Creating Our Stories

Overview

This 30-minute lesson engages 1st grade students in exploring storytelling elements through Indigenous stories, focusing on kindness and community. Students collaborate to create their own short Indigenous-inspired stories, reinforcing key themes and narrative skills.

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Curriculum Alignment

Alberta Education – English Language Arts (ELA) 1

• Program of Study Strand: Oral Language and Literacy

  • Outcome (Oral Language):
    • 1.1.1 Demonstrate an understanding of stories and other texts by retelling or acting out important events and ideas.
  • Outcome (Composing):
    • 1.3.2 Create short oral, print, or visual texts for a variety of purposes and audiences, employing elements of stories (characters, setting, events).

• Big Ideas:

  • Stories help us understand ourselves and others.
  • Using creativity helps communicate ideas about community and kindness.

• Competencies:

  • Listening to understand and respond to ideas.
  • Expressing ideas clearly and creatively.
  • Collaborating effectively with peers.

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Learning Objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1. Identify and discuss basic storytelling elements (characters, setting, events) found in Indigenous stories read in previous lessons.
2. Collaborate with a partner to orally create a short Indigenous-inspired story focusing on kindness and community.
3. Use illustrations and oral language to communicate their story ideas clearly.

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Materials

• Whiteboard or chart paper with story elements chart (Characters, Setting, Events)
• Picture book or story summary from previous lessons on Indigenous stories (brief review)
• Story creation worksheet with simple prompts (characters, setting, event, kindness theme)
• Crayons, markers, and drawing paper
• Timer or visual countdown
• “Kindness” word bank visuals (e.g., sharing, helping, caring)

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Lesson Procedure

1. Introduction & Review (5 minutes)

• Begin with a brief group discussion: “What stories have we read about Indigenous communities and kindness?”
• Use guided questions:
  • Who were the characters?
  • Where did the story take place?
  • What happened in the story?
  • How did the characters show kindness or help their community?
• Record student ideas on the story elements chart to visually anchor the elements.

2. Modelling Story Creation (5 minutes)

• Teacher models creating a simple Indigenous-inspired story on the board using the chart:
  • Example: Characters (a kind Elders and children), Setting (in the forest), Event (sharing food with animals).
• Highlight kindness and community in the example.
• Emphasize that the story is their own and can be different or similar.

3. Partner Story Creation Activity (15 minutes)

• Pair up students (9 pairs total) for collaboration.
• Distribute story creation worksheet and drawing materials.
• Prompt pairs to:
  1. Name their characters.
  2. Choose a setting (suggest Indigenous environments like forest, lake, village).
  3. Describe an event showing kindness or community help.
• Encourage drawing illustrations to support storytelling.
• Circulate to support, ask open-ended questions and scaffold storytelling vocabulary (e.g., “How do the characters show kindness?”).
• Use a 10-minute timer to manage pacing.

4. Sharing & Reflection (5 minutes)

• Invite 3 pairs to briefly share their stories with the class orally, showing drawings.
• Ask class to identify the kindness theme in each story shared.
• Reflect on how everyone’s story is unique but shares important messages.

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Assessment & Evaluation

• Formative: Teacher observation of participation and engagement during discussions and partner work.
• Checklist:
  • Can student identify story elements (characters, setting, event)?
  • Did the pair collaborate and contribute ideas?
  • Is the theme of kindness or community present in their story?
• Oral sharing with peer feedback: Positive recognition of each pair’s creativity and kindness focus.

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Differentiation

• For students needing support:
  • Provide sentence starters on worksheets, e.g., “My character is…”, “The story takes place…”
  • Pair stronger language students with those needing assistance.
• For advanced students:
  • Encourage adding more detail about characters’ feelings or community actions in story.
  • Create an extra drawing or add dialogue for characters.

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Teacher Reflection Prompts

• Were students able to connect themes of kindness and community in their stories?
• Did collaboration inspire creativity and oral language use?
• What adjustments could enhance engagement or accessibility for all learners?

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Additional Notes

Encourage authentic cultural respect by acknowledging and honouring Indigenous storytelling traditions. Reinforce that students are inspired by these stories while using their own imagination. The connection between kindness and community is central to many Indigenous worldviews — model this awareness sensitively.

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This lesson capitalizes on oral language growth, creativity, and social-emotional learning — all essential for early literacy success in Alberta's first grade classrooms.