ACTIVITY INTRODUCTION

The aim of this exercise is to deconstruct stereotypes and perceptions of ‘the other’. Students will explore the images they have of people from other cultures and social groups.

To do this, students will work together in groups to create a story about two fictional characters with particular identities (for example, a young Kosovar named Valmir and a young Serb named Dragan).

Comment: Since this exercise deals with stereotypes and perceptions, it may be useful to remind students at the start of the activity that they must be respectful toward others, including toward the fictional characters in the story they create. As such, if an element of the story seems too controversial or disrespectful, you may have to intervene to tone it down.

It is also possible to limit the activity to just one character.

ACTIVITY INSTRUCTIONS

1. Set up the room: Participants form a large circle in the room.

2. Assign roles: One or more students play the role of observers. They stay outside of the circle and take note of the story to be created.

3. The other members of the group work together to make up a story. To do this, they use a ball to pass to one another. The participant who gets the ball must add on to the story.

4. Start the story with a statement such as ‘This is the story of Valmir, a young Kosovar…’ and pass the ball to a member of the group, who then continues the story by adding on elements about the character. Each person adds a few words or up to a few sentences before passing the ball to someone else.

5. The group continues the activity, working together to build a story.

6. After 10 or 12 turns, depending on how much participants have added, ask for the ball back and say ‘Valmir knows Dragan, a young Serb who has a story of his own…’. Then pass the ball to a member of the circle to continue Dragan’s story as part 1 of the activity by adding one or two sentences per person and then passing the ball.

7. The activity ends once both stories are of sufficient length and everyone has had a chance to contribute to both stories.

8. Class discussion and debate: After the activity is over, the teacher asks the group to tell the stories of Valmir and Dragan, recounting their respective lives. The teacher gets students to think about the stereotypes and prejudices contained in the students’ made up stories. The main points are written down on the whiteboard. The teacher can then lead a debate about stereotypes and perceptions of the other.

DOING THIS ACTIVITY ONLINE

1. The teacher creates a Zoom link and sends it to students.
2. Students use a word processing platform such as Google Drive or Framapad to write their collaborative story together in the same document. The story starts with a statement such as ‘This is the story of Valmir, a young Kosovar…’. The group continues the exercise, working together to create a story.
3. After 10 or 12 turns, depending on how much participants have added, the teacher intervenes and adds a new sentence: ‘‘Valmir knows Dragan, a young Serb who has a story of his own…’. The collaborative story starts again with a group member continuing the story of Dragan in the same way as in part 1 of the exercise, with each person adding one or two sentences.
4. The activity ends once both stories are of sufficient length and everyone has had a chance to contribute to both stories.
5. Class discussion and debate: After the activity is over, the teacher asks the group to tell the stories of Valmir and Dragan, recounting their respective lives. The teacher gets students to think about the stereotypes and prejudices contained in the students’ made up stories. The main points are written down on a whiteboard. The teacher can then lead a debate about stereotypes and perceptions of the other. The teacher can use an ‘online Post-It’ website as a virtual whiteboard (example: https://note.ly/) and take down participants’ observations.