Storytelling Resources

In the pursuit of some online self instruction of storytelling, a (thwarted) attempt to pin an image from a blog post on building stories in video games led to a video (embedded below) which led to the very funny YouTube channel Glove and Boots. The channel per se doesn't have anything to do with storytelling unless I wish to treat G&B as inspiration for how to tell funny stories incorporating popular culture. (Which I do.)

EMBEDDED!

The oh, so fantastic image that I could not pin (read the corresponding content at the above video games stories link):

A cool storytelling resource list (I can delete it from my tablet now) maintained by Elizabeth Fig, Ph.D. of the University of North Texas: Storytelling SLIS 5440, with such interesting topics as:

• Breathing for Public Speaking!
• FAQs and Tips
• Digital Storytelling
• Oral Traditions
• Curriculum for Teaching
• y mucho más!

A selection from the poem Lord of the Isles. I've been looking for this from when I was a biobay tour guide- a way to begin and capture the imagination when introducing bioluminescence. (Because selling things is actually telling a story. (well duh.))

Awak’d before the rushing prow,
The mimic fires of ocean glow,
Those lightnings of the wave;
Wild sparkles crest the broken tides,
And flashing round, the vessel’s sides
With elfish luster lave;
While far behind, their livid light
To the dark billows of the night
a blooming splendour gave

From Lord of the Isles (1815)
By Sir Walter Scott

Montessori Storytime: a Seed Grew!

There was a boy who attended the Montessori School where I volunteered storytime last summer who sat there with a grumbly grimace throughout my one hour "productions." He refused to do any of the songs, the rhymes, the body motion activities. Just sat there and if I asked him a question, woe to me with his monotone, monosyllabic responses.

The other day I was entering the school to retrieve my son as Mr. Grumpy Grump and his family were exiting. He stops me to ask if I'll be doing storytime again next year. I looked at him, weary of his reaction and said, "why not?" expecting there to be a very emphatic, "aww, maaaaannnn" and a roll of the eyes.

I was stunned to watch him jump up and down, pumping his fist in the air, and exclaiming, "yes!" It put a big grin on my face and made me determined to provide better storytimes. A seed grew, in both of us.

Here are some themes I've come up with based on books my son and I have read lately:

• Cooking/Building Theme
• Books: Rubia and the Three Osos 
• Activity: What can we mix that doesn't need baking? or a building theme (boxes with my "nails" for hammering? Building something out of cardboard?)
• Adventures and Storytelling Theme
• Book: Clever Jack Takes the Cake
• Activity: circle up and whisper a sentence in the ear of one of the kids and have them send it round, what ends up being told?), maybe a pick your own adventure type story?
• Craft: can we do a group build of Clever Jack's story on a large piece of butcher paper?
• Art Theme
• Books: Warthogs Paint, David's Drawings and maybe one of those artists for little kids books, 
• Activity- Joy of Zentangle lesson (prep the boards, have a space for the kids to write their names) or Ed Emberley's fingerprint drawing book
• Fire Theme
• Books: Fire Fuego Bravo Bomberos, Fire Engines Up Close (non-fiction), Munsch's the Fire Station (can get TumbleCloud to do? Yes, with wifi hub!!!)
• Activity: do exercises that a real fire fighter must do.  
• Craft: Paper Cup Fireman Puppet http://www.pinterest.com/pin/111323422010198421/ OR firetruck craft: http://onemomfiveboys.blogspot.com/2009/09/firetruck-craft.html

Montessori Storytime: Trickster Tales

I didn't actually get to present a final storytime, but I thought I'd log the idea, just in case for the future.

Book: Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens - This is the story about how Rabbit tricks lazy Bear into letting him use Bear's fields to plant three different types of crops and keeping the best parts for himself!

Activity: Shadow Puppets - the idea is to put up a sheet large enough that the whole class spread out could practice casting shadow puppets on the screen. I'd need some bright light sources as well. Teach the kids how to use their hands and fingers to make an elephant, duck, spider, snail, bird, dog, and alligator. Images will be sharper when closer to the wall. Images will be fuzzier when closer to the light. You can also make a shadow puppet stage out of a box and create stick puppets or use stuffed animals - anything to create a clear shadow shape. Ideas came from Shadow Night by Kay Chorao and Making Shadow Puppets by Bryant and Heard.

Tale: Finally, I thought I'd try my hand at telling instead of reading a story. I liked the story "Bruh Possum & the Snake" found in Sure As Sunrise: Stories of Bruh Rabbit & His Walkin' Talkin' Friends by Alice McGill. Perhaps some felt figures could help to even out the presentation.

I hadn't selected any songs to go with it. I suppose while the shadow puppet screen is up, we could easily do "Eensy Weensy Spider". Also "Froggy Went a Courtin'" (http://freekidsmusic.com/traditional-childrens-songs/froggy-went-a-courtin/ has interesting lyrics) would be cool as it follows the animal theme.

There are several trickster tails out there, for every culture. Find the ones you like best.
For fun, here's two pictures of me during a storytime. Photos courtesy Lake Cities Montessori.

Montessori Storytime: Theme Camping

Theme: Camping

Introduce myself – My visuals are a camping scene built out of a construction paper fire, stuffed animals with cotton ball marshmallows

Opening Song as needed: "We are here for storytime" sung to the tune of Mary had a little lamb or London Bridge- either works. *from Simply Super Storytimes (JR 372.4 CAS)- after just one story time session, the kids totally caught onto this song. They like when I turn my voice down absurdly low.

First book: Camping Day by Lakin, Patricia

Second book: Shake My Sillies Out by Raffi - this is an action book. You can get up and move to the words or sit and watch the pictures.

Activity: "Missing Camping Gear" *from A Storytime Year (JR 027.6251 DAI) p 153-158 1. Place pictures on the board while discussing the gear needed when you go camping. 2. Turn the board away and remove a picture while saying: We are going camping, we gathered all our gear. We placed them in a pile, now something is not here.What is missing? 3. Encourage the kids to identify the missing item. Repeat the game, removing more and more pictures to make it more challenging.

Third Book: Down by the Bay by Raffi – Do you want to have another book with a song or do you want to do a sound effects story? When you go camping, you can sing camp songs. Here’s another book with a silly song. I’m sure you’ll figure out the rhymes.

Sound Effects Story: Adam Alan’s Camping Trip. *from A Storytime Year (JR 027.6251 DAI) p160-163 Photocopy

Fourth book: Toasting Marshmallows: camping poems by George, Kristine O'Connell – this book doesn’t have a specific story, but is made up of little poems that describe the experience of camping. Not all poems rhyme like our first book or some of our songs, but if you listen to the words, you can hear they create a rhythm and then make music with their sounds that repeat. If you want to get comfortable and lay down, that’s okay. These poems are for dreaming in your head.

Ending Song as needed: Raffi's The More We Get Together

Lake Cities Montessori Storytime: the Sea

I'm scheduled to read about 8 times at the school. It just so happens that the summer program is divided into themed days. On the first day that I'll be attending the theme is "The Sea" (cue Disney Mania, Under the Sea, which if I were doing a musical chairs or craft activity, I could play in accompaniment.)

Sea Theme Storytime

Introduce myself – Bring out my visuals (sea shell, camera, sea puppets, boat) and ask if the children can guess what the books I'll be sharing are about. Give my expectations- they listen, but when I ask a question or point to them, it means I'd love to hear their thoughts.

Opening Song as needed: "We are here for storytime." *from Simply Super Storytimes (JR 372.4 CAS)

First book: I'm the biggest thing in the ocean! by Sherry, Kevin – get the sea puppets or make flannel board characters.

Counting rhyme as needed

5 Little Sea Creatures *use flannel board or sea puppets as needed

*from The Big Book of Reading, Rhyming, and Resources by Maddigan and Drennan (JR 027.625 MAD)

Song: The Sharks in the Sea (Tune: The Wheels on the Bus) *from The Big Book of Reading, Rhyming, and Resources by Maddigan and Drennan (JR 027.625 MAD)

Fingerplay as needed: "Open, Shut Them" (I'm ending the above song with a line about the clams in the sea open and shut and this is a good way to transition back to quiet sitting.)

Second book: Flotsam by Wiesner – bring digital camera and film camera to show the difference between the two; bring film in canister and off roll; This is a book that has no words and I’ll need your help in telling the story.

Fingerplay as needed
"Ocean Shell" & "Two Little Fishes"

*from I’m a Little Teapot by Cobb (JR 027.6251 COB)

Final book as needed: The sea house by Zagwyn, Deborah Turney; Show knots in a rope

Craft to hand out: Origami boats and boats for kids to color. 

• Knot tying for the older kids; Need instruction sheets and rope for them to practice.
• Origami boat crafts (http://www.freeprintable.com/view/print-body.html?id=3465 & http://www.origami-instructions.com/easy-origami-boat.html)

Ending Song as needed: Raffi's "The More We Get Together"

As much of the above is in copyrighted texts, I don't have the full program typed up here. I did prepare it for me to have on hand and if I were doing a storytime with parents, I'd hand it out for them so they could sing along.