Reading Reflection

 "Stories have power, and the stories we tell today do just as much to try to explain our world as did the myths of so long ago." -Wayne R. Cherry, Jr. in The Importance of Story and Storytelling in the Classroom

Storytelling: What is it? 

    According to our textbook, Storytelling: Art and Technique, storytelling is considered both the oldest and newest art form. It was originally used as a way to pass on history, legends, lessons, tales, and morals, but now has developed into a captivating magic that people everywhere know and love. From the original bards and musicians in Asia, Africa, and Europe, to our modern day writers and poets, to speakers and pastors, storytelling is a part of our past, present, and will continue to impact our futures. 

    "The storyteller is someone who appreciates literature as a whole, and knows good language, form, and substance." (Greene & Del Negro, 2021). As a storyteller, we must have an appreciation for diverse stories, literary works, such as fables and fairy tales, histories, and lessons. We must also see it as an art form, and recognize that it takes training, preparation, and practice to become experienced. There are many ways to be a storyteller, and each is as unique as the stories themselves. Storytelling is not just about memorizing a story word for word and regurgitating it in front of people. It should be an experience, and you should truly know and love a story, and want to share it with others so they can come to know and love it, too. 

    I think it is beautifully stated in our text, "Storytelling is an individual art, and that each storyteller will bring a special kind of appreciation, imagination, and interpretation to the telling. Extensive reading and building of background are necessary, for the storyteller must think of the story as a part of a whole literature to which it belongs, and of the storyteller as the medium through which the story comes to life." (Greene & Del Negro, 2021). 

Storytelling: Why?

    In both articles Language-Rich Early Childhood Classroom: Simple but Powerful Beginnings and The Early Catastrophe, we can clearly see the most important why in storytelling: our students. According to these articles, children from lower socio-economic families enter into kindergarten with a huge language and vocabulary deficit. Students that are born into professional and working class families experience the rich language and vocabulary of their parents, and therefore may have up to a 30 million word advantage over their peers. (Hart & Risley, 2003). 

    As teachers and librarians, we can utilize storytelling to help mitigate that barrier for our students that need it most. We can intentionally choose stories that will positively impact our students, provide them with language-rich environments they may not experience at home, and give them opportunities to use the language they acquire. We can teach our key language related specifically to literacy while also integrating new vocabulary, syntactically complex sentences, communication skills, meaning-making strategies, and collaboration. (Flynn, 2016). 

"Language-rich learning environments provide opportunities for children to use and hear language in the kind of extended turns associated with language learning." -Flynn

    Another key part of why we should use storytelling with our students comes from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. They have identified six early literacy skills that are critical for students to be able to learn to read. Those skills include: print motivation, phonological awareness, vocabulary, narrative skills, print awareness, and letter skills. Librarians and teachers are able to naturally incorporate these paramount skills into their storytelling experiences at the library and at school, and can model the way for parents to also practice them at home. (Albright, Delecki & Hinkle, 2009). They state, "It is necessary to incorporate early literacy information and developmentally appropriate practices into a story time not only to benefit the children, but also to encourage the caregiver to use these techniques outside of the library." Storytelling gives us an opportunity to bridge the gap between the library and home, and can help mitigate the substantial vocabulary deficits many students experience. 

Storytelling: How?

    

    A big part of storytelling is choosing special stories that children will love. Del Negro and Greene note that the characteristics of a great story are: 

1. A single clearly defined theme

2. A well-developed plot

3. Style

4. Characterization

5. Faithfulness to source material

6. Dramatic appeal

7. Appropriateness for listeners 

    Several of the articles this week focused on how we can tell a great story by embodying the heart and spirit of a true storyteller. I loved reading Srividhya Venkat's unique perspective as an
international author, writer, and storyteller. She recommends using "repetitive phrases, rhymes, songs, and/or music (whether or not included in the book) make storytelling more enjoyable and give listeners a chance to participate." She uses her culture and experiences growing up to write her own stories. 

    Additionally, Wayne Cherry makes note of incorporating The 4 C's into storytelling:

1. Critical Thinking
2. Communication
3. Collaboration
4. Creativity

He encourages students to take ownership of their own stories, the stories of important events and people from history, and the stories of grandparents that could otherwise be forgotten. 

In this video, Karrie shares 5 key tips for storytelling! 

    The most practical advice for the how of storytelling came from the article Bringing Storytime Alive With Acting and Storytelling Techniques. Christine Underdown-DuBois relates storytelling to a magical performance for children. You should make use of your entire body, change your voice for characters, add inflection and gestures, make eye contact, and incorporate movement. To really engage the audience, focus on bringing the characters to life, and consider the author's purpose in writing the story. 

"By not being afraid of 'making a fool of one’s self', a librarian can open a world of possibilities, letting go of preconceptions and becoming more comfortable in front of a group of any age." -Christie Underdown-DuBois

Fables

    Fables are short stories that generally have animals as main characters, and they convey an important message or moral. These are some of the fables I chose to read this week! I love the unique perspective and retellings of fables. I also did not realize how many fables there are within the collected works of Aesop! There were probably a hundred, and many of them were new to me! 

Fairy Tales

    A fairy tale is a children's story that incorporates magic. For these, I chose to read a new take on each of these classics using Epic. Wiley Blevins wrote a new series called Scary Tales Retold, and he incorporated something scary or spooky into each of these traditional fairy tales. I loved the creativity, and I will definitely be able to recommend these short stories to my students that want something different! 

Picture Books

For picture books this week, I was trying to think ahead of the book that I will record myself reading, so I decided to re-read some of my most favorite Mo Willems books to see which one would be best. I absolutely adore this author, and his books are incredibly engaging for students. They are funny, silly, and have the best characters! 

References

Albright, M., Delecki, K., & Hinkle, S. (2009). The Evolution of Early Literacy. Children and Libraries, 13–18. 

Cherry, W. (2017). Our Place in the Universe: The Importance of Story and Storytelling in the Classroom. Knowledge Quest, 46(2), 50–55. 

Del Negro, & Greene. (2021). Storytelling: Art and technique. Libraries Unlimited. 

Flynn, E. E. (2016). Language-Rich Early Childhood Classroom: Simple but Powerful Beginnings. The Reading Teacher, 70(2), 159–166. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1487 

Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (2003). The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3. American Educator, 4–9. 

YouTube. (2015). Storytelling Tips with Karrie Korroch. YouTube. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dLWG-uQVUM. 

YouTube. (2017). The magical science of storytelling. YouTube. Retrieved June 26, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj-hdQMa3uA. 

Underdown-DuBois, C. (2011). Bringing Storytime Alive with Acting and Storytelling Techniques: an Interactive Article. Tennessee Libraries, 61(2). 

Venkat, S. (2020). Using Oral Storytelling Techniques in Reading Sessions. Knowledge Quest, 48(5), 54–56.