Words of Kindness - Stories for a kinder world

24 storytellers – 24 days – 24 stories

In this article, I’d like to share with you the reasons behind the “Words of Kindness – Storytelling Advent Calendar” project and some ideas for using these stories with your students.

The project

I’ve always loved the run-up to Christmas. The lights, trees, decorations, the Advent Calendar, presents and cards, spending time with family and friends... but in particular, the atmosphere at Christmastime is what I’ve always loved, when it feels as if the world finally gets kinder, happier, more peaceful. In this part of the world the days around Christmas are dark and cold, so maybe we try to find light and warmth in our hearts...

I’ve always known that I wanted to do something good with my work – spreading good values and positivity, teaching about kindness, humanity, compassion, generosity. I believe that these values can be found in people, and what better way to nurture them than through the power of stories?

This is why, in 2023, I came up with the idea of organising a Storytelling Advent Calendar: every day, for 24 days, I would share a story told by a different storyteller, stories focussing on themes such as kindness, peace, compassion, generosity... values to make listeners reflect and learn. So, I asked 23 storytelling friends from around the world to lend me a hand, and through our common effort, the first edition of Words of Kindness was born. The reaction to the project was so positive that I decided to do it again the following year – and again in 2025.

Making the most of the project

48 stories have already been told as part of the project, and this year 24 more will be added – taking the total to 72 stories told by storytellers from all over the world, in English, all freely available online, and about themes that

I am sure many of us would like to talk about with our students, particularly at a time like Christmas... so, why not make the most out of it?

There are many ways in which we can use the project, either in its entirety or just selecting some stories. In this article, I’d like to provide an example with two stories from the project and show how we can use them with our students.

Activity 1: The Two Soldiers

“The Two Soldiers” is a story about peace, understanding, finding humanity in the other – and all of this through the power of telling stories. It’s the story of two soldiers fighting for enemy armies who, at the end of a day of battle, find themselves to be the only two survivors.

It’s late, so they decide to take a break and fight in the morning. However, they start talking and getting to know each other, telling each other stories; the following morning, they decide that they don’t want to fight anymore, that there’s no reason to fight because “Once you know someone’s story, they can never be your enemy”.

 Level: B1 and above (teenagers / adults)

 Time: As long as you want

 Aim: Practice listening and speaking skills, foster students’ imaginations

 Materials: Pencil or pen, paper, video of “The Two Soldiers” at: https://youtu.be/w8LGkqr4Puk?si=PnKZcjGfMqDxkZVm

 Prep: Watch the video of “The Two Soldiers”

Procedure:

1. Introduce the topic of the story with a discussion. Here are some questions you can use to guide your students:

a. Why are there wars and battles? Why do soldiers fight in them?

b. Why do soldiers follow orders? Is it always correct to follow them?

c. When do you fight for your life and who do you fight against?

d. How do you make peace?

2. To create expectations about the story, give students one to two minutes to ask questions about it. (The only question they cannot ask is: “What happens in the story?”)

3. Have students in small groups try to imagine what will happen on the basis of your answers.

4. Tell or play the video of “The Two Soldiers”.

5. Ask students to compare their versions with the version they’ve heard.

6. Have students listen to the video again and, while listening, create a simple timeline of the events using keywords, short sentences or doodles.

7. Have students in pairs retell the story on the basis of their timelines.

Follow-up 1: Ask students to role play the story.

Follow-up 2: Ask students singly / in pairs to respond to the story and its closing line – “Once you know someone’s story, they can never be your enemy” – by writing a poem, drawing a picture or even creating a song about it.

Activity 2: The Bridge

“The Bridge” is the story of two shepherds who have an argument and stop being friends. One of them asks a builder to build a wall to separate their neighbouring fields, but the builder builds a bridge instead, connecting the two friends and helping them to make peace.

When working with children, I think it’s always best if you tell the story yourself. This way you can grade the language, adapt the story to the students’ level and involve them in the telling. This is a simple story for kids to understand if told using the voice together with mimes and gestures to illustrate its various elements.

 Level: Pre-A1 and A1 (9-10 year-olds)

 Time: As long as you want

 Aim: Practice listening and speaking skills, foster students’ imaginations

 Materials: None

 Prep: Learn the “The Bridge” from the video at https://youtu.be/1yOM2T-VcRA?si=NgqXOWDGVeRJ4Gn3

or, in a simplified version, at https://youtu.be/hVQX-AW4W1s4?si=qF3qT9rTDI4sugdc

Procedure:

1. Introduce key vocabulary: shepherd, sheep, lamb, field, river, builder, wall, bridge.

2. Tell the story combined with mime.

3. Tell the story again and have the students mime it with you.

4. Mime the story again without words.

5. Have the students in pairs mime and retell the story, using language as much as they can, but filling in the gaps with mimes.

Follow-up 1: Elicit ideas from students on “How to be a good friend” and make posters on the five to ten best rules and practices for being a good friend.

Follow-up 2: Retell the story with mistakes and ask the students to correct you. For example: “The shepherds had lots of cows in their field.” “No! Not cows, sheep.” “Ah, right, they had lots of sheep.” Young learners love this!

I hope I’ve given you some ideas and inspiration to work with the stories from “Words of Kindness”. I’m always happy to hear about how teachers use the project and keep it alive. Drop me an email at simonasstories@gmail.com to let me know!

This article was first published on MELTA News winter 2025