Digital Folding Story

The paper "folding story" game (exquisite corpse) adapted for Padlet, Google Docs, or any shared thread. Each student adds one sentence to a story without seeing all of the previous content. Hilarious, generative, surprisingly linguistically rich.

Procedure

1. Create a shared Padlet board or Google Doc with a numbered sequence (Student 1, Student 2, ...). Or use Padlet's timeline format.
2. Student 1 writes the opening sentence. Example: It was the strangest morning I had ever seen.
3. Student 2 reads only the last sentence and adds their own continuation. They cannot scroll up.
4. Student 3 reads only Student 2's line and adds one sentence.
5. Continue around the class. Each student sees only the previous sentence.
6. After everyone has contributed, reveal the full story. Read aloud together.
7. Laugh. Discuss inconsistencies. Note interesting language.

Why It Works

• Creative forced production: one sentence is low-stakes; everyone contributes.
• Meaning + fluency: each student must make their sentence plausibly connect without full context — requires grammatical and semantic judgement.
• Rereading is the comprehension task: the final full-read-through triggers genuine reading comprehension of peer-written text.
• Shareable artefact: the story often becomes class legend, retold in later lessons.

Platform Notes

Platform	How to do the "fold"
Padlet (stream)	Set posts to hidden until approved. Each student sees only the one posted directly above theirs.
Google Docs	Teacher hides all but the last line via text colour or comment mode.
Jamboard / Figjam	Sticky notes in order; teacher hides earlier notes.
Physical + digital hybrid	Students text their line to the teacher; teacher posts to a central screen one at a time.

Variations

• Genre-locked: entire story must be in horror / romance / mystery style.
• Word-limit: exactly 15 words per contribution. Forces precision.
• Grammar-locked: every sentence must use the past perfect / a conditional / a specific connector.
• Reverse reveal: after full reveal, students add a second round — revise their original sentence knowing the whole story now.

Tips

• Pre-teach the one-sentence rule. Some students will write paragraphs; enforce the limit.
• Have an "end marker" student pre-arranged — their line must begin "Finally...". Stops the story from running forever.
• Great pre-writing warmer for creative writing units. Students who see how stories emerge from fragments become more flexible in their own writing.

Source

BookWidgets blog (2017) "30+ Ways to Use Padlet." Originating form: Surrealist cadavre exquis parlour game (André Breton et al., 1920s).