Language Arts Challenge

Team Moth – Personal Stories

(podcast based on Common App)

Submission Due Date: April 1, 2022

Designed for Middle and High School Students

Table of Contents

· The Challenge

· Assumptions and Logistics

· Process

· Meridian Support Resources

· Presentation of Learning

· Evaluation Rubric

· Essential Questions

· Student Proficiencies

· Curricular Correlations

Range of Activities

· Development and Creation of Personal Narrative

· Exploration of College Common App Questions

· Extemporaneous Speaking

· Live Audio/Digital Literacy – Pre-production, Production and Post-production

· Human Skills: Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Presentational Skills

The Challenge

In this Challenge, your team will create a video of your entire team telling a true story in ‘Moth style.’

What is a Moth? A Moth is the telling of a true story that happened to the presenter. But the story must be told extemporaneously, which according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary means “carefully prepared but delivered without notes or text.”

The Moth format comes to us from National Public Radio (NPR). The format is affectionately described there as being “dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. It is a celebration of both the raconteur, who breathes fire into true tales of ordinary life, and the storytelling novice, who has lived through something extraordinary and yearns to share it. At the center of each performance is, of course, the story – and the Moth’s directors work with each storyteller to find, shape and present it.”

To hear some examples of The Moth, go to https://themoth.org.

But our Moth is a little different. Here are the conditions:

This is a podcast. Audio only.
The performance must be recorded in front of a live audience. It is up to the team to determine how you want to communicate that fact.
The performance still must be extemporaneous: no notes.
We encourage the use of music and sound effects to punctuate your podcast, however all music and sound must also be live. There is no real post-production in this Challenge.
The time limit is four minutes.
Finally, the Team Moth can be a set of individual stories from two, three or all team members, or one story that happened to one team member, but as told by the entire team. We strongly recommend that you work in teams of three to maximize everyone’s time speaking.

So, what is this story supposed to be about? To answer this, Meridian Stories has turned to The Common Application for inspiration. The Common Application is a standardized admissions application process used by many colleges in the US. The Common Application offers essay prompts that often ask students to consider questions that demand personal exploration and reflection. For this Challenge, your Team Moth presentation can respond to one of the following 2021-2022 Common Application questions (or whatever the questions are on the current Common Application form):

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Deliverables include:

Team Moth Podcast (this is the only Meridian Stories deliverable)
Personal Narrative Papers (at teacher’s discretion)

Assumptions and Logistics

Time Frame – We recommend that this digital storytelling project takes place inside of a three to four-week time frame.

Length – All Meridian Stories submissions should be under 4 minutes in length, unless otherwise specified.

Slate – All digital storytelling projects must begin with a slate that provides:

the title of the piece;
the name of the school submitting;
the wording ‘Permission Granted’ which gives Meridian Stories the right to a) publicly display the submission in question on, as linked from, related to or in support of Meridian Stories digital media; and b) use or reference it for educational purposes only, in any and all media; and
We strongly recommend that students do not put their last names on the piece either at the start or finish, during the credits.

Submissions – Keep in mind that each school can only submit three submissions per Competition (so while the entire class can participate in the Challenge, only three can be submitted to Meridian Stories for Mentor review and scoring).

Teacher Reviews – All reviews by the teacher are at the discretion of the teacher and all suggested paper deliverables are due only to the teacher. The only deliverable to Meridian Stories is the digital storytelling project.

Teacher’s Role and Technology Integrator – While it is helpful to have a Technology Integrator involved, they are not usually necessary: the students already know how to produce the digital storytelling project. And if they don’t, part of their challenge is to figure it out. They will! The teacher’s primary function in these Challenges is to guide the students as they engage with the content. You don’t need to know editing, sound design, shooting or storyboarding: you just need to know your content area, while assisting them with time management issues.

Digital Rules/Literacy – We strongly recommend that all students follow the rules of Digital Citizenry in their proper usage and/or citation of images, music and text taken from other sources. This recommendation includes producing a citations page at the end of your entry, if applicable. See the Digital Rules area in the Meridian Resources Center section of the site for guidance.

Location – Try not to shoot in a classroom at your school. The classroom, no matter how you dress it up, looks like a classroom and can negatively impact the digital story you are trying to tell.

Collaboration – We strongly recommend that students work in teams of 3-4: part of the educational value is around building collaborative skill sets. But students may work individually.

Process

Below is a suggested breakdown for the students’ work.

During Phase I, student teams will:

Brainstorm individually and then collectively about which question to explore.
Decide on a question and start to share experiences that relate to that question. Often this process of sharing stories will remind you of forgotten experiences that are tied to your chosen theme.
Figure out, as a team, how many stories you are going to tell.
Figure out, as a team, how you are going to develop your chosen experiences into stories. This is both a deeply personal and collaborative experience and defining how to work through this creative development phase is important. Remember, while you are sharing a story about something deeply personal, it will be most compelling if your audience can share in some universal truth that is embedded in your story.
By the end of this Phase, your team should have a clear sense of the experience(s) you have chosen to focus upon, as well as how to translate the experience(s) into a compelling story format.
- Teacher’s Option: Personal Narrative Papers – If it is important that each team member select and explore their own story (and not just work on someone else’s), teachers may require them to either a) present their stories in writing at the end of the Challenge (Personal Narrative Papers); and/or b) present their individual extemporaneous speeches in class.

During Phase II, student teams will:

Decide how best to prepare for an extemporaneous presentation of your story. Is it important to write the whole thing out? Or just work from an outline of key events?
Be sure to ask the question: what is the experience or the thought or idea that you want your audience to take away from your Team Moth? (If it helps, think in terms of the college admissions office, for whom these prompts are originally intended: what are you trying to communicate to the colleges about yourself?)
Continue to rewrite and revise your stories. This should involve repeated rehearsals and performing your stories out loud in front of your teammates. As you are immersed in this, pay close attention to the strengths (and weaknesses) of your team members’ presentational styles, as this will inform your decisions on how you will present your part of the ‘team moth.’
Connections and Segues: how will your team transition from one story to the next? Or from one speaker to the next? How can your individual stories be unified into a narrative ‘whole’? Start to practice the transitions between one storyteller and the next.

During Phase III, student teams will:

Decide on the presentational and production aspects of the final podcast. Questions to consider include:
- Where will this be presented? In a small classroom setting or on a stage in a room that has a theatrical ambience?
- Will your team use microphones?
- What is the nature of the live presentation? In school to classmates? Or afterschool, perhaps in the evening, to students, teachers, parents and friends?
- Do sound effects and music play a useful role in enhancing your performance? If so, how will you create those sounds and integrate them into your performance.
- Rehearse and rehearse and rehearse again.
Perform and record your Team Moth.
Post-produce the podcast, as necessary. This can include some dialogue editing to ‘clean up’ the experience.

Meridian Media Resources

Meridian Stories provides two forms of support for the student teams:

1. Meridian Innovators and Artists – This is a series of three-to-four-minute videos featuring artists and innovative professionals who offer important advice, specifically for Meridian Stories, in the areas of creativity and production.

2. Media Resource Collection – These are short documents that offer student teams key tips in the areas of creativity and production.

Recommended review, as a team, for this Challenge include:

Meridian Innovators and Artists

Media Resource Collection

On Memoir and Non-Fiction Writing – Liza Bakewell

On Non-Fiction – Margaret Heffernan

On the Importance of Character in Storytelling – Scott Nash

On Radio Plays – Margaret Heffernan

“Creative Brainstorming Techniques”

“Sound Recording Basics”

“Sound Editing Basics”

“Creating Radio Stories”

Presentation of Learning

Meridian Stories is a proud partner of the non-profit Share Your Learning, which is spearheading the movement of over five million students to publicly share their work as a meaningful part of their educational experience.

The workforce considers Presentational Skills to be a key asset and we encourage you to allow students to practice this skill set as often as possible. These short digital stories provide a great opportunity for kids to practice their public presentational skills.

According to Share Your Learning, Presentations of Learning (POL) promote…

Student Ownership, Responsibility & Engagement. POLs can serve as a powerful rite of passage at the end of [a project]. By reflecting on their growth over time in relation to academic and character goals, grounded in evidence from their work, students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning. Just as an artist wants their portfolio to represent their best work, POLs encourage students to care deeply about the work they will share.
Community Pride & Involvement. When peers, teachers and community members come together to engage with student work and provide authentic feedback, they become invested in students’ growth and serve as active contributors to the school community.
Equity. POLs ensure that all students are seen and provide insight into what learning experiences students find most meaningful and relevant to their lives.

Meridian Stories’ own research indicates this to be a really useful exercise for one additional reason: Students actually learn from their peers’ presentations – it is useful to hear a perspective that is not just the teacher’s.

It is with this in mind that we you encourage you to plan an event – it could be just an end-of-the-week class or an event where parents, teachers and student peers are invited – to allow the students to showcase their Meridian Stories projects. For more free resources that will support this planning, visit Share Your Learning.

Evaluation Rubric – Team Moth – Personal Stories

CONTENT COMMAND
Criteria	1 – 10
Content – Depth and Range	Final piece reflects a substantive and enriching exploration of the content
Language	The language used to tell your stories communicates your narrative clearly, thoughtfully and beautifully

STORYTELLING COMMAND
Criteria	1 – 10
Extemporaneous Delivery	The extemporaneous delivery brings your stories to life in a compelling way
Narrative Structure – Individual Stories	The experience(s) are beautifully adapted to story form
Narrative Structure – All Stories, All Speakers	The overall narrative flow from one story or speaker to the next is compelling

MEDIA COMMAND
Criteria	1 – 10
Audio Quality	The overall audio quality – sound levels, clarity and mix – exceeds expectation
Ambient Sound	The environmental sounds – ambience, live sound effects and/or live music, expanded the listening experience

HUMAN SKILLS COMMAND (for teachers only)
Criteria	1 – 10
Collaborative Thinking	The group demonstrated flexibility in making compromises and valued the contributions of each group member
Creativity and Innovation	The group brainstormed many inventive ideas and was able to evaluate, refine and implement them effectively
Initiative and Self-Direction	The group set attainable goals, worked independently and managed their time effectively, demonstrating a disciplined commitment to the project

Essential Questions

How does transforming a personal experience into a story, through the processes of writing, consolidating, editing and feedback, change the meaning of that experience?
What does it take to turn a personal experience into a compelling and universally appealing narrative?
What is the value of working with a group of peers to craft a personal experience into a compelling narrative?
What are the challenges and the value of speaking extemporaneously?
What are the challenges and the value of speaking publicly – to a live audience?
How has immersion in the creation of original content and the production of digital media – exercising one’s creativity, critical thinking and digital literacy skills – deepened the overall educational experience?
How has working on a team – practicing one’s collaborative skills – changed the learning experience?

Student Proficiencies

The student will, through a protracted personal and collaborative exploratory process, have extracted deeper meaning out of an experience from their life or their peer’s life.
The student will know the processes involved in selecting a personal experience and crafting it into a narrative that has universal appeal.
The student will understand the value of giving and receiving honest, critical feedback, in order to make a narrative more compelling.
The student will experience the distinctions between speaking from a written text, and speaking, in an organized way, without one. The student will also understand the difficulties of speaking extemporaneously, as well as the rewards of doing so.
The student will perform their work, adding the critical dimensions of voice, inflection and ‘stage presence’ to their narrative.
The student will utilize key Human Skills, with a focus on creativity, critical thinking and digital literacy, in their process of translating language arts content into a new narrative format.
The student will have an increased awareness of the challenges and rewards of team collaboration. Collaboration – the ability to work with others – is considered one of the most important Human Skills to develop in students as they prepare for life after secondary school.

Curricular Correlations

The Team Moth – Personal Stories Challenge addresses a range of curricular objectives that have been articulated by the Common Core Curricular Standards – English Language Arts. Below please find the standards that are addressed, either wholly or in part.

Common Core Curricular Standards – English Language Arts

*Standards*	8^th	9^th/10^th	11^th/12^th
W3 WRITING Text Types and Purposes	Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, relevant descriptive details, and well-structured event sequences.	Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.	Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
W4 WRITING Production and Distribution of Writing	Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.	Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.	Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
W5 WRITING Production and Distribution of Writing	With some guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on how well purpose and audience have been addressed.	Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.	Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience.
SL1 SPEAKING AND LISTENING Comprehension and Collaboration	Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher- led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.	Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 9–10 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.	Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one- on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grades 11–12 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
SL6 SPEAKING AND LISTENING Presentation of Knowledge and Ideas	Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.	Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.	Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
L1 LANGUAGE Conventions of Standard English	Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.	Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.	Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
L5 LANGUAGE Vocabulary Acquisition and Use	Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.	Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.	Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.