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CASD 1717 – Fall 2024

Below are five questions that guide our semester together and I’d like you to take a stab at answering them in the comments before you move on to the next step of this module.

Near a dessert cliff in the shade a man tells a dramatic story to a group of seated people wearing kaftans and fezes. Painting
“The Storyteller” Jules Taupin (1863-1932), Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
By a fire children of different ages and servants listen to an old seated woman with arms upraised
“The Storyteller,” Publio de Tommasi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

1. Why do we tell stories?

2. How do we perform a story?

3. How do stories build on past stories?

4. How is storytelling different when performed live? What changes depending on the medium used to tell the story (for example, a book, a television series, a movie, a poem, a song, etc.)?

5. How do children engage with stories? Is it different than how adults do?

These are questions that are meant to give a guide to some of the big ideas of the semester. What are your first thoughts when you see these questions? Have stories been important to you?

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Comments

18 responses to “Why We Tell Stories”

  1. Ariana Loyfman Avatar
    Ariana Loyfman

    When I see these questions about storytelling, I think about the idea of making a story come to life. An example of this is theater and acting. In order to bring a story to life you have to use facial expressions, the tone in your voice, and expressing emotions both verbally and physically. This will allow the audience, which in this example is children, feel the emotions of the character and create an environment where they might be able to relate to how the character in the story is feeling.

    Reply
    1. Shiraz Biggie Avatar
      Shiraz Biggie

      We’ll be talking about theatre this upcoming week and how it is and isn’t like oral storytelling. I’m glad you’ve brought it up!

      Reply
  2. Kaylee Pontone Avatar
    Kaylee Pontone

    I think that kids engage with stories differently than adults because they bring no preconceptions or lived experiences to it. This is why kids enjoy them so much more. When we remember our own favorite stories, we’re remembering our inner child and feeling all the warm nostalgia attached to those characters. When we’re kids, we have wonder about everything.

    Reply
    1. Shiraz Biggie Avatar
      Shiraz Biggie

      I like this thought. Where do you think the enjoyment of stories that kids ask to rehear repeatedly comes from?

      Reply
  3. Kateryna Senkovych Avatar
    Kateryna Senkovych

    Different ways of storytelling make people experience different emotions. When someone is reading a book, they can feel like they are part of that story because books are usually very descriptive. When it comes to watching a play of a story, the audience can experience all the different emotions and things that happen in the story because they see it come to life right in front of them. I think that it is very important that a story is told in different ways so that the audience can better understand it. For children, I feel like the storyteller has to be very engaging so the children can feel like they are part of the story and understand what is happening in it.

    Reply
  4. Anifat Abumislimova Avatar
    Anifat Abumislimova

    My first thoughts when I see these questions is about how stories connect people around the world. For example, people with different cultures/religions may have similar stories. Stories can help us think and feel. I believe stories are important for everyone because with them we can explore different ideas. I think children and adults engage with stories differently because through stories children like to imagine, but adults begin to understand the meaning of the stories.

    Reply
  5. Victoria Lucenti Avatar
    Victoria Lucenti

    Some of my first thoughts when reading these guiding questions is the acknowledgment of the importance of stories, the structure of it and furthering how it is built up to create a specific story, and how they emotionally impact the viewers and readers. Stories have definitely always been important to me while reading a book or by viewing a performance, particularly because of how the story grabs my own attention and draws my focus towards it. This leads myself to have a stronger peak of interest towards what I am reading and/or viewing, causing an emotional impact on myself, as well as becoming more attentive to the structure of the story.

    Reply
  6. Selina Chen Avatar
    Selina Chen

    I feel that children engage with stories differently than how adults do because their imaginations are immense. Unlike adults, children tend to believe that the events or the characters in the stories are real. I feel like stories are also a way for children to learn how to regulate their emotions too.

    Reply
  7. Michelle Cortes Rodriguez Avatar
    Michelle Cortes Rodriguez

    My first thoughts when I read these questions were it takes more than just reading a story or anything in general. Meaning that the way we read will be a result of the way we or others understand it.

    Reply
  8. Sofia Buttaro Avatar
    Sofia Buttaro

    My initial thoughts when reading these questions is how I relate to these different aspects of storytelling. It made me think if any specific stories have had a significant impact on my life. This list of questions highlights the diverse nature of storytelling as a whole. They make us think how storytelling isn’t just simply about the content itself; it’s about the delivery and how people receive it in the end. Each context that gets brought up gives us another foundation to the storytelling experience. Stories have helped my understanding of the world it is placed in, but removing myself from the real world. The way children engage with stories is definitely a lot different than how adults do because their imagination, wonder, and play make them think of stories as adventures. On the other hand, adults may relate the story to their own life. Their focuses are different, even though they both are searching for a connection from the story.

    Reply
  9. samantha velez Avatar
    samantha velez

    We tell stories for our entertainment, to teach lessons from past and to future generations. The pure nostalgia we get from reading and connecting from our own life creates
    And inspires new ideas or expanded ones through reading.
    “Preforming” a story is basically using a tone to set the story depending on the genre of story you could have a playful tone, suspenseful tone, utter panic etc. its all about the excecution of the story. Performing a story live can look different or the same for some people. How we read a story and picture how a character mannerisms are, their look, voice will most time differ from another. Simply because we all have our own view and want of how a story/character will be. Children engage with story based on images and tone set. Adults look for in-depth detail such as plot climax resolution in stories.

    Reply
  10. Nitzan Naim Avatar
    Nitzan Naim

    I had many thoughts thinking about these questions. First, I think we tell stories for many reasons, but the most important one I can think of is to evoke emotions. Storytelling allows us to build connections with others, creating shared emotional experiences. I believe storytelling is most effective when it feels personal and genuine. This relates to the second question, as when performing a story, it must not feel “robotic” if we want to truly engage and move the listener; We need to connect with the story ourselves. By telling a story with our own unique perspective, we can make it authentic and compelling, drawing the listener into the narrative. Stories that are built on past stories are like a continuing conversation. Every time a story is retold, it reflects past versions while introducing something new, something personal from the storyteller. Storytelling performed live has a unique energy because there’s an immediate connection between the storyteller and the audience. When you’re live, you can adapt your delivery in real time based on the audience’s reactions, which makes the story more dynamic and engaging. As for the last question, I think the answer is yes: children engage with stories differently than adults. As Kaylee said in her comment, children aren’t shaped by the preconceptions or life experiences that adults bring, and therefore, they engage with stories with more open minds. While adults still feel emotion from stories, they tend to analyze them more critically, interpreting deeper meanings and themes that children might overlook in favor of simply enjoying the magic of the tale.

    Reply
  11. Mahnoor Avatar
    Mahnoor

    My first thoughts when reading this question are how important stories are to children and how the way we read to the has a huge impact on understanding. Additionally stories have been important to me because they are a source of entertainment and when finding a good book i think it’s easy to get lost in this imaginary world.

    Reply
  12. Amna Syeda Avatar
    Amna Syeda

    Stories are important because they help us connect, share experiences, and make sense of the world. We perform stories by acting them out or presenting them in various ways, adding emotion and interpretation. Stories build on past ones by referencing or expanding on old themes, creating a larger narrative. Children often engage with stories through imagination and simple plots, while adults look for deeper meanings. Stories have always been significant in my life, helping me explore different perspectives and connect with others.

    Reply
  13. Amy Khait Avatar
    Amy Khait

    Stories are significant because they help us to connect and evoke emotion. When performing or reading stories, the tone greatly matters, especially for children to keep them engaged and help them feel invested in the story. Children will often view stories as something simple, fun, and and use more of their imagination to help guide them throughout the story. However, adults usually look for more deeper meanings in stories and become more engaged with the plot. Adults have gone through various life experiences that may help them relate more to the stories. When I read or am told a story I easily get invested in and it’s like I am part of the story and I can see it happening. I can envision the characters and what is happening.

    Reply
  14. Emma Avatar
    Emma

    We tell stories to keep experiences alive and known. They allow us to learn and connect with the past. Performing a story involves the storyteller to have a great sense of emotions in order to keep audiences engaged and have them understand the feelings of the storyteller. Performing a story live will allow people to really understand and grasp the emotions of the character or storyteller with tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. Children and adults do engage different in a way because children stay tuned to stories when there are a lot of colors, movements, high-pitched noises, or stimulating stories. Adults tend to lean towards that concept in a different way. They listen to stories that may have a purpose in the end or a story that has an answer they are looking for whereas children learn a lot through stories they listen to as well.

    Reply
  15. Jennifer Delaguila Avatar
    Jennifer Delaguila

    We tell stories in order to keep the lessons from the past ‘alive’ and stay around for future generations. Story telling is a way to keep in touch with ones creativity and emotions. Its also a good way to relate to or connect to different people through storytelling, meaning as humans we all go through similar, if not the same, experiences in our life time. We preform stories by the way we engage / express each sentence, what emotion we use to how what the character feels. Stories are built by past stories because they use the lesson just redesigned differently according to the era the story is written. Story telling is different when it is preformed live because the audience can feel the characters emotion and can connect on a deeper emotional level than when they read it on their own. I believe children engage to stories quicker but also disengage quicker while storytelling because of their attention span, though we might try to keep it entertaining, from personal experience I could not pay attention the whole story no matter how hard the teachers tried. And in adults I think we are able to concentrate and understand the concept of storytelling a bit better. We tend to look for a deeper meaning and any relatable events throughout the story.

    Reply
  16. Jaylyn Calles Avatar
    Jaylyn Calles

    We tell stories to help children learn the language, sounds, and pronunciation of words. We can perform a story in many ways for example, by reading a book, a physical play, and sometimes dancing and art. Storytelling is different when performed live because you are able to visualize the story being told. Children engage with stories by looking at pictures as adults we usually engage with books with just words.

    Reply

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