A great deal of information was covered in Day One. The purpose of this module is to help some of the information settle in and encourage participants to review the previous day and pull out information that's important to them. In this way, it will build readiness for participants to take information home to incorporate into their own prevention programs.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to:
List one or two ideas that seemed significant to them from the day before.
Hear others' significant ideas from the day before to give a context for their ideas.
Equipment, Materials Needed:
10 blank newsprint sheets
Markers for each of 6 groups
Masking tape
Newsprint sheets and markers should be distributed to the 6 groups.
Room Set-up:
Tables should be grouped so that there are 6 groups of 10. Trainers should each supervise 2 groups.
Pre-delivery Preparation:
Trainer may want to brainstorm with other trainers on some of the points that may be brought up.
Trainer Resources:
None
I. BRAINSTORM ACTIVITY ON SIGNIFICANT LEARNING FROM DAY ONE (30 minutes)
Trainer Directions (5 Minutes):
"The purpose of this section is to help you review yesterday's workshop with the purpose of pulling out information or techniques that you may want to use in your prevention programs, or which you found helpful to you as a person."
Participants are asked to sit in groups of 10.
Trainer welcomes participants back. Trainer asks participants how they are doing and how they felt about the first day.
Trainer asks if participants have any questions, thought, concerns or reactions from the day before.
Trainer also asks if anything from the day before is troublesome to anyone.
Trainers explore participants' feelings to detect any frustration or concern.
Trainer should check in with people on breaks to defuse tension or other negative energy that might take away from the success of workshop.
Group Brainstorm (20 minutes):
Participants are asked to discuss what was learned from the day before.
Trainers may need to prime groups by asking questions. Trainers could suggest using a go-around technique, with each member of the group having a chance to share his or her perspective.
Trainer asks each group to choose someone to record group responses.
After an appropriate period, trainer asks scribes from each group to review their sheets with the entire group. Sheets are then posted on the walls.
Participants should be encouraged to continue to add more items to the sheets as the session/workshop continues.
Trainer Summary (5 minutes):
Trainer may end this section, by underscoring important points or issues.
The purpose of this module is to help participants learn a story to take home as a part of their re-entry. This section also will teach participants a method for learning stories based on oral traditions.
Learning Objectives:
The participants will be able to:
Explain a method for learning a story.
Tell a story to a partner.
Equipment, Materials Needed:
Art supplies for one of the four learning centers.
RS-12.1 How to Learn a Story
RS-6.1 Yoruba Tale The Children
RS-12.2 Refers to the following stories which are at the end of the PM:
The Adventures of Juan Bobo
Coyote and the Skunk
The Pancake Story
Broad Bean and Red Bean
Silk-Thread and Weaver
Room Set-up:
There needs to be four learning centers. Two will each have a trainer telling a story, so there should be two groups with 16 chairs each in a circle. The third and fourth center should each have four tables put together to make one large table with 16-18 chairs around each table. Art supplies, as in module 7, are placed on one of the learning centers with tables. The two learning centers with tables should be in the same room, since one trainer will supervise both of these groups.
Pre-delivery Preparation:
Trainers need to decide who will tell stories and who will supervise the two other learning centers in which participants learn or revise a story. Stories should be chosen on the basis that they are simple and easy to learn. Trainers could ask participants if there are any stories that have been told during the workshop that they would like to learn. The title of the stories that the two trainers will tell needs to be decided on since it will be announced under directions below.
Trainer Resources:
None
Trainer Directions (15 minutes):
The purpose of this section is to help participants learn or develop their own story so that they can bring a story home.
Trainer explains that participants will be asked to choose one of four learning centers which will help them learn a story.
The four learning centers are as follows:
Learning Center #1: Trainer A will be telling Story X. Participants will be listening to the story and then have chances to retell the story.
Learning Center #2: Trainer B will be telling Story Y. The approach will be the same as in Center #1-listening and then retelling.
Learning Center #3: There will be three written stories available for participants to read and then retell. Trainer refers participants to The Children, Coyote and the Skunk, The Pancake Story, The Adventures of Juan Bobo, Broad Bean and Red Bean, and Silk Thread and Weaver in their materials. The approach will be reading and then retelling.
Learning Center #4: Participants will either remember a childhood story or a story from their life to tell. The approach will be remembering and then retelling. Art supplies will be available to help participants open up memories.
"When we are done with the directions you will be asked to choose one of the Learning Centers. We have quite a bit of time scheduled for this activity, so we can take somewhat of a leisurely pace. In a oral tradition people learn to tell stories relying on their memory. Therefore you may want to learn to tell the stories without making notes, but only relying on the scenes that you visualize as you listen to the stories."
RS-12.1: How to Learn a Story
Trainer reviews information on how to learn a story.
How to Learn a Story From a Storyteller or Audio Tape (Learning Center #1 & #2):
Listen to the story several times.
Visualize the story as you listen, you may want to close your eyes.
Try to retell the story aloud to yourself. Make sure you find a comfortable place to try this.
Listen to the story again.
Tell the story again to yourself or to someone else.
From Written Material (Learning Center #3):
Read the story several times.
As you read, stop and visualize what is happening.
Try to retell the story aloud to yourself without looking at the story.
Read the story again.
Tell the story again to yourself or to someone else.
From Memory (Learning Center #4):
Think about a story you want to tell that you were told or a story from your own life experience.
Try to visualize elements of the story.
Put swatches of color on paper that give you the feeling of the story to open up your memories.
Try to tell the story aloud to yourself.
Tell the story again to someone else.
On returning home, you may need to do some more research to flesh out your story (i.e., interview a family member, find a written documentation of your story).
Remember you need to tell a story many times before it is stored in your memory, possibly up to 10 times. You may want to tape your story if you won't be telling it for awhile, so you can refresh your memory.
Trainer asks participants to chose a group explaining that participants will have 45 minutes to learn a story and then have 15 minutes to tell a story to a partner.
II. LEARN A STORY (45 Minutes)
Trainers help participants find groups. Two trainers are managing Center #1 and #2. A third trainer moves between Center #3 and #4 helping people get started. Trainers in storytelling groups will have to tell the story at least three times as in directions above.
III. TELL A STORY TO SOMEONE (15 minutes)
Trainers ask participants to find a partner to whom to tell the story. Partners should take turns telling each other their stories. Participants can also ask their partners for feedback on how they liked the story.
Trainer closes session, asking people to comment on the activity. What method was most preferred for learning stories? Trainer also asks if anyone would like to tell their story for the closing session.
This session will provide a setting to model using personal stories in prevention groups, and to give participants an opportunity to share their very significant learning about substance abuse prevention.
Learning Objectives:
The participants will be able to:
Experience a go-around of personal stories.
Identify other participants that they may want to network with in the future.
Materials, Equipment Needed:
Each group needs a newsprint stand with the prepared newsprint on the stages of the hero-heroine journey (RS-13.1).
Room Set-up:
3 groups in a circle in break-out groups with 21 chairs in each group, with a newsprint stand for each group.
Pre-delivery Preparation:
Trainers should review section, and think about an event in their own life that approximated one of the hero/heroine stages.
Trainer Resources:
Campbell, J. The hero with a thousand faces, Cleveland and New York: Meridian Books, pages 245-255.
Trainer Directions:
None
I. BREAK-OUT GROUP ACTIVITY ON HERO/HEROINE STAGES IN PARTICIPANTS' OWN LIVES (60 Minutes)
Lead trainer directs participants to form 3 break-out groups. The directions below are for each trainer to use independently with his or her group.
"This section is designed to have you experience how important it is to include times during prevention program where each participant has a chance to share his or her own personal story. This section also gives you information on how to set up a go-around so that it is psychologically safe for participants."
Some researchers in substance abuse say that drug use by adolescents is, in part, a search for initiation into a group or into adulthood.
What do you think of this idea? Does it make sense to you?
There are a whole group of stories that deal with initiation. These are called hero or heroine stories. Examples of these stories are Hercules, Joan of Arc or the East Indian story of Ramayama.
In these stories heroes and heroines face difficult tests to prove themselves.
Hero stories show what character traits are necessary to conquer negative forces.
These are honesty, honor, strength, courage, perseverance and the willingness to help others.
Heroes and heroines gain special gifts through these tests which can help them individually and also help their entire community. One of the gifts is that the hero or heroine has learned that they have a greater capacity than then knew.
Heroes and heroines also have special helpers when things become very difficult. Physical or spiritual helpers come to them when things look the darkest.
The real positive aspect of hero-heroine stories for prevention work is that the stories show that after an initiation experience, people can return to their home community and share the hard-earned gifts that they have learned.
Hero-heroine stories also show how to achieve initiation without drugs.
Joseph Campbell was a professor who studied stories. He found that hero/heroine stories had three main phases. It is helpful to know these stages, because they can be used in prevention programs to help people see their life "tests" or adversities as part of a quest for independence and strength. These are the stages that Campbell proposed:
RS-13.1: Hero/Heroine Stages
separation when the hero or heroine must leave home or family to prove him or herself.
initiation which includes tests of battles, dismemb
return when the hero or heroine returns to his or her society with the gift of individual empowerment.
Participants are divided into diads or pairs and aserment, journeys into unknown and being abducted. The hero or heroine often has special spiritual or physical "helpers" during these tests.
The hero-heroine stories provide models of how to survive adversity and give hope that others can survive the tests. These could be seen as the life problem-solving skills that are resiliency factors.
Trainers in each group explain how our own lives parallel these stages. For example, we all must separate from our families to become adults, even if we still live with them.
Can you think of an experience that caused a separation from your family of origin?
Was this event like an initiation for you into your adulthood?
Can you think of another event that helped you grow stronger? What was it?
ked to talk to their partner about an event in their life or someone's life which included one of these three stages.
After an appropriate length of time (i.e., 12-15 minutes) trainer brings the pairs back into a circle.
Trainers do a go-around with their groups, encouraging people to share their stories. Trainer reviews ground rules or norms of go-around so that everyone will fill safe in the experience.
Go-around starts with one volunteer. Go-around can also start with person sitting in the east.
Each person has a chance to share moving around the circle in a clockwise fashion.
A person can pass when it comes to his or her turn.
No one judges or evaluates what another person has said.
Discussion 15 minutes
This activity is ended by a discussion of how these stages parallel drug addiction.
Initial drug use and experimentation can sometimes be an adolescent's attempt to separate and individuate from the family to become an adult.
Adolescents sometimes see the use of drugs as an initiation into the world of an adult.
However, drug use that turns into addiction does not serve to help a person become independent; instead, dependency results.
As a result the initiation never occurs.
Do you think that drug use can be seen as an attempt to become initiated into a group or adulthood?
If so, why doesn't it work?
Stories of a hero/heroine can create models for youth of what separation, initiation and the eventual return to the family and community as an adult can look like.
The most important lesson of the hero-heroine journey is that the tests and adversity in life can act to strengthen people.
Through facing adversity, people become strengthened.
People can return to their family and community after these tests and enrich others with hard won wisdom.
Heroes or heroines model problem solving skills.
Who is a hero or heroine to you?
What qualities or characteristics do they have that you would like to develop in yourself?
What problem solving skills do these hero or heroines model?
Just as medicine people are tested by supernatural forces, but also have spiritual allies to assist them, so can others survive the tests of life to accomplish the return stage of the journey.
What type of help do you think people have had to successfully resist drug abuse or addiction?
It is important to note that parents and families tell stories about transitions in children or other family members' lives all the time. People need to realize that much of what they already do is storytelling. Can you think of a description of a family event in your own life that is told over and over?
This module is designed to help participants begin to think of practical ways to integrate stories into their prevention programs.
Learning Objectives:
The participants will be able to:
Have a general understanding of the role of stories in passing on cultural affiliation.
Understand that a strong cultural affiliation is a protective factor against drug abuse.
Name two types of stories that participants could use in their prevention programs.
Discuss logistics that are necessary in planning to include storytelling.
Equipment, Materials Needed:
RS-14.1 Oral Literature Example
RS-14.2(1,2) Learning About Your Own Culture
RS-14.3 Preparing Groups for Storytelling
RS-14.4 Methods for Incorporating Storytelling
RS-14.5 Planning Needs
Room Set-up:
Participants begin on the tables at an angle towards the front as in Module 1. Art supplies as in Module 7. Music is playing during art activity. After drawing activity, participants are in three groups of 20 sitting in a circle in break-out rooms. Each group will need a newsprint stand.
Pre-delivery Preparation:
Trainer needs to review content and rehearse. Trainers might brainstorm together on how they might incorporate stories in a variety of prevention programs.
Trainer Resources:
Berlin, I.N. (1985). Prevention of adolescent suicide among some Native American tribes. Adolescent Psychiatry. 12. 77-93.
Berlin. N. (1983). Prevention of emotional problems among Native-American children: Overview of developmental issues. Annual Progress in Child Psychiatry and Child Development. 320-333.
Westermeyer, J. and Neider, J. (1985). Cultural affiliation among American Indian alcoholics: Correlations and change over a ten year period. Journal of Operational Psychiatry. 16(2), 17-23.
I. LARGE GROUP LECTURETTE: A SPECIFIC EXAMPLE OF A STORYTELLING PREVENTION PROJECT (5 Minutes)
RS-14.1: Oral Literature Example Trainer reviews content of reference sheet.
An oral literature program was developed and implemented in the 7th grade language arts curricula at Baboquivari Junior-Senior High School on the Tohono O'odham Nation.
The components of this Language Arts Oral Literature curriculum included the following:
the telling of the O'odham creation story by an elder
stories by medicine people
Coyote stories by an O'odham teacher
a workbook with stories from Europe, Africa, East India and Greenland
imagery exercises to foster imagination
stories by the classroom teacher
The results on a test that measures self-identity showed that the 39 seventh graders moved from the 16th percentile to the 47th percentile. The students self-identity as measured on the drawings moved from low average to average and showed a two year developmental gain.
Students using inhalants decreased from 34% to 23%, and students using marijuana decreased from 33% to 23% during the two month curriculum.
Other results included student ratings. Eighty-four % of the students liked having O'odham people coming into the classroom and 62% liked the curriculum. Two comments by the students on the rating form seemed particularly compelling:
"I would like to have respect for myself and others after storytelling."
"I would change things so that more people would tell more stories about life long ago. So it will go on and on through life."
The teacher's summation of the effects of the curriculum was the following:
"I noticed a big change in the students' listening skills. Also their imagination returned which had a very big effect on their creativity."
A large part of this program was to use storytelling to build a strong cultural identity in the O'odham youth.
Is there any reaction to this program?
Are any of the elements applicable to your situation?
II. LARGE GROUP ACTIVITY: DRAWING SYMBOL (25 minutes)
Group Activity 15 minutes
"This section will model the use of symbols of culture to strengthen cultural affiliation in prevention groups. This technique will fit under the prevention skill of strengthening cultural affiliation."
Trainer asks participants to draw a picture or symbol of their culture.
Trainer asks participants what their definition of culture is to assist this process.
Culture is all of the forces including family, community, religious and societal forces that serve to affect a person's values, perspectives and traditions. Culture is not necessarily what one sees in the media about society, but goes back to the factors in one's individual family and community background. Culture also includes the underlying assumptions people have about what is important, polite, and what comprises reality.
What are some examples of symbols that you think represent your culture?
RS-14.2(1,2): Learning About Your Own Culture Trainer can refer participants to the cultural worksheet in the reference sheets if they feel some confusion about determining their culture.
Trainers draw their own cultural symbols and encourage participants to draw theirs.
Break-Out Group Sharing 10 minutes
After sufficient time, trainers ask participants to take their drawing to the three circle break-out groups.
As with the personal symbols, each trainer does a go-around asking participants to show cultural symbols and comment on them.
III. DISCUSSIONS IN THREE GROUPS: STORIES TRANSMIT CULTURAL AFFILIATION (15 minutes)
"Through this discussion we will consider how stories transmit cultural affiliation and how helping strengthen people's cultural affiliation can help prevention programs."
Trainers make a transition from personal cultural symbols to the effect that cultural affiliation may have on substance abuse prevention.
Trainers facilitate discussions in each of their three groups on how stories transmit cultural values. Answers to these questions are noted on newsprint for each group.
Do you think that stories transmit cultural affiliation?
How do stories do this?
Can you think of how stories transmit cultural affiliation?
Does this differ depending on the culture?
Since stories transfer symbols and feelings of self will this have an effect on people's cultural roots?
How do stories act to transfer cultural affiliation in Native American tribes?
Do stories act in the same way for other cultures?
If a culture has been weakened by a majority culture, why might it be important to emphasize stories?
Would it be equally important for members of the majority culture?
How might a strong cultural affiliation prevent substance abuse?
Can you think of examples where a strong cultural affiliation prevents substance abuse or helped a person in recovery from an addiction?
What about suicide? Do you know of any examples where a strong cultural affiliation has prevented suicide?
Trainers end discussions summarizing some of this information.
IV. MECHANICS OF INCORPORATING STORYTELLING INTO PREVENTION PROGRAMS (15 minutes)
Trainers shift focus to the importance of storytelling in establishing cultural affiliation as a protective factor to the logistics of incorporating storytelling in a prevention program.
First, youth or adults need some preparation to participating in storytelling sessions.
To prepare a group for a storyteller, the concept of respect and the need to listen and to not interrupt or to talk to one's neighbor during storytelling must be emphasized.
One technique is to explain that one does not have to agree with the storyteller or totally appreciate the story, but it is still essential to show respect.
A practice activity could be to have people bring in books of their favorite stories. People could read their stories to others in small groups to practice showing respect and listening.
Also incorporating a go-around in the group, in which each group member gets a chance to say what is going on with him or her, while others listen without interrupting could provide readiness.
RS-14.3: Preparing Groups for Storytelling
Trainer reviews content of reference sheet.
Ways of preparing groups:
Teach importance of stories
Have people read stories to small groups
Use go-arounds in the group to foster listening
How do you think you would prepare a group for storytelling?
RS-14.4: Methods of Incorporating Storytelling
Trainer reviews content of reference sheet.
Specific methods of incorporating storytelling into ATOD prevention programs:
Recruit Elders to Tell Stories
Educators to Tell Favorite Stories
Parents to Tell Stories
People in Recovery (For adult groups only, since Prevention Plus II does not recommend people in recovery to serve as models for youth.)
Go-Arounds of Personal Stories
Which of these storytellers could you use in incorporating storytelling in your programs?
When within the schedule of your program could you use storytelling?
RS-14.5: Planning Needs
Trainer reviews content of reference sheet.
Planning needs to include
Budget
Transportation
Understanding on time frame
Appropriate room set up
Time to arrange storytellers
Ways to have participants respond afterwards (i.e., art, journal writing, etc.)
Appropriate introductions
Translator
Relationship of storyteller to participants
Ways to make storyteller comfortable
Ways to insure that respect is shown
Permission or appropriateness to audio or videotape.
What other considerations would you want to make in arranging storytelling?
Trainers end sessions with their individual groups, reviewing the relationship of cultural affiliation and substance abuse.
What are your thoughts and concerns at this point about including storytelling in prevention programs?
This module will help participants plan to take information from the workshop back to their own programs. It will also serve as a time for participants to network and learn from each other.
Learning Objectives:
The participants will be able to:
Create practical ideas for incorporating storytelling into their own programs.
Signs for each type of programs that participants are affiliated with. These are called "interest groups". The signs can be made by one trainer after expectation session of Day One.
Blank newsprint sheets for each group. Markers, masking tape.
Room Set-up:
Chairs should be in circles in the break-out rooms for each of the "interest groups". Trainers will need to determine the number of circles.
Pre-delivery Preparation:
None
Trainer Resources:
None
I. REVIEW OF PREVENTION SKILLS COVERED IN WORKSHOP (10 minutes)
Trainer asks participants to find a group to be a part of, noting the various interest groups. Participants can feel free to go to any group, regardless of their affiliation. Participants are asked to orient towards the front even though they are in groups.
RS-15.1: Storytelling Prevention Skills
We would like to recap some of the prevention skills that can be accomplished through storytelling.
Storytelling Prevention Skills:
Add cultural/ethnic sensitivity
Help participants strengthen cultural identity
Tap Grandparents as resiliency resources
Use stories to:
build sense of inner strength
create future orientation
communicate problem solving skills
present role modes
teach the importance of humor
Trainer can ask participants which of these skills they feel they have learned. Trainer can also ask if anyone needs more clarification on these. Trainer can ask participants how they might accomplish each of the skills.
RS-15.2(1,2): Re-entry Worksheets
II. RE-ENTRY WORKSHEETS (10 minutes)
To structure your thinking about how to take the content of the workshop home with you, we would like you to peruse the Re-entry Worksheet.
Take several minutes to read the worksheet and jot down some ideas. You may want to work in pairs or threes to think up ideas together.
After 5 minutes, trainer asks participants to talk to someone next to them about their responses.
III. BREAK-OUT GROUP IDEA GENERATION OF HOW TO INCORPORATE STORYTELLING IN PREVENTION PROGRAMS (30 minutes)
Trainer asks participants to turn towards the interest groups that they have chosen.
The task is for the interest groups to brainstorm on how they can incorporate storytelling into their home prevention groups.
Brainstorm 20 minutes
Each group needs to chose a scribe to jot down ideas on newsprint.
Trainers can circulate among groups to help idea generation.
After 20 minutes, trainer asks a member from each group to share some of their ideas.
Sharing 10 minutes
Trainers can facilitate a closing that focuses on the next steps to realize these ideas after the workshop.
IV. REVIEW OF PARTICIPANTS' EXPECTATIONS (10 minutes)
Trainer reviews newsprint sheet from opening day on expectations.
Trainer or participant recruited after Module 12 closes workshop with song, dance or prayer. Participants could also be asked if they would like to say anything in closing. Trainers close workshop, thanking everyone and bidding them farewell. Trainer can use Campbell's stages in closing the workshop (i.e., Participants went through separation in leaving their communities to come to the workshop. Participants experienced initiation in experiencing the stories and activities. Now this ceremony marks the return of the participants to their home community, taking back any gifts or insights they have received to strengthen their substance abuse programs.)
Lead trainer asks participants to make one large circle. Each person is asked to say one word that reflects his or her learning experience from the past two days.
