Story circles can be used to build a sense of community in the classroom. The technique was pioneered by the late John O’Neal, a civil rights activist and theater artist. He developed the story circle process while moderating audience discussions after performances. He found that audience members listened more and found common ground by telling personal stories instead of trying to persuade and argue their points.

The videos here demonstrate how a story circle works. A facilitator offers a prompt, and then individuals have a set amount of time to respond with a relevant story from their lives. No one interrupts. After everyone has a turn, the group talks together. From the individual stories, the group then creates one story or takeaway.

In these videos, Bob Martin, a community arts specialist in Eastern Kentucky, facilitates a story circle, adapted to an online format because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first video, Martin explains the ground rules and quotes O’Neal: “Share the story that comes from the deepest place.” He gives the group this prompt: Tell a story about a time when you were unexpectedly proud of your place or your community.

Lyndy Franklin Smith, artistic director of the Lexington Theater Company, explains how a production goes from studio to the stage, beginning with music, then moving to choreography, rehearsals, and blocking. She describes the adjustments made as they move to rehearsing on stage at the Lexington Opera House.

Studying life on the seafloor beneath Antarctica's thick ice is a major challenge for ecologists. Learn about a new device that can reach those icy depths in this video segment adapted from WomenInAntarctica.com.

Learn how to write an expository essay with opinion, reason and evidence while creating your very own comic strip!
With superhero Captain Opinion and her sidekicks, Reason and Evidence, the viewer goes on a fun adventure into the world of opinions and the importance of supporting them with lots of reasons and evidence.
Learning Objective:
Have students write an expository essay that establishes a central idea in a topic sentence; includes supporting sentences with simple facts, details, and explanations; and contains a concluding statement.

In this video adapted from Earth Island Institute, meet a high school student who educated her community about how a coal-burning power plant was contributing to asthma and other health problems there.

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Design Competition and learn about the skills required for a career in costume design.

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Design Competition and learn about the skills required for a career in lighting design.

Take a behind-the-scenes tour of the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Design Competition and learn about the skills required for a career in projection design.

Learn what it takes to be a scenic designer at the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Design Competition. Get advice and learn about the skills required for a career in scenic design.

Learn about sound design from theater majors participating in the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) Design Competition. Get advice and learn about the skills required for a career in sound design.

This video from Religion & Ethics Newsweekly features Timbuktu, one of the most remote and inaccessible places on the planet and a former thriving center of Islamic learning.

This TV 411 segment features a lesson from Question Man on how to informally calculate 15% tips at restaurants.

In this video segment from Cyberchase, the CyberSquad tries to reach Ms. Fileshare by using a 3 x 3 matrix to figure out the various ways they can travel to her.

This video segment from Regents Review 2.0 uses a trigonometry equation to determine the height of a flagpole located in front of the school.

Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes in a theater? In this video visit the Lexington Children’s Theatre to get a peek behind the scenes of a theatrical production from set creation to the final dress rehearsal.

In this video from Wide Angle, visit a makeshift night school in rural India designed to allow child laborers who work during the day to obtain an education.

This workshop is an introduction to how actors build characters and relationships, transforming the written words to actions and presence on stage. Students will explore Shakespeare’s use of words, rhythms, and language in Twelfth Night through activities that exercise vocal acting skills. This resource contains a Short Video with the actors discussing this topic, an example in the Full Workshop Video, an Excerpts Video containing examples from the full play, and a walk through in the Lesson Plan.

In this video segment from Cyberchase, Digit must a make a straight line between the two points and then follow the path created.

Jackie and Matt are looking at the same object along two different lines, in this video segment from Cyberchase.

This video segment presents a variety of sounds -- from animals to machines to musical instruments -- while introducing the basic concepts of vibration, volume, and pitch.