Story Workshop is a classroom structure initially developed at Opal School in Portland, Oregon to support language, literacy and the connection to the Arts. Evolving over time, Surrey teachers continue to develop a fluid Story Workshop structure that is responsive to BC’s unique curriculum, context and Surrey’s community of learners.
During Story Workshop, students use a variety of playful, creative, and open-ended materials to first imagine, then create, and tell their own unique stories. Once students have created and told their own stories orally, the lesson focus then shifts to ‘capturing’ these stories by drawing pictures and writing them down. A short and explicit focus lesson to model storytelling, intentionally teach story vocabulary, and develop oral language skills occurs before students have ample time to create and tell their own stories. Similarly, a short and explicit focus lesson to model the ‘how to’ of writing is taught after the students have orally told their stories and before they begin to write them.
Celebrating student stories at the end of each Story Workshop session is a commitment to honouring the voices and stories of each student!
More about Oral Language development can be found HERE.
Information about emergent writing, development, and writing continuums can be found HERE.
Story Workshop strives to reflect the strength-based Principles developed in the Early Learning Framework and First Peoples’ of Learning. Story Workshop is an example of how students learn through play, based on Pedagogical Strategies for Play-Based Learning documented in BC’s Play Today Handbook.
"Engaging Young Learners Through Story Workshop", presented by Kerri Hutchinson, was recorded in August 2022. (Surrey teachers may need to sign in to access the recording, or use the password to access. Click the green "Password for Videos" button if you do not know the access password.)
