The BackStory Project
Our philosophy is as Gandhi said “Each one, teach one!”; our goal is to spread knowledge and build connections between people and their stories.
Through turnkey training modules, teachers guide students to use the arts to chronicle the stories of their ancestors, families, and communities — expressing personal events, memories, legacies.
BackStory in the Classroom
Using an Oral History approach, our Common Core-aligned instructional materials support teachers as they guide students to learn and implement the skills and art of oral history.
Our curriculum has been piloted to three groups of students in New York City with roots and family stories all over the world, and your students will find themselves deeply engaged as they identify the people most important to them, sharpen research and interview techniques, reflect, and present their interviews with the pride and appreciation that meaningful work produces.
BackStory Archive
Once their interviews have been conducted, students can elect to submit their stories to the BackStory Archive, designed to “preserve and present” the stories of influential mentors in King County and beyond. We believe that collective histories foster greater tolerance and empathy among our country’s beautiful diverse population. Guiding young people to discover the people at the core of their own stories to connect past to present honors our beautiful American diversity.
Click here to access the BackStory Curriculum. All documents are Google-based, and can be copied and modified for your own classroom needs.
Don’t miss our ONLINE BACKSTORY TEACHER WORKSHOP coming this Fall!
As you prepare to implement the BackStory curriculum, you’ll get to experience the project for yourself, while also gaining access to slide decks, classroom activities, sample interviews, and strategy sessions with teachers who led the project with their students in the Spring of 2024.
Workshop dates and details coming soon!
Coming soon:
Our outreach program is supported by grants and the contributions of supporters here online, StoryBoardsnw.org intends to nurture and grow this practice for years to come.
We look forward to extending our scope to a wider range of schools and other institutions of learning, such as museums, salons, and groups with religious, tribal, gender, and military affiliations.
