"The best, most realistic account of bullying in schools that I have come across."
Dr
Ken Rigby, University of South Australia >More
"Viewing the Stories of Us videos and participation in the corresponding class work had a measurable, statistically significant, positive influence on student attitudes towards victims". Evaluation of Bullying by Richard Stephens >More
"One of the best resources I have ever used." Karen Box, Student Counsellor >More
"The impact on the kids was unbelievable. They recognised their own language, behaviour and culture, it blew them away." Kate Pollack, Teacher >More
Series
Outline
Stories of Us is a unique series of education resources for primary and secondary students. This is the first time students have collaborated in brainstorming the subjects, developed the scripts and performed all key roles in a series of dramatised resources. Every word of dialogue is their own, and every detail approved by the students. The Stories of Us videos are compelling as they draw upon the collective experience of the students, holding a mirror to their reality with such authenticity that some students watching them are convinced they are real.
As a result these resources have proven uncommonly effective in the classroom – a fact supported by evaluation. Stories of Us is internationally acclaimed by leading academics in education in Australia, the USA, Canada and the UK.
There are currently three secondary resources – Bullying (Secondary), Relationships and Stress – and two primary resources – Bullying (Primary) and Belonging.
Stories of Us speaks to the young audience in their own language, in a style and format they respect.
Each episode presents the story of two ‘students’ as they deal, in their own way, with the given issue. The objective is to engage, rather than tell – to motivate
students to discuss and explore the dynamics of the issues and develop
an understanding of what happens and why. With the aid of the 36-40 page Teacher’s Guide the young audience are asked a series of open questions as they explore the issues in-depth. The Teacher’s Guide provides extensive support information for teachers, and outlines in detail how the resources are used over a number of classes – including group activities. Because of their realism the videos also form an excellent basis for extension activities in English or can be used as a model for student Drama and/or Video
productions.
For each episode, filmmaker Christopher Faull worked with a class of students in a different school over a two month period. The Stories of Us resources are produced
and distributed by Readymade Productions. They are produced in association
with Optima Psychologists
& Mediators and the South
Australian Film Corporation, and developed in close consultation
with student counsellors and teachers from a range of
schools, with the support of the South Australian Minister for Education
and Children’s Services Hon Dr Jane Lomax-Smith MP and her department, MindMatters, beyondblue and the South Australian Primary School Counselling Association.
Two
Versions
There
are two versions of the video provided with each Stories
of Us resource.
- The Play Version is played without interruption, with a prompt
at the end to refer to the Teacher's Guide questions to begin the discussion.
In this version the story is left intentionally unresolved to
maximise student engagement in discussing the issues raised.
- The Segmented Version repeats the main program but with a
series of pause points (with prompts to refer to Teacher's Guide questions)
for a more in-depth discussion. At the end of the second version
the main characters tell us in brief interview statements how
they resolved their situations - leaving the students with a positive
outcome to the sessions.
Previews
A 5 minute preview of each video is available
here online.
A preview of each Teacher's Guide can be downloaded from the individual resource pages (see the links above).
Ordering
The Order Form and Pricing information
are available here online.
Testimonials
This
website also provides a growing list of Stories
of Us Testimonials from education professionals and students.
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