A great way to begin class!
Have you ever herded bunnies?
Then you know how difficult it is to make students come to order at the beginning of class.
A gong works exceedingly well.
But how about a story?

71 stories!
Imagine your startled students - whether fifth graders or seniors - when you begin class with:
“Once upon a time . . .”

Storytelling
It’s hard to remember historical figures, much less why each became famous.
Storytelling can make each historical figure an individual and therefore memorable.

How it works
You tell a brief story about the person, then students predict why he or she became world famous.
Or, you tell about the problems the person faced and students predict the solutions he or she chose.

Childhood . . .
Around twelve, students begin to form their “world view.”
That is, they begin to shape their views on race and class, religion and politics.
The same is true for a boy or girl who grows up to become a famous person.
If you know about his or her childhood, you can predict what he or she will do as an adult.
Don’t take our word. Try it!

A fine summary
After hearing stories of the famous people, students will learn the historical era’s major concepts,
people and events, terms and definitions.

Great practice in Bloom’s taxonomy!
Students who practice critical thinking do exceedingly well on standardized tests.
These stories call upon students to exercise all six levels of Bloom’s taxonomy:

1. Recall The colorful stories help students recall the facts.
2. Interpret Listening to the stories, students learn how to read between the lines.
3. Apply Since the stories tell of each person’s childhood, students can easily relate.
4. Analyze Students can analyze the strengths and weaknesses of each historical figure.
5. Synthesize Students are called upon to add up the facts and predict. (This is pure synthesis.)
6. Evaluate After hearing story after story, students learn how to evaluate an historical figure.