Creative Expression Through Tabletop Gaming (High School)

Students learn about story arcs, teamwork, improv, and resiliency all while writing their own twist on a classic fairytale trope: the princess has disappeared, right before her wedding! It is up to the students to find her and either make sure the wedding goes off without a hitch or figure out how to solve the king’s real problem: who is going to run the kingdom when he dies? And should they do something about that dragon?

Research shows that using tabletop gaming as a form of collaborative storytelling is not only a great way for students to sharpen their creative writing and improv skills, but it also has proven impacts on social-emotional learning. Basically, it provides a sandbox for students to practice problem solving, communication, collaboration, self-reflection, and resolving differences in a setting where failure costs nothing more than (at worst) a bruised ego. Unlike online or video gaming, there is no reset options, so students have to navigate consequences, even when bad things happen outside of their control. This learning format is a great way to weave lifelong social and emotional skills into a creative activity!

Although this workshop encourages student writing, the main focus is on problem solving and learning to work through problems as a team. In a world where everything is cut down to fit into sixty seconds, we want to develop logical, long-term thinking skills, and tabletop gaming is proven to do just that. Although we could bill this as a creative writing workshop, it is a good balance of writing, improv, and debate. Because of the format of this online workshop, it is important all participating students are comfortable being on camera and talking when needed!

Calendar of events:

Session 1: Introducing Your Character: Each student will build their own character, including discussing their strengths, weaknesses, background, and connections to the main story and other members in their adventuring party (the other students’ characters!). Students learn the basics of how to play tabletop gaming and the five basic parts of a story. Assignment: write a short character biography.

Session 2: Oh no! Where did the Princess Go?: The adventure begins! The group discusses what makes a good story engaging and how to improvise character responses. The characters get their task (find the missing princess!) and begin exploring. Each choice the students’ make changes the outline of the story, and the take-home assignment is to write the first “journal entry” of their adventure from their character’s perspective. Everyone gets to be the main character of their story!

Session 3, 4, & 5: The Plot Thickens, Part I, II, and III: I can’t tell you what happens here, because it hasn’t happened yet! The students get to decide how their characters interact with the problem and how they want to solve it. The group will discuss what pushes a story forward and develop techniques for thinking on their feet as they navigate each respective section. Each session’s take-home assignment is to write the corresponding “journal entry” of their adventure.

Session 6: And They All Lived Happily Ever After (Or Not): This session will wrap up any loose ends left over from session 5 and review how things turned out, focusing on how the group worked together and how they resolved conflict. Students are encouraged to review their journal entries in a reflective manner, and those interested in creative writing are encouraged to edit and share their stories either through print or multimedia.

A minimum of 3 students is needed for this workshop to run, and the workshop is capped at 7 students.

Submitting this form holds a spot for your student, but does not automatically bill you! A staff member will follow up with you, so please keep an eye on your email. Students are not enrolled until payment or a voucher/PO is recieved. For more information, please refer to the funding section of the Student and Family Handbook.