Gossard_Theresa_Free Choice

 This week is a free week so I wanted to reflect on my last storytelling experience and how I would use this book in my classroom.  I would also like to reflect on and highlight some of the videos and readings for this week and last week.  Our professor shared a lot of good information with us and I would like to talk about a few of these resources.  

My storytelling with props experience was challenging.  The story I chose was “The Nest That Wren Built.” by Sonenshine I chose this book because it spoke to me as a mom and a teacher.  I also liked that this book was a poem with repetition phrases that I felt my students would enjoy.  This story also flowed well and left me wondering what would happen on the next page.  It was an exciting book to read.  I felt my students could make connections with the book as well.  Some things they could connect with was the book is written about a Wren and if you live in South Carolina you know that the Carolina Wren is our state bird.  Also, I thought my students could make the connection between the Momma and Daddy Wren in the book and what their parents provide for them.  As parents, we want to keep our babies safe and meet their needs to the best of our abilities.  In the book, the Wren does just that by making a nest for her babies and the daddy Wren would provide food and protection for his babies.   

                                                                        

I honestly could not put this book down when I first picked it up.  I read it to my husband, my children and with my students. I have not been this excited about children's books in a long time.  According to M. Cahill et al. (2020), adults value storytime for their children.  Storytime helps attract lifetime library users.  Some reasons parents and caregivers think storytime is important is because children enjoy hearing the story and participating in the activities. Storytime gives children the chance to interact with other children, and  it gets young children prepared for school with educational activities (M. Cahill et al., 2020).  

After I chose the book, I wanted to make sure I used the helpful hints that Marcus (2002) refers to in his article about “Using Storytime to Teach Information Skills.”  Some tips he gave was use your facial expressions and read the book with enthusiasm, do not choose a boring book, choose a book with illustrations that are large enough for everyone to see and make sure you know the story and words so you are not stumbling during the reading (Marcus, 2002).  As the storyteller, it is good to come up with some thought provoking questions to ask throughout the book to keep the children interested in the story.  This also allows the storyteller to check for understanding and comprehension.  

Having activities planned that goes along with the book will help get the students excited about the story and will help with the students' understanding of the story.  After reading this book to the students I would have them reflect on the steps it took to build a nest and make a home for the baby birds.  Students would use twigs, pine needles, bark and other things that I brought in to make their own bird nest.  I would also have them each add an egg to their nest and remind them they need to keep it safe.  Since the students will be creating their own nest they will have experience in building a nest and they will see the steps it takes to make it happen.  After the students finish the nest building activity I would have them share their nest with the class or group.  While they are sharing their nest I would ask them to come up with one way that their parents are like the parents of the birds.  What is something their parents do for them that the birds parents do for their babies?  Hopefully, the next time they see a bird or a nest they think of the information they learned through this storytime.  

This would be a great book to use when teaching Science with habitats.  As a teacher, I love when I can connect read alouds to what I am teaching.  I usually go to the library and reserved books that go along with the unit that I am teaching.  I immerse those students in that information through books and other artifacts.  I have learned that students tend to score higher on units that I have read books about in the classroom.  When we talk about habitats, I would pull a book like this one to use in my classroom library.  When students are getting this information in many different forms such as textbooks, activities, read out loud, and storytime they tend to recall and apply it to what is being studied.  When I taught in elementary grades I always started my units with a quick big book read aloud.  I would select different genres of books on the topic that I was covering.  During self selected reading time the students would grab one of the books to read or share with a friend.  Those times were the best.  Even my fifth graders loved curling up with a good book and a friend.  As I taught the unit, the students would refer back to the books where they learned the information.  

When storytelling to older children you can use items such a 3D Printer to make items from or to go along with your story.  I was impressed with the video from Carla Diana (2014) about using the 3D printer for Storytelling.  Last school year I was at a middle school that had three 3D printers sitting in a box the entire school year.  No one ever touched them and the administrator directed everyone to not touch it.  They stayed in the brown shipping boxes all year.  Administration said they were too expensive and they did not want them to get broken.  After watching that video from Diana about how she used the 3D printer to design items from the story really stuck out to me.  I could only imagine the fun, excitement and learning that would come from introducing a 3D printer to young adults now through storytime.  The possibilities are endless.  It would take some time and preparation but it would be such an exciting lesson for the students.  I was at the dentist recently and my dentist printed a piece for my tooth using a 3D printer.  I was amazed.  Could you imagine the stories that the 3D printer could tell if it could talk and print at the same time?  

Something that I am taking away this week is that storytelling is not just for young children.  Storytelling can benefit all age levels, young and old. Another powerful resource that I enjoyed was the Youth Speaks (2013) video where the two young girls from the Washington DC Team that were in the Quarter Finals of the Poetry Slam contest.  They almost moved me to tears while I was watching the video.  It was a powerful storytelling moment where two young girls participated in a Poetry Slam and told their story of how they are looked at and treated because of their religion.  I have to admit, I have never seen a Poetry Slam that was as moving as this one.  These girls had me hanging on their every word.  I would love to share this with my high school students.  This is a very moving video and it is performed with such passion by these young adult girls.  This video inspires me to create more poetic avenues for my students.  When storytelling with older students it is good to get them involved in the story.  Let them tell the story through poetry. 

Myths I Read this Week

References

Cahill, M et al.  (2020, November 30).  We’ve been offering it for years, but why do they come?  The reasons why adults bring young children to public library storytimes.  Retrieved from https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/libri-2020-0047/html

Marcus, I.  (2002).  Using storytime to teach information skills.  EBSCO Publishing.

Diana, C.  (2014, October 27).  Maker kids and the future of storytelling [Video].  TEDxBanglore.  

Youth Speaks.  (2013, August, 9).  Brave new voices.  [Video].  YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv00xjClbx0 . 

Gossard_Theresa_Storytelling Reflection

    

Storytime is a tradition in both public and school libraries.  It brings together young and old readers to form a literacy community.  When librarians feel comfortable about telling stories it can bring storytime alive.  Today, I am going to reflect on my first storytelling experience for this class.  I chose the book It’s Hard To Be a Verb by Julia Cook.  I wanted to choose a book that I could get excited about and this book did just that.  I didn't want my first storytelling experience to be boring so I looked through several books until I decided on this one.  I also like the fact that this book is a Mom’s Choice Award winner. 

According to Venkat (2020), when storytelling, gestures and movements are a great way to show the character's emotion.  Throughout the book, I made gestures and movements to show how frustrated my character was.  Something else about this book excited me because there are several rhyming words and repeated phrases throughout the book.  I like reading books that contain words that have sound repetitions because they are fun to read as well as listen to.  I also chose this book because it goes along with what we have been learning in class.  We have been studying about verbs and why they are important.  This book went right along with my lesson so I used it as a review of verbs.  

This book can also be used to show how difficult it can be to be a student who lives with ADHD.  I am an adult that has ADHD so I could easily relate to this story.  My son also has ADHD so I really felt like I was reading this story to him, therefore, really connecting with the story.   Once I picked the book I wanted to share I had to read it several times.  I wanted to make sure I knew the book from front to back so the story would flow with little effort.  Being able to read the text smoothly, especially with rhyming words and phrases that may be difficult to say, enhances the listeners' interest. 

After I read the book several times and I felt confident in knowing the story I decided to start recording myself while reading.  I started and stopped recording several times.  Personally, I  do not like watching my own videos but I knew I had to watch them if I wanted to get better and grow in this experience.  When recording myself, I would get halfway through the book and then mess up on a page and would need to start all over again.  I wanted my reading of the book to be perfect but I felt like I was just getting more and more frustrated.  I finally had to allow myself to make mistakes throughout the reading of the book so I could go back and learn from my mistakes.  

After several attempts at reading the book I finally noticed that when I would make a mistake on a certain part of the book I would definitely remember it the next time.  It was like when you study for something but you get one question wrong and you remember that one answer forever.  This is when I realized that making an outline would have been a good tool to use.  So I went back and made a script and included the parts of the book I wanted to emphasize.  Making a script was a great strategy.  It helped me remember the important parts of the book I wanted to make sure I shared.  Mapping out the story also gave me the chance to bring in parts of the story that I think the students will enjoy.  

Below are a list of folktales I've read this week:

Something I will take away from this experience is that I have to invest time in learning the story from front to back.  Making connections with the story you are telling helps because it brings out emotion.  I connected with this story because I have ADHD, my child has ADHD and I have several students that have this diagnosis.  This story showed the human side of this disorder and I felt my students could also connect with it.

What is a Folktale

The narrative technique guide: 25 examples and explanations that’ll make you a better reader and writer.

References

Skill Share Blog.  (2022).  The narrative technique guide:  25 examples and explanations that’ll make you a better reader and writer.  Retrieved from https://www.skillshare.com/en/blog/the-narrative-technique-guide-25-examples-and-explanations-thatll-make-you-a-better-reader-and-writer/

Venkat, S.  (2020,May/June).  Using oral storytelling techniques in reading sessions.  Knowledge Quest. 

Gossard_Theresa_ReadingReflection

  Wow.  After reading the first three chapters about Storytelling I have a new appreciation and understanding of why storytelling is an integral part of a librarian's job description. Storytelling allows us to express our personal beliefs and values to others (Greene & Negro 2010).  Before the printing press, storytellers became the history keepers for their culture and it was a form of entertainment (Greene & Negro, 2010).  Storytellers who were superior at this skill were promoted to master storytellers.  Master storytellers had great power and owned their stories.  Other storytellers had to get permission from the master storytellers before they could tell their stories.  Master storytellers in Ireland were given special privileges.  They were allowed to wear five colors whereas others could only wear up to four colors according to their social status (Greene & Negro, 2010).

 The magical science of storytelling

David JP Phillips

In Africa, they had two types of storytellers.  One was a “resident” storyteller and the other was a “traveling” storyteller (Greene & Negro, 2010).  The “traveling” storyteller would travel from village to village telling stories.  The “resident” storyteller was in charge of keeping the stories of his leaders told.  During the Middle Ages, Western Europe held storytelling competitions and they still do today.  In 1450, the Printing Press was invented and allowed for stories to be told worldwide (Greene & Negro, 2010).  This is when storytelling was seen as entertainment.  In 1903, a group of teachers formed a storyteller’s league (Greene & Negro, 2010).  The purpose of this league was to support the stories of educators and community members who really value the art of storytelling and love to share it with children and others (Greene & Negro, 2010).  Over 100 years later, the storytelling league is still active in several states and regions.  

 

Throughout the reading this week, I noticed the textbook talked about storytellers from the past.  One of those names stood out to me, Jerry Clower.  I grew up on a farm and my dad used to listen to stories that Jerry Clower told.  Every August, Jerry Clower would be the main event at our local Tobacco Festival in Lake City, SC.  People would come from all over to hear him tell stories and even get his autograph.  As a child, I never realized that he was considered a storyteller.  My dad would listen to his cassette tapes that had hours and hours of stories.  He would listen to them over and over again and laugh as if it was the first time, he heard them.  Most of them I had memorized because he played them so much.  My dad was/is a very simple man.  He never physically went to a movie theater to watch a movie but he would sit at the table and listen to hours and hours of Jerry Clower tell the same story over and over.  I guess he connected to those stories and it brought him entertainment by hearing them.  They definitely put him in a good mood.  My dad also is very limited in his reading ability so I guess listening to these stories helped.  I kind of see storytelling as a modern type of audible book.    

 

Storytelling is an art that requires a listening audience.  When storytellers tell stories children can experience the entire story uninterrupted. This week I read several fables.  Fables is part of the storytelling family because it teaches morals to children of all ages. As a teacher, fables are quick and to the point, stories that can be taught on many different grade levels. Fables can also be used to help assess a child’s emotional comprehension in judging how they relate to characters in fables. The epic tales of good versus evil get the baseline of good story telling. As a teacher of different grade levels, I appreciate the ability of a fable to translate across different age groups, social, emotional and economical gaps to reach a wide audience. 

 

Below is the list of fables that I read this week.  

 

Fables and storytelling have been an important part of human history that’s been a reliable medium of passing history from one generation to the next. Not only does it pass information, it allows us to relate to one another and bring us closer together and expand our abilities to solve problems cope with different situations. Until recently, I really underestimated the importance of fables and what they have done for us as a society.

 

References

Greene, E. & Negro, J.D.  (2010).  Storytelling: Art and technique.  Libraries Unlimited.