High school students often face challenges when it comes to effective communication, especially in storytelling. One of the key aspects of storytelling is providing the necessary background information to ensure that the listener can fully understand and appreciate the story. In this blog post, we will introduce an engaging activity called “Background Brief” that helps students improve their storytelling and communication skills by focusing on providing complete background information. We will also discuss related skills and offer resources for further exploration.

Introduction

Background Brief is a game designed to help students practice providing complete background information when telling a story. The game revolves around listening to a story being told and determining if any information is missing. The objective is to help students become more aware of the importance of providing all necessary details, such as who, what, where, and when, to avoid confusion and enhance their communication skills.

No-Prep Activity

To play Background Brief, the educator does not need to prepare any materials beforehand. Here’s how the activity works:

1. Divide students into small groups or pairs.
2. One student tells a short story to their partner or group, making sure to include who, what, where, and when in their story.
3. The listeners pay close attention to the story and try to identify if any background information is missing.
4. After the story is told, the listeners provide feedback on the completeness of the background information and discuss any missing details.
5. Students take turns telling stories and giving feedback.

By participating in this activity, students will become more aware of the importance of providing complete background information in their stories and improve their overall communication skills.

Discussion Questions

After playing Background Brief, use these questions to encourage further discussion among students:

• Why is it important to provide complete background information when telling a story?
• How does providing all necessary details help the listener understand and appreciate the story?
• What are some strategies you can use to remember to include all the background information in your stories?
• Can you think of a time when you were confused by someone’s story due to missing background information? How did that affect your understanding of the story?
• How can improving your storytelling skills help you in other areas of life?

Related Skills

Background Brief focuses on improving storytelling and communication skills, which are closely related to several other essential skills for students:

• Active Listening: Paying close attention to the speaker, asking clarifying questions, and providing feedback to ensure understanding.
• Empathy: Understanding and sharing the feelings of others, which can enhance the storytelling experience for both the storyteller and the listener.
• Public Speaking: Effectively conveying information to an audience, which often involves telling a story or providing background information.
• Problem Solving: Identifying and resolving issues, such as missing background information in a story, to improve overall communication.

Next Steps

If you found Background Brief helpful and want to explore more activities and resources to support your students’ social-emotional learning, we encourage you to sign up for free samples at Everyday Speech. By signing up, you’ll gain access to a wide range of materials designed to help students develop essential life skills and become more effective communicators.