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Learning card

Salad of stories

Description

One of the keys to understanding the way in which the transmedia phenomenon has evolved is the flexibility of telling stories using the old collage technique, which has now become what is called mashup. That is, a piece that is composed of two or more fragments of preceding pieces that combine to produce a new piece and, of course, a message. This phenomenon has many variants, both in fiction and in reality and is largely related to the breaking of limits, occasions, between what is considered true and false or at least unreliable versions. For this reason, this activity can be developed both in the context of real content, news or historical events and fiction or imaginary events. The aim is to collect several short fragments of national and world history and connect them to produce analyses of historical processes and connections.

This activity adapts a classic strategy proposed by Gianni Rodari in Grammar of Fantasy.

Tag
  • Journalism
  • Writing
Skills

NARRATIVE AND AESTHETIC

  • Interpret

  • Recognize and describe

  • Evaluate and reflect

  • Apply

IDEOLOGY AND ETHICS

  • Recognize and describe

  • Evaluate and reflect

Learning areas
  • Language
Card language
  • Spanish
  • English

Structure

Sessions
2 (Variable)
Duration
90 'plus the previous preparation activity (Variable)
Number of participants
10-30
Age
  • 14-16
Materials
  • 20 x 15 cm cardboard cards of different colours, five baskets or bag to mix the fragments

Process

Key questions
  • Have any of you been wrong in locating a historical event in time?
  • How does someone know at what time an event occurred and see if it is true or not? Does it only depend on memory, books or experts?
Development

Since the previous session each student is asked to choose a historical event from those that have been seen in class, this event must be counted in 5 different cards. One of them will focus on talking about the particular event without giving details of the people or the names of the places "when this war began people from two different countries came, but then they joined with other nations, it was the first time that ... and at this moment he got up ... " Another to show what that historical time was like "at this time people worked in ... to have fun ... when they got married ... and their families were ... related to each other ... and when they died ...". Two others to describe two characters or groups that are part of this historical moment or process "this group was very brave, they had confronted all the communities around them ..." or "this character lived a short life ... he died very young because…". Finally, one to show the effects of that event "because of this event .... and something very important was that from that time ... "

Each student brings cards, in coloured cardboard or different paper, all with the same size. These are put into the bags assigned with name: who, when, what, and then. Once all the stories are put together in pairs, the students will take two tokens of who, one of what, another of when and another of then. And using the proposal can build a complete story. The task is to make it as credible as possible and define beforehand if it is true or false. Once the story is designed, each group prepares the presentation without using proper names or specific dates or places.

Each group will have the opportunity to change up to two cards on a single occasion within the development of the activity if they find that one or the other does not fit or if they would like to find something that meets the conditions for their story better.

To develop the challenge, two groups are called for direct elimination. Each group must give the coordinator of the activity a paper that says whether their story is true or false and the time, subjects, place and event their story explains. The first group makes the presentation and the second responds, without giving a verdict the groups change roles. After the presentation, the response is evaluated by the coordinator of the activity. A point is assigned if the story is correctly defined as true or false, another point if the location is correct, a point is assigned if they guessed true or false of what the opposing partner proposed, and a point if they identified the event, context, epoch and actors.

The coordinator does not clarify the validity of the answers, but only assigns the points. Thus the group can use the same presentation in the successive rounds.

The group that has achieved the highest number of points goes to the next round, the losing group is added to the winning group and everyone can improve their version of the story for the next phase.

In this way in the next round the groups are of four people, then eight and finally by two large groups.

Evaluation

At the end of the session the group works to sort the data they have shared among everyone. Faults are considered and the way in which it was possible to find whether the story was true or false is debated.

References for professors
  • Rodari, Gianni. 2002. Gramática de la Fantasía. Barcelona: Del Bronce.

Author

G. Eduardo Gutiérrez. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia), gilberto.gutierrez@javeriana.co.edu

  • Journalism
  • Writing