1. Textbooks and Supplements


 There is no set textbook for this class. Professor Luke Jones prepares handouts on a weekly basis that include interesting stories or a variety of activities. To be a good storyteller it is important to be exposed to a lot of good stories, and for this reason I recommend that others taking this class visit https://themoth.org/ as often as possible. <The moth> is a site where ordinary people tell others their life stories. Using this site is also helpful for improving listening skills as well.

'the moth' website

2. How the class progresses.

    The class deals with various aspects of storytelling such as different types of stories, tones and volume of voice, phrases and expressions used in storytelling, and the general components of a good story. 

Throughout the class, you will learn all about what kinds of things to do when storytelling, how to control tone, how to use phrases and write phrases, and how to organize stories. The class is divided into four modules according to the kinds of storytelling:
  •  Personal Stories
  •  Fairy Tales & Folk Tales
  •  Children's Stories
  •  True Stories
 Throughout the semester the professor demonstrates different kinds of storytelling techniques and provides activities related to the story. He also offers us many useful tips and feedback on how to make a good story. For instance, when we covered fairy tales, we went outside of the class to Olympic Park near school to get inspiration.



at Olympic Park near school

3. Assignments

    After learning the four categories mentioned above, students have a chance to make up their own stories and tell them in front of the class. It is quite enjoyable and not that difficult. There is very little burden about the task. I told a story about my childhood for the first task and a famous fairy tale called ‘gold ax and silver ax’ for the second. The third one was group work: using pictures the professor gave as prompts, we made up a story. We were all satisfied with the interesting story that we came up with, even though it was a bit funny. Lastly, I told my classmates an amazing story from a book called Nonfiction reading. Others prepared unbelievable stories about topics such as rebirth. It was the most exciting module because we had to not only make up a story but also make creative activities to go with it.



                                      


4.  I recommend this class to people who…

  • do not have confidence in public speaking because storytelling is one type of public speech.
  • have a lot of interest in storytelling. There are many opportunities to tell various stories during the class. I usually told only fairy tales to children but now I regularly do personal and true storytelling as well.
  • want to have fun with storytelling. We went to nearby park together to get an idea for our story, made a picturebook and wrote a new story. We all had good memories from this class to share.