Over a year ago, more precisely on March 9, 2012, we were having this class with my student. We were beginning to deal with Storytelling. So, I surfed the net and found an interesting activity, very guided and inspiring to do at this starting point.
The activity in question was this:
Suddenly my cell phone rang and I read my daughter’s name on the screen, so I answered. She knew I was in class at that time, I thought she might have needed something.
Ceci: Hey Mom, are you OK?
Debbie: Yes, Ceci. Are you fine?
Ceci: Mom, I can see a huge black cloud of smoke coming from you place (she live around the corner). I think there must be a fire and I was worried about you.
Debbie: No, honey everything is OK here.
Ceci: Mom, can’t you hear the fire fighters? Can’t you smell the smoke?
Debbie: OK, hold on! I’m going to check everything.
I headed to the front side of my place and to my surprise there was a crowd of people and yes, the smell and the noise was something. With the cell in my hands and my student beside I told her there was some kind of fire right across the street. And asked her not worry, I would call her back later.
We went to the balcony and saw a bus burning, people watching the scene and the fire fighters with their huge hose trying to extinguish the fire. But we were quite sure no one was injured. (Well, please wait and you’ll see…)
“Hernán, go get your phone, let’s capture this moment”.
And so we did.
Our story about the police and the burglars was going to have to wait. We couldn’t miss the chance for this memorable teaching and learning moment.
Sorry that the recording is not that good, but we were so excited that it was hard to calm down, and we recorded it with the emotional state of the moment.
There was a lot of talk after this event, this was about retelling a real story but it worked perfect as a way to inspire him to create other, maybe more fantastic stories.
Our chapter on Storytelling had a great beginning just because it was the evening of March the 9, the day we became witnesses of that bus burning, the two cars crashing, the man lying on the floor and all from the balcony.