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| A Storytelling Chart created by Diane and her kids |
Storytelling Arts
began a three year residency in 2013 at Alexander Hamilton Academy in Paterson,
NJ. I worked with 4 teachers the first year and then exclusively with Maureen
Errity in fourth grade and Diane Rudd in Kindergarten. Diane Rudd’s goal was to
learn to tell stories and integrate storytelling into her classroom. (See blog
post: September 4, 2015 to see some of the work we did together) I keep in
touch with Diane and she told me recently that she was busy setting up her room
for storytelling. I decided to interview her to find out more. Last week we met
and talked.
JDT: You told me
recently, “I’m setting up the room for storytelling.” What does that mean,
setting up the room for storytelling?
DR: That means to
teach the students where to sit number one. Their body language number two. And
the whole protocol how are they going to act when they tell or listen to a
story? What’s their job, what’s my job?
JDT: And what do
you tell them?
DR: I tell them to
sit on the outer part of the carpet in a horseshoe. But, with 25 kids well, to
sit close, but not that close. Cross-legged if possible, hands in their laps,
some in chairs. It takes a while. Then we have our yellow tape border, one in
front of them, one in front of me. That’s our stage area. It takes practice.
I start slow with
them. We do fairy tales they are familiar with.
Maybe just two
characters to start with. Grandfather
Bear and Chipmunk is a good one to start with. Just two characters. I’ll
have them draw one of the characters, or both. Then I bring them back to the
carpet and ask them, “Now where do you think the story takes place?’ It’s all
new to them so you have to go step by step with them.
JDT: Tell me about
your storytelling sessions.
DR: For instance,
if I want to get a lot of kids involved I’ll do characters. We did Boney Legs. I told the story, then we
acted it out. That was fun because the kids really go into that and then they
went back and drew a picture of what they thought Boney Legs looked like. I
don’t like to show them the pictures. I like them to use their imaginations.
They love Boney Legs. They want me to
do it again and again.
We act out the
stories, or parts of a story. You pick the kids who are really good for the
parts sometimes. I model. I’m the mean, big Billy goat, I’m the little baby
Billy goat, this is how I would walk. I’m the Troll. Some of the trolls are
great and some of them are, uh, that’s a terrible troll. You can be meaner than
that. You’re giving them permissions to be angry. You’re giving them permission
to be mean. It gives them permission to act out all these feelings which are
not really acceptable during the course of the day.
You’ve got to get
the kids ready to tell stories.
JDT: I remember
when we were there you were doing charts with them, mapping charts, character
charts, problem/solution charts?
DR: I don’t have as
many now because I have to hang up other things. But, I hang up the work they
do with the stories.
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| Another chart in Diane's classroom |
JDT: When do you
fit storytelling into your day?
DR: I try to have
storytelling either after reading or before a writing activity. It depends on
what my goal is. If I want them to develop characters I’ll do a story with a
lot of different characters. If I want them to do settings I’ll do a story with
a good visual setting. It depends on what I’m teaching for that day and it
depends on the group of kids, too. I tell stories about twice a week. Last year
I made sure to tell stories on the days we didn’t have breaks for specials. I
also break up a long language arts period with storytelling.
Or I’ll do it if
they’re off the wall. They’re all over the place, can’t focus, then I’ll bring
them to the carpet and I’ll tell them a story.
JDT: And that seems
to focus them?
DR: Yeah, because
they know it’s time to act out and have fun.
JDT: I know
your curriculum, and I know the standards for Paterson in general. You work on
finding the meaning in a story and Beginning, Middle and End and...
DR: Always
Beginning, Middle and End, characters, setting, finding the problem and the
solution. Storytelling ties right in with our writing program which is having
them draw pictures and tell stories.
We are also
teaching them to work indepently both personally and in small groups. While I’m
working with one or two students the others have work to do at their tables.
Storytelling fits in perfectly with this as well. I told the Gingerbread Boy and each table had to do
one part for the story. One table did characters; one group did setting and so
on. They did a really good job. I put
them all together and made a book of it.
Storytelling is
fun. I enjoy it. I’d rather tell a story than read a book because, when you
tell a story, they get much more out of it. Especially when you get to ‘what’s
the problem in the story?’ How did the character solve the problem? Some of the
things they say are amazing.
JDT: It’s amazing
the difference in listening between read-alouds and storytelling.
DR: Yeah, when I
read a story aloud they’re in la-la land. They’re not paying attention. You
have to pull this one in or that one. With storytelling, they’re all engaged
because they have to listen. If they want to act it out they have to listen.
There is an extra layer that helps them get the most out of the story.
JDT: What are some
of your favorite stories to tell?
DRL Oh my goodness. Lizard’s Song, Mabela the Clever, I did that for my observation last year. Tops and Bottoms. Goldilocks, The Three Billy
Goats Gruff, Oh, Frog and Toad: The Lost Button, The Lion and the Mouse, The Big, Noisy House, that’s a good one. Why Bat Flies??? (Diane was unsure of
the title) Wait; let me look at my
journal. (She opened an old journal she started when we worked together in 2014. Her goal that year was to learn how to tell
stories and become a storytelling teacher. As she looked for and learned
stories, she kept a journal of different exercises she did to learn stories,
lists of stories and what made a particular story good to learn.)
JDT: You still have
your journal?
DR: Oh yeah, I look
back at it to remind me of the stories. Oh,
The Little Red Hen. Oh, The Name of the Tree, that’s good. Another one is Anansi and the Yam Hill, remember that
one? I love that story! Some of them better than others?
JDT: What makes
some of them better?
DR: Maybe the more
involved I get in telling the story.
When there is a lot of action, things they can identify with. It has to
be a certain type of story. You know what the problem is with read-alouds with
25 kids? It’s always, “I didn’t see the picture.” With storytelling I tell
them, “think about it. Whatever the picture is that’s the picture.” And they
have to listen.
JDT: Does anyone
else in the school tell stories?
DR: I think Ms. Z
does. Maureen E. is now in second grade. Maybe she’ll tell stories. I’ll help
her find some good ones for second grade.
I’m going to start
right away. I’m going to tell the first day.
JDT: What are you
going to tell?
DR: I don’t know
I’ll find one. Last year I started with Grandfather
Bear and Chipmunk.
