Fortunately/Unfortunately

Fortunately/Unfortunately is a large group sit-down activity.

Preparation
For this activity you will need a grab bag filled with an assortment of random objects, such as a deck of cards, a piece of costume jewelry, a tennis ball, measuring spoons, etc. Bring five to ten more objects than there are students.

Directions
Explain to the students that they are going to do a collaborative storytelling game. Ask the students for suggestions on the main character and the setting for the story and write the suggestions on the board. Have the students vote on a character and a setting. You might end up with "a mouse in jail" or "a shark in a haunted house", etc. Once the character and setting have been selected, begin to tell the story. With a sentence or two, create a conflict, then pull an object out of the grab bag and say "But FORTUNATELY..." and use that object to save the character somehow. Then pass the grab bag to a student and have them continue the story by pulling another item from the bag and saying "But UNFORTUNATELY..." and using that item to put the character back in danger. Pass the bag to each student, alternating between FORTUNATELY and UNFORTUNATELY until everyone has contributed.

Source
Contributed by Nora Boxer originally to Badgerdog.