Never-Ending Story
Instructions:
Someone starts a story with a narrative sentence. (E.g. Once upon a time there was a bunny who could moonwalk, but not hop.)
The next person adds a second sentence (E.g. the bunny would moonwalk impulsively when tunes of a specific genre were audible.)
Then the next person, and so forth until the story concludes.
Conclusion can be determined in advance–we will go around twice, the last person in the circle will close on their second turn.
Conclusion can be determined by the narrative itself–when does it make sense to come to a resolution?
Modifications:
We have played this game in a GoogleDoc as well. We provide the sentence and share the document with the group. Everyone must add a sentence.
We have also experienced a version of this in doodle form. It started with an obscure face, and the paper was passed around the group. By the end of the day, the image was of a girl student with a backpack and word bubbles.
Praxis (why + theory):
Conceptually, we are all a part of the same story. We all contribute to moving the plot forward. What can that movement look like when we connect and collaborate directly through our imaginations? We can tell a story that cultivates a “world where many worlds fit” (Benjamin 114).
Developmentally, this game promotes: personal agency and self-confidence as participants are empowered to know their contributions make a difference; creative reasoning as participants realize that there are many ways to develop the plot or solve a problem; logic as participants infer from what has occurred already how they can shape what will happen next; conflict resolution as participants must understand conflict development in the plot in order to develop a solution; and socioemotional skills as they relate to other participants in the group.