the spring semester, Nadia Fan, and incorporated more group bonding activities, including popular New York Times word games (Wordle and Connections) and word puzzles like WordScapes. "My favorite memories by far were interacting with the students and learning more about them and their experiences," Brian said. Nadia added, "I had fun playing games with the kids. I really enjoyed seeing them get better and quicker at finishing them."
Moving forward, Francesca remarked, "We really enjoyed hearing how the students interpreted the lessons being taught. In the future, I would like for us to conduct [more] classes. This way we can meet more students and expand our curriculum." Currently, the three instructors plan to bring the program back in November 2024, offering once more, a joyful and memorable space to cultivate social skills, language comprehension, and creativity.
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