Lesson #14: THE STORY MAP: "That Pizza"- Dihan Hossain
It’s Tuesday, so there’s (drum roll please) a new Storytelling School with The Moth! The Moth’s Education program is publishing these storytelling activities to help parents and educators with some at-home curriculum.
As a special bonus this week, check out The Moth Radio Hour for a special episode featuring five amazing storytellers from the Education Program Showcase this January!
Starting now through the summer, come back every Friday for the new weekly series called All Together Now, Fridays with The Moth, offered by The Moth Podcast. Just like these blog posts, it features stories that everyone - your kids, your grandma, your roommate - can enjoy together, along with story prompts that will get you talking to one another. Think of it as a book club for Moth stories! Catch it wherever you listen to your podcasts, every Friday and then see you next week for more Storytelling School!
This week’s Storytelling School story is:
"That Pizza" by Dihan Hossain
You can read the transcript of Dihan’s story here.
After you’ve watched and read the story, you can do the following activities:
1. Talk to each other about Dihan’s story.
For each post, we’ll highlight a different crafting strategy for how to make your story compelling. This week, we highlight: THE STORY MAP. The Moth’s Education Program uses a five part ‘map’ to talk about the arc of a story. As a tool for storytellers as they brainstorm and craft, this five part structure can help you edit down a longer story OR expand a tiny moment into something that feels more complete. Below, we’ll list the five parts of our story map. Can you identify what you think they are for Dihan’s story?
The World As It Was
And Then One Day…
Raising the Stakes
The Moment of Change
The World As It Is Now
2. Let’s Play “Have You Ever”
Raise your hand if …
You’ve ever eaten a certain food only on special occasions
You’ve ever seen something delicious in a shop window
You’ve ever calculated the difference between two currencies in your head
You’ve ever begged your parent or guardian for something
You’ve ever decided to take matters into your own hands after being told ‘no’
You’ve ever saved up money for something you really wanted
You’ve ever wanted something, but didn’t even know what it was called
You’ve ever sat down to eat a slice of pizza on a park bench
You’ve ever been asked for help
You’ve ever not wanted to share
You’ve ever suddenly realized how much you have
You’ve ever made the world beautiful with a small act of humanity
Did you raise your hand? If you raised your hand even once, that’s a story you could tell! Find someone to tell it to and try out a draft!
3. Activities
It is so important to be kind to each other always, and especially during tough times like right now. What is an act of kindness you can do for someone, either in your life or who you don’t know? Maybe a donation, reaching out with an email or phone call, baking cookies, or something else!
Let’s make our own pizza! If you could create a pizza with anything on it, what would you make? Maybe pepperoni and mushroom? Maybe marshmallow and chocolate sauce? It’s up to you!
Use this drawing sheet as a guide, if you’d like!
- And if you’re really feeling adventurous, trying making a real pizza! Maybe try one of these recipes or use them for inspiration.
4. Share this post with a friend!
Click here for activity #15.
Dihan Hossain is a student at Borough of Manhattan Community College. Dihan lives and breathes storytelling. Some people say he is an open book that is hard to read but if you need someone to hike, travel or party with, Dihan is your best option! Dihan is crazy enough to make his friends’ lives feel like an adventure. The Moth first met Dihan at International High School at Prospect Heights in Brooklyn, NY in 2017. He has since gone on to work with The Moth as a teaching intern and as a performer in a High School GrandSLAM, assemblies at Lincoln Center, and the Education Showcase in 2019.
The Moth Education Program works with young people and educators to build community through storytelling workshops, performances and innovative resources. To learn more, visit themoth.org/education
The Moth Education Program is made possible by generous support from The Kresge Foundation, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association Charitable Trust, the Kate Spade New York Foundation, and Alice Gottesman.
Additional program support is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the New York State Council on the Arts, ConEdison, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.