My favourite story
You’ll need
- Storybooks
- Clothing and props (optional)
Before you begin
- Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Additional help to carry out your risk assessment, including examples can be found here. Don’t forget to make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely.
- Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help if you’re short on helpers.
Telling the stories
- Ask everyone to bring their favourite storybook to the meeting. If they want to, they could also bring items from the story or dress like a character.
- Take some spare books to the session in case anyone doesn’t bring their own book.
- You could split this activity across several meetings if there are lots of people in your group.
Story time
- Everyone should sit in a circle.
- Someone should read What Makes an Amazing Story by Jess Connett. Make sure to save a copy of this story before the session.
- After reading the story, everyone should take some time to reflect on it as a group. We’ve included some questions to help you reflect in the pink box below.
Once upon a time, our favourite story might begin,
There lived a prince, or queen, or frog, who we support to win.
We go with them, side-by-side, through struggles and through stress,
And in the end we celebrate when they sort out the mess.
A story can transport you to a very different place,
Like being in a rocket ship that blasts you into space,
From inside a book, new things will happen to surprise,
You’ll see the world in other ways, through someone else’s eyes.
A story is a friendly place, just like a family,
You imagine living there, as happy as can be.
When a story isn’t good it can give you a fright,
But soon you’ll find the perfect one – something feels just right.
You might be sad when your book ends,
But you can just tell all your friends
To read this book that you’ll be lending –
It even has a happy ending.
By Jess Connett
My favourite story
- Everyone should grab their stories (and any items or costumes they brought with them) and sit in a circle.
- The first person should share their story with the rest of the group.
- After the person has finished sharing their story, everyone else should give them a round of applause, thank them for sharing, and ask any questions they have.
- Everyone should continue repeating steps two and three until everyone’s shared their stories with the group.
Reflection
This activity encouraged everyone to make a decision for themselves and be courageous. During the activity everyone had the opportunity to talk about a story which is special to them to the group or an adult.
What Makes an Amazing Story
- What makes the story you chose amazing for you?
- Are there any other stories you like that you didn't bring with you today?
My favourite story
- How did people feel when they were explaining their story to the rest of the group? Was it easy or hard?
- What did everyone like about other people’s stories?
- Was anyone nervous? Did anyone help their friends to be brave and share something about their story? How did it feel to help?
Safety
All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.
- Active games
The game area should be free of hazards. Explain the rules of the game clearly and have a clear way to communicate that the game must stop when needed. Take a look at our guidance on running active games safely.
If people have the same story, they could work together as a group to tell everyone else about it.
Standing up in front of a group and talking can feel really overwhelming. Some people might want to talk to an adult or a small group of friends instead of speaking in front of the whole group. Support people to share their story in a way that works for them.
All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.
There are lots of different stories to read, so there’s something for everyone. Can you find another story that’s similar to the story you shared in this activity? You could take both stories home, read them with the people you live with, then talk about how they’re the similar, how they’re different, and what everyone liked about each one.
Anyone feeling particularly confident could help other people who are more nervous or scared.