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2. Planning your story Thinking about how you will tell

your story.

Thinking about how to tell your story is

called planning.

Before you tell a story, it is important to

think about how you are going to tell it.

How you tell your story will depend on

who you are telling it to.

Planning will make sure your story is told in

the best way for you.

There are lots of ways to plan your story.

You can use story starters for:

group work - thinking and talking

about your story with other people

talking to friends, family or carers

story boarding – writing or drawing the

main points of your story in the right

order

your story board can help you with

recording your story

There are story starter examples in the

‘how to find out more’ section on page 8.

What can I do to plan my story?

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Tools

Planning will help you decide where

your story will start and where it will end.

There are tips and tools to help...

The Centre for Digital Story Telling has 7

steps to help you plan a digital story.

Decide the main point of your story

and who it is about.

Have one important thing that will be

explained by the end of the story.

Make sure your story has your

feelings in it.

Read your story out loud to help

people to understand.

Use sounds and music to support

your story.

Only tell what you need to tell.

Share your story.

Step 1

Step 6

Step 5

Step 3

Step 2

Tools to help you with planning your story

are:

time - how much time will you need?

support - will you need support?

places - where can you make your story?

equipment - what will you need?

Step 7

Step 4

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How do I plan my story?

To plan your story you can make a list to

show:

who your story is about

how you want the story to be used

how you want to tell the story

what order you will tell it in

Think about:

what your aims are

why you want to share your story

who you want to share your story with

how you want people to feel

what equipment you will need and

where you can make your story

Always check that people agree or

consent to share their information.

If you don’t have peoples consent, keep

their information private and confidential.

Weighing it up

When you have planned your story it is useful to take some time to

think about and ‘weigh up’ your decision. Think about what could

get in the way of your plan and what could help your plan.

What could get in the way

of your plan?

Not having the

internet.

What could help your

plan?

Going to the library

to use the 7

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Hints and Tips Hints:

use your story starters

make notes or ask someone else to

help you make notes

talk to friends, teachers, family or

carers

Tips:

when you think about sharing your

story, don’t forget that you don’t

have to have your own equipment.

You can hire or borrow equipment

like cameras and video recorders

from a local library or school

take your time

find a quiet space to plan

ask other people to help

How to find out more

Story starters can help you to think about the stories you want

to tell. Some examples are:

Life line - using a large sheet of paper, draw a straight line.

This is your life line. One end is when you were born the

other end is now. Use the line to mark the happiest times in

your life.

Map of beautiful moments - use a large sheet of paper to

draw a shape like an island. Mark on the map different

times of your life as mountains, caves, rivers, lakes, roads,

fields and fountains etc.

Story in an object - use a personal object or photograph to

help you talk about a story.

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