Transcript Storytelling

Storytelling
by: Laura Trellue
Storytelling
“Storytelling is an ancient profession, and
these stories are among our oldest
possessions. For many years before the
white man ever came to our homeland these
legends were told over and over, and
handed down from generation to
generation. They were our books, our
literature, and the memories of the
storytellers were the leaves upon which
they were written.”
Chief Standing Bear, Ponca Indian chief
“If you don’t know the trees you may be lost in the
forest, but if you don’t know the stories you may
be lost in life.”
a Siberian Elder
“There have been great societies that did not use
the wheel, but there have been no societies that
did not tell stories.”
Ursula K. LeGuin, author
“A writer’s brain is like a magician’s hat. If you’re
going to get anything out of it, you have to put
something in it first.” Louis L’Amour, author
“People did not wait until there was writing before
they told stories and sang songs.”
Albert Bates Lord, author
Why Storytelling
 It is empowering for a child to be able to express his or
her thoughts and feelings through oral language.
 Storytelling can be a tool for practicing both listening and
verbal skills.
 Teachers can effectively model interesting, expressive
language for students to emulate.
 New vocabulary can be introduced and easily
comprehended within a story’s context.
 Diverse ways in which language is used can be depicted in
folktales, including instructions, recipes, secrets, riddles,
warnings, questions, and explanations.
 Imagination can generate language.
 Comprehension, or the ability to make sense of a story’s
plot, is facilitated by being able to mentally map the
story’s main events.
www.storyarts.org
“Students who search their memories
for details about an event as they are
telling it orally will later find those
details easier to capture in writing.
Writing theorists value rehearsal, or
prewriting, stage of composing.
Sitting in a circle and swapping
personal or fictional tales is one of
the best ways to help writers
rehearse.”
National Council of Teachers of English
“Listeners encounter both familiar and
new language patterns through
story. They learn new words or new
contexts for already familiar words.
Those who regularly hear stories,
subconsciously acquire familiarity
with narrative patterns and begin to
predict upcoming events. Learners
who regularly tell stories become
aware of how an audience affects a
telling, and they carry that
awareness into their writing.”
National Council of Teachers of English
Activities for Teaching Storytelling
Favorite Object* - Have students bring a favorite
object or picture of that object. Children will
name the object, explain where or how they got
the object, say why it is their favorite object.
(Later they can develop a story about the
object.)
React Game* - (helps with visualization) Teacher
will read a phrase like the one listed below. The
students visualize themselves in that situation
and react with facial expression and movement
(and dialogue when appropriate).
Every Child a Storyteller: a Handbook of Ideas
My Favorite Place - Students will visualize their
favorite place and describe them to partners using
as many sensory words as possible. The partners
will tell the original tellers what they saw as the
tellers describe their favorite places. Then
partners switch.
Understanding Character - Teacher to tell or read a
well-known story (i.e. Red Riding Hood). Then ask
some of the following questions:
traits - What kind of person is Red Riding Hood?
What kind of person is the wolf?
motivation - What motivates each character?
relation to other characters - How is Red related to
wolf, mother, grandma, etc.?
purpose - What is the role of each character in the
story?
Every Child a Storyteller: a Handbook of Ideas
What do they Look Like? After teacher tells or reads
a story, have students write or draw description of
a character in the story. They should include voice,
physical characteristics and qualities.
Guess the Action* - Write activities on slips of paper
and place them in a box. Have each child draw one
slip of paper and act out the activity on that slip of
the class. Have the other students guess the
activity.
Guess the Object* - Write the names of objects on
slips of paper and place them in a box. Each child
draws a slip and becomes the object. The other
children guess the object.
Guess the Creature - Write names of creatures on
slips of paper and place then in a box. Have
students draw slips and act out the creatures while
the others guess. Every Child a Storyteller: a Handbook of Ideas
How You Say It - (helps with voice) Divide students
into pairs and have a list of ways to say something
(i.e. with sadness, with surprise) and a list of
words or sentences to say in that voice. Students
take turns playing the game.
Park Bench* - Two students sit in two chairs placed
at the front of the room. The other students sit
in a semicircle facing chairs. The two chairs
represent a park bench where two people meet and
carry on a conversation. Students draw cards
indicating a mood or personality trait they should
assume. Students stay in character as they talk
with their bench mate. After a while a third
student comes up and taps one of the players on
the shoulder and replaces that person. Play
continues until all have participated.
Every Child a Storyteller: a Handbook of Ideas
Adding Dialogue - Teacher tells a story without the
dialogue. Talk about how the characters would
have different dialogue. Have students develop
the dialogue for each of the characters and add as
the teacher tells the story. (i.e. “Once there was
a little girl named Little Red Riding Hood. One day
her dear mother said”: (add dialogue.))
The Magic Storytelling Stick* - Create a magic
storytelling stick. Have the class select two main
characters, three sensory words, and emotional
feelings. You can have a list ready or have them
make up their own characters. The object is to
create a story that eventually includes all the
characters, sensory words and feelings that were
selected. Teacher starts by holding the stick and
begins story. The stick is passed as each student
adds two or three sentences to the story.
Teacher or another student can end story.
First Sentences - The teacher will develop a folder
full of first sentences. The sentences can be
used with the storytelling stick or for writing.
Students should be encouraged to add to the
first-sentence folder.
Last Sentences - The students are given the last
sentence in a story and are to build a story
around the sentence. This is more difficult than
the first sentence activity.
Just the Facts (adding details) - Have several
stories with the detail removed. Put one story
on the overhead and work as a class to develop
interesting and appropriate details. Have
students try the exercise with a partner or small
group.
Every Child a Storyteller: a Handbook of Ideas
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Just the Facts - Rumpelstiltskin
Miller very poor - one day brags to King that daughter can spin straw into
gold.
King demands she be brought to castle and put to the rest.
Girl put in a room with spinning wheel and spindle - if straw not spun to
gold in morning she will die.
Little man appears - does work - she pays with necklace.
Next morning King astonished and greedy - puts her in larger room with
same command.
Little man appears, does work, and is paid with her ring.
King takes her to a larger room to spin straw or die. If she is successful,
he will marry her.
Little man appears - miller’s daughter promises her first born child.
In a year King and Queen have child - little man comes to collect.
Queen upset so little man gives her three days to guess her name.
Messengers go out to bring back all the names.
Each day guesses get more bizarre.
On the final day a messenger says a little man is dancing around a fire
chanting.
Queen guesses and Rumpelstiltskin is so mad he stomps his foot and
disappears deep into the earth.
Every Child a Storyteller: a Handbook of Ideas
Other Storytelling Activities
 Sequence a story using a story map, an outline, a
flow chart or a time line.
 Explore spontaneous speech by making up oral
poetry.
 Create a story corner in the classroom where
stories are read or told by both teacher & student
 Have a story exchange week.
 Make a class book of favorite folktale and send to
other classes.
 Have students collect stories from their parents
or grandparents.
 Find stories in songs.
www.storyarts.org
Storytelling Skills Rubric
When telling a story, an effective storyteller
demonstrates the following traits:
 Voice Mechanics: speaks with an appropriate volume
for the audience to hear
 Face/Body/Gesture: expressively uses non-verbal
communication to clarify meaning of text
 Focus: concentration is clear, eye contact with audience
 Characterization: dialogue is believable to listener
and differentiated from each character
 Use of Space: storyteller relaxed and confident
 Pacing: story is presented efficiently and keeps
listeners’ interests
www.storyarts.org
Beginner
Intermediate Proficient Accomplished
Voice
Mechanics
Facial
Expression
Body
Language &
Gesture
Focus
Characterization
Use of
Space
Timing/Pacing
www.storyarts.org
Teacher Books on Storytelling
 Bauer, Caroline Feller. New Handbook for Storytellers
with Stories, Poems, Magic, and More. American Library
Association, 1993.
 Hamilton, Martha and Mitch Weiss. Children Tell Stories, a
Teaching Guide. Richard C. Owen publishers, Inc., 1990.
 Isabell, Rebecca and Shirley C. Raines. Tell It Again!
Easy-to-Tell Stories with Activities for Young Children.
Gryphon House, 2000.
 Kinghorn, Harriet R. and Mary Helen Pelton. Every Child a
Storyteller: a Handbook of Ideas. Teacher Ideas Press,
1991.
 MacDonald, Margaret Read. The Story-teller’s Start-Up
Book. August House Publishers, Inc., 1993.
 Yolen, Jane. Favorite Folktales from Around the World.
Pantheon Books, 1986.
Storytelling Websites
StoryArts
http://www.storyarts.org
Lesson Plans & Activities and links to stories provided
National Storytelling Network
http://www.storynet.org/
Tells you about the organization and offers more
links to other storytelling sites.
Storytelling Games
http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/storygames.html
Offers three games that allow students to
develop storytelling techniques.
Want to join a storytelling group?
We have a great one here in Houston.
http://www.houstonstorytellers.org/index.html
Houston Storytellers Guild
Everyone has a story!
Monthly- Story Time
7 p.m. the 3rd Wednesday of each month.
Borders Books, W. Alabama @ Kirby
Our gatherings are for sharing stories, promoting
storytelling, and having fun.
Accommodations and Modifications
GT and AP students:
 Students to make up own stories meeting four
basic criteria
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1. Use descriptive language and nonverbal expression
2. Make sure plot of story is clear
3. Create beginning, middle, and end
4. Work to keep audience interested
Special Needs Students:
Students can use non verbal in pantomime
 1. Pantomime how you would look if you were feeling: angry,
curious, sad, cold, sleepy
 2. Pantomime a short scene; You eat spaghetti and it slips off
your fork.
 3. In small groups, pantomime a scene; group jumping rope.
References
Block, Cathy Collins. Teaching the Language Arts.
Allyn and Bacon, 1997.
Chaney, Ann L. and Tamara L. Burk. Teaching Oral
Communications in Grades K-8. Allyn and Bacon, 1998.
Christensen, Patti. (2004). PattiStory.
Retrieved 16 July 2005.
http://www.pattistory.com
Forest, Heather. (2000). Story Arts on Line.
Retrieved 6 July 2005.
http://www.storyarts.org
National Council of Teachers of English. (2005). Teaching
storytelling: A position statement from the Committee on
Storytelling. Retrieved 9 May 2005.
http://www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/category/curr
Schwartz, Marni. “Connecting to language through story”,
Language Arts, 64(6), October 1987, pp. 603-610.
“We are lonesome animals. We spend
all of our life trying to be less
lonesome. One of our ancient
methods is to tell a story begging
the listener to say and to feel,
“Yes, that is the way it is, or at
least that is the way I feel it.”
You’re not as alone as you thought.”
John Steinbeck, author