How to Use Storytelling to Capture and Share Trip Experiences

School trips, whether a visit to the British Museum, a trip to the Lake District, or a visit to a local farm, are the perfect time to extend learning beyond the classroom. To preserve these experiences and deepen your pupils' understanding of what they have been shown, you can harness the power of storytelling. This approach helps pupils to process the experience, articulate their feelings, and share insights with their peers or family, extending the learning beyond the end of the trip, leading to a richer learning experience. This short guide explores creative ways teachers can inspire pupils to capture and share their trip stories.

Why Storytelling Matters

Enhances their Memory:
Narrating shared experiences helps pupils store memories more deeply. For example, after a day visiting Stonehenge, pupils might recount their first impressions or interesting facts they learned, these techniques are shown to make individual experiences more memorable.

Builds their Communication Skills:
Storytelling encourages pupils to practice structuring thoughts and expressing ideas clearly. For instance, a pupil might describe their favourite part of a trip to the Tower of London in a way that others understand and find engaging.

Encourages Reflection:
Storytelling invites pupils to consider what they learned and how they felt. After a visit to a local nature reserve, pupils could reflect on their feelings about conservation or the environment. How they view a topic may well have changed following the visit, especially if it is an experience they have not had before.

Builds Empathy:
Sharing stories helps build connection and understanding among peers. Listening to classmates' stories about their experiences at a Scottish castle or a London theatre can strengthen bonds, or form empathy and cultural awareness.

Storytelling Formats to Try

Written Stories and Journals:
A great way to use stories on your trip is to encourage pupils to keep trip diaries or write essays describing their experience and key moments from the day. For example, after a school visit to the Eden Project, pupils might write a diary entry about their favourite plant or a new fact they discovered.

Photography and Captioning:
Encourage your pupils to take photos during their trip so that when they return to the classroom they can write captions or create photo essays. For instance, pupils visiting a working farm in the Cotswolds could photograph animals and write captions explaining what they learned about farming life.

Videos and Vlogs:
Children are so creative these days in their use of digital technology. Using tablets or smartphones, pupils can record short videos sharing highlights or their thoughts about the trip. An example could be pupils creating a vlog about their experience at the Science Museum in London, explaining a science exhibit they enjoyed experiencing.

Creative Arts:
Storytelling also works through drawings, paintings, or drama, and can vividly bring experiences to life. Pupils could dramatise a historical event from a trip to a historic site like Hampton Court Palace or create artwork inspired by their visit.

Group Storytelling:
Collaborative activities are a great way to enhance shared memories. Creating a shared story about the trip can also be used as a teamwork exercise. For example, pupils could develop a collective narrative about their adventure exploring the Lake District, adding each person's contributions.

Tips for Teachers

Provide Prompts:
Use questions or themes to inspire storytelling. For example, ask what was the most surprising thing you saw at the British Museum? Or describe a challenge you faced during the outdoor activity.

Set Time for Reflection:
Build in moments either during the trip or when you get back to the classroom, for pupils to jot down notes or thoughts. Getting their thoughts and memories onto paper as a diary entry at the end of the day can help pupils process their experiences.

Use Technology:
If your IT policies allow, make use of apps and platforms like Seesaw or Google Classroom for pupils to record and share their stories digitally. This also allows them to collaborate of feedback on each others work. It also makes it easy to share content with other teachers or perhaps their parents.

Celebrate Stories:
Showcase pupil stories in school newsletters, on the website, or during assemblies. Recognising their efforts can motivate pupils to engage more actively in storytelling. It is also a good way to share how they got on during the school trip with the rest of the school.

Extending the Impact

Connect Stories to Curriculum Topics:
A trip to a Roman site is obviously a history topic, but it doesn't have to stop there. Linking pupils stories to other subjects like geography, or science to broaden what they learn and to help them see how different subjects and topics link together in a meaningful way. For instance, a story about visiting the Roman Baths can be tied to a history unit on Roman Britain, and a geography topic about tourism or urban development.

Invite Parents and the Community:
Share pupils' stories through school open days, parent newsletters, or virtual assemblies. This can strengthen links between home and school, and celebrate pupils' achievements.

Use Stories for Future Planning and Feedback:
By having children generate stories following a school trip, you can learn how to make future trips even more engaging. View it as a form of feedback that will let you build on previous experiences.

By integrating storytelling into school trips, teachers can create a dynamic, reflective, and engaging way for pupils to capture their experiences, making learning memorable and meaningful.