Engaging Storytelling Game for Young Students to Boost Creativity

Category: Storytelling, Listening, Creativity, Verbal Communication
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We recently started offering residencies for younger students. While challenging, these sessions have been equally rewarding for the children and teachings artists. Here is a game that had been incredibly successful in classes not ready for more traditional story telling games.

In truth this game is great anytime listening and focus are keeping you from an ideal class situation. Turn the workshop into an interactive one player show using variations of this game.

How To Play

SET UP: Students can sit on the floor, or I actually prefer to leave the students at their desks. Because when I play this game, I bounce around the room to increase the level of play into a focused stage energy.

STAGE ONE:

Teacher, start telling an original story. At every step, use the kids to fill in the blanks.

“Once upon a time there was a ______” point to a child. Insert whatever they say. Always repeat and justify.

“Right, once upon a time there was a – (PUPPY), YES a puppy AND this puppy was named…. (KITTY KAT) YES Kitty Kat AND… of course Kitty Kat was known for …. (RUNNING OIT OF THE HOUSE), YES running out of the house AND… running out into the… (OCEAN) YES the ocean, Of course AND thats because the house was right by the sea in… (DISNEYLAND) YES Disneyland, the New seaside Disney that just opened in… (BROOKLYN) YUP, Coney Island Disney AND… puppies always run oit of the houses i to the ocean for the (CATFISH)… YES AND… “

Over the course of about 3 minutes, we learn a lot about this world. As a comic we can add our own commentary to add humor and focus, keeping the story on track.

Each suggestion leads to another suggestion.

Avoid “correcting” the child for technique etc. The only time I correct them is if it’s not a school friendly word, or inappropriately violent or abusive in any way. Otherwise let them learn thru play and LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

For many classes, this can be the entire game. Give each child a chance to fill in the blanks 2-3 times then find a wrap up point. We can tell multiple stories.

STAGE TWO

By now we have the base reality of a brand new universe of characters and setting, a very strong WHO WHERE WHAT. Fueled by the children’s imagination, you will have a wealth of out of the box ideas.

Now, invite one child at a time to stand up and assign them a role in our story. Interview them with leading questions (we are not lawyers) as a character in the story.

“What’s your name? Mary? Mary, as the Mayor of the town, what do you have to say about this little puppy running around all over Brooklyn?”

“Timmy? Timmy, as the puppy’s father, what do you have to say?”

“Teresa? Teresa, as the a TV News Reporter, how often do you see this behavior from the puppies of Coney Island?”

“Bobby? Bobby, as the Coast Guard captain here in Brooklyn, how are you dealing with puppies swimming all over the beach area?”

Turn every small choice into HUGE LAND, acting flabbergasted, like it was the greatest idea of all time, and believe it. Just like the game Call Ems, take every suggestion, repeat it and then justify it. Don’t expect the kids to YES AND… That’s our job. Accept everything and make it work. HAVE FUN!

Over the course of about 10 minutes you can get every child up on their feet. For some classes this is enough to find a fun conclusion to the story. Fin a way to wrap up the story at this point.

STAGE THREE

Now, start to craft scenes, dialogues, between characters.

“Teresa, do you have any questions for Mayor Mary?”

Inspire a conversation and let them loose for a few moments. If its working, let it breath. If it’s stagnant, move on to another pairing. Sometimes, a third character starts to pipe into the conversation. Let them. Let the story happen organically.

The more the veil of reality sheds away, the fears and limiting thoughts of the actors, the characters take over. The kids are just doing what the do best when we are no watching, play pretend.

Benefits

This adaptation of “Human Mad Libs” is ideal for young learners because it:

Develops Narrative Skills: Teaches students the basic components of storytelling (who, what, where) and how details influence the plot.
Enhances Focus and Presence: Students must listen intently to both the teacher’s prompts and their peers’ suggestions to understand the evolving story.
Boosts Communication and Connection: Promotes clear verbal contribution and builds group rapport as students collaboratively own the single narrative.
Fosters a Lighthearted Atmosphere: The silly and unpredictable nature of the suggestions creates a fun, low-pressure environment for creativity.