She introduced the Dragondancers to her class as a new in class activity, by initially showing the video,
then telling the story herself. Then the pupils were divided in small groups, told the story among them
and draw the scenes that attracted their attention. Dramatization came after that, with the visual
support of their drawings hanging around them. A final discussion followed, relating the whole
experience with SDGs 4 and 10. The telling of the story in other classes was later organized.
In a difficult educational environment (remote poor area, limited resources, pupils with different mother
tongues), the teacher implemented the project in simple ways, trying to enhance the group’s qualities
and dynamics, through active listening as a class, storytelling and drawing in smaller groups for more
intimacy and bonding. They watched the video story, discussed the bones and began to dramatize the
story as a play. As ‘playing’ the story was difficult for the students, the teacher helped them remember
the scenes of the play with the aid of their own drawings as visual mnemonic tools, as visual cues to
storytelling and acting, a realization that came from the pupils themselves. An example where
storytelling and playful learning reveal their discovery potential.
Regarding the target age-groups of the stories, some PLACES stories, like Upstream, can be implemented
in different age groups just as well, in unexpected and positive ways. In other words, stories that were
originally designed for secondary education, may be also used for the older students of primary school
and vice versa.
