Welcome
teachers! I am pleased that you could visit with me. I hope the information
offered below will make your job just a little bit easier. The Internet
is blooming with a veritable garden of websites to help you integrate
storytelling into your classroom activities. From math to theater,
language to art, I have compiled a list of useful websites to help
you take flight!
One of the most
powerful statements on the importance of using storytelling in the
classroom comes from The National Council of Teachers of English. Read
their entire position statement.
In addition,
please take a moment to read the research below on the innate and
powerful benefits of storytelling.
Hardwired
for Story!
Compiled
and generously shared by renowned storyteller and educator,
Kendall Haven.
Neural
Research
The human
brain is predisposed to think in story terms. This predisposition is
continuously reinforced and strengthened as the brain develops up
through age 12. Adults arrive dependent on interpreting events and
other human's behavior through a specific story architecture.
[Ambruseter,
et al (1987), Bransford and Brown (2000), Bransford and Stein
(1993), Bruner (1990 and 1987), Denning (2001), Egan (1997), Gopnik,
et al (1999), Kotulak (1999), Mallan (1997), Pinker (2000 and 1997),
Ricoeur (1984), Schank (1990), Tannen (1999), and Turner (1996),
among others.]
Research
Confirms
Without
established context and relevance, the human mind is unlikely to
remember new information, and is even less likely to ever recall it.
-
Bransford (1998) "When a topic is unfamiliar to
readers/listeners, research shows that the natural tendency is
to use familiar story structure with character goal, motive, and
struggles to elaborate on available information and to provide
mapping structures to bring prior knowledge and experience to
bear on the interpretation of current input."
- Cliatt
& Shaw (1988) "The relationship of storytelling and
successful children's literacy development is well established."
and "...this process (storytelling) enhanced children's
development of language and logic skills."
- Coles
(1989) "Stories enhanced recall, retention, application of
concepts into new situations, understanding, learner enthusiasm
for the subject matter." and "Stories enhanced and accelerated
virtually every measurable aspect of learning."
- Cooper
(1997) "In fact, researchers have found that potential
employers want their employees to have mastered two aspects of
literacy often omitted from school curricula: listening and
speaking."
- Egan
(1997) "Young children understand abstract concepts when
placed in binary opposition and in the context of stories, but
not in logic argument, or rote memorization."
- Engle
(1995) "Children learn storytelling many years before they
master logic, persuasion, writing, and other forms of
information delivery. Story is an essential precursor to mastery
of expository and logical forms."
- Hanson
(2004) "Storytelling is at the least as effective as reading
aloud for language arts development."
- Mello
(2001) "Each study documented that storytelling enhanced
literacy." and "Storytelling was an effective learning tool that
linked literature to content and experience."
- Schank
(1990) "Storytelling has demonstrable, measurable, positive,
and irreplaceable value in teaching."
- Snow
and Burns (1998) "Recently the efficacy of early reading and
storytelling exposure has been scientifically validated. It has
been shown to work."
- Tannen
(1999) "Narrative details create mental images, making
possible both understanding and memory."
- Tannen
(1999) "Images (created by details), my research suggests,
are more convincing and more memorable than either fact or
abstract propositions."
- Taylor
(2001) "Storytelling is a valuable resource for developing
critical thinking skills."
I would love to
hear from you. Please feel free to send me a note at Karen@StoryBug.net.
Together, we can bring the magic of story to a whole new generation
of children.
Curriculum
Connections
Activities
for Teaching Appalachian Folktales
American
Tall Tales Unit – Lesson Plan
Artsedge
Bits
and Pieces Social Studies/Language Arts Activity
Children’s
Theater/Creative Drama
Countdown
to Millennium ~ An Oral History Project
Construction
Ahead! Math/Art Activity
Education
World – Lesson Plan Article Folktales of Cooperation for K – 3
Eduplace
~ A Tail to Tell
Enoch
Pratt Libraries
4 2
eXplore ~ Topic: Oral History
Folk
Art and Lore Virtual Museum
Folktales
of Russia
Fractured
Fairytales ~ Language Arts Activity Grades 7 - 12
Family
Folklore: How to Collect Your Own Family Folklore
Lesson
Plans Page ~The Other Tall Tales
Lesson
Plan on Myths, Folktales and Legends Grades 6 and above
Myths,
Folktales and Fairytales
Oral
Tradition - Utah State University: Educational Resources
Quiltethnic
Pecos
Bill and the Rodeo ~ An Integrated Art Project Grades 1 – 4
Reading
Is Fundamental ~ The History of Storytelling
Snow
White
State Standards.com
Storyteller
Doll Art Unit – Classroom Units and Assessment
The Story
Connection
Stories
Go All Around
Storyland
Mural Art/Literature Activity
Storytelling
Arts of Indiana
A
Storytelling Festival Language Arts Activity
Tall
Tales
TeacherVision.com
Teaching
with Folklore Index
Teaching
with Pourquoi Tales
Teaching
Values
Turner
Learning Network
Using
Folktales to Increase Comprehension Grades 6 - 8
APPLAUSE
AWARD
The "Applause
Award" shared below was created by me for my students, as a
reminder of the important, key elements necessary to tell their stories
and connect with their listeners. It is also part of the Awards
Presentation on the night of the Student Storytelling Festival in
recognition of their continued commitment to keeping alive the ancient
art of Oral Tradition.
It is available in
either Microsoft Publisher (.pub) or
Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) format.
Please feel free to download it for your own classroom use, or for
yourself, whenever you need to hear the applause!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Would
you like your students to learn some public speaking skills, gain
confidence and have fun in the process? I have compiled a small sampling
of books, which offer some wonderful, tellable, and easy to learn
stories to ensure your students success every time! This is by no means
an exhaustive list, and some books will only be suitable for older
students. The titles that have an asterisk * next to them have proved
most useful for my third and fourth grade storytellers. Many of these
books can be found in your own libraries or from August
House, Yellow
Moon Press, or Librarians
Unlimited.
In addition, I
have listed a separate section of books that offering information,
tools, activities and ideas.
Baltuck, Naomi, Crazy
Gibberish and other story hour stretches
Czarnota, Lorna
MacDonald, Medieval Tales, August House Publishing, Inc.,
2000
DeSpain, Pleasant
Eleven Nature Tales; A Multicultural Journey Little Rock,
Ark.: August House 1996
* DeSpain, Pleasant. Thirty-Three
Multicultural Tales to Tell. August House, 1997.
* DeSpain, Pleasant Twenty-Two
Splendid Tales To Tell From Around the World Volume One August
House 1994
* DeSpain, Pleasant Twenty-Two
Splendid Tales to Tell From Around the World Volume Two August
House 1994
Dockery, Richard
and Judy. Favorite Scary Stories of American Children August
House, 1990.
Forest, Heather. Wonder
Tales from Around the World. August House, 1998.
* Hamilton, Martha
and Mitch Weiss, Children Tell Stories, Richard C. Owen Publishers,
Inc., 1990.
* Hamilton, Martha & Mitch
Weiss. How & Why Stories: World Tales Kids Can Read and Tell. August
House, 1999.
* Hamilton, Martha & Mitch
Weiss: Noodlehead Stories: World Tales Kids Can Read & Tell:
Little Rock, AR: August House, 2000.
* Hamilton, Martha & Mitch
Weiss (1996) Stories in My Pocket; Tales Kids Can Tell Golden,
CO: Fulcrum Pub.
* Hamilton, Martha & Mitch
Weiss Through the Grapevine: World Tales Kids Can Read & Tell Little
Rock: August House Publishers, 2001.
Harrison, Annette, Easy-to-tell
Stories for Young Children Jonesborough, Tenn. National Storytelling
Press, 1992.
* Holt, David
and Bill Mooney Ready-toTell-Tales. August House, 1994
* Holt, David
and Bill Mooney. More Ready-To-Tell Tales From Around the World Little
Rock: August House, 2000
MacDonald, Margaret
Read. Twenty Tellable Tales: Audience Participation Folktales
for the Beginning Storyteller. Wilson, 1986.
MacDonald, Margaret
Read. Earth Care: World Folktales to Talk About. North Haven,
CT: Linnet Books, 1999
MacDonald, Margaret
Read. Peace Tales: World Folktales to Talk About. North Haven,
CT: Linnet Books, 1992.
MacDonald, Margaret
Read, When the Lights Go Out: 20 Scary Tales To Tell [Bronx,
N.Y.] : H.W. Wilson Co., 1988.
MacDonald, Margaret
Read. Shake-It-Up-Tales! Stories to Sing, Dance, Drum, and Act
Out. Little Rock: August House, 2000.
Miller, Teresa. Joining
In: An Anthology of Audience Participation Stories and How to Tell
Them Yellow Moon Press, 1988.
Raines, Shirley
C. & Rebecca Isbell Tell It Again!: Easy-To Tell Stories With
Activities For Young Children Beltsville, Md. : Gryphon House,
c1999.
Raines, Shirley
C. & Rebecca Isbell Tell It Again! 2: Easy-To-Tell Stories
With Activities for Young Children Beltsville, MD: Gryphon House,
2000
BOOKS
TO GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE STORYTELLING PROCESS & BEYOND
Brand Trostle,
Susan and Jeanne M. Donato.
Storytelling in Emergent Literacy: Fostering Multiple Intelligences. Albany,
New York: Delmar, 2001
Hamilton, Martha
and Mitch Weiss.
Children Tell Stories: A Teaching Guide. Richard C. Owen, 1990.
Haven, Kendall. Super
Simple Storytelling: A Can-Do Guide for Every Classroom,
Every Day. Englewood, CO: Teacher Ideas Press, 2000.
Lipman, Doug. The
Storytelling Coach: how to listen, praise, and bring out people’s
best. August House, 1995.
MacDonald, Margaret
Read. The Storyteller’s Start-Up Book: Finding, Learning,
Performing, and Using Folktales. Little Rock: August House, 1993
Sima, Judy and
Kevin Cordi Raising Voices: Creating Youth Storytelling Groups
and Troupes Libraries Unlimited 2003
Storyteller
Dianne Hackworth offers an extensive bibliography of
Storytelling
Resources on her website, as well.
