Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on April 1st, 2008 at 8PM ET when I spoke with Jackie Baldwin and Kate Dudding on the storytelling in schools website interviewed on the Art of Storytelling with Children.

(from Storytelling Magazine) - Quantitative Studies * Innovative Projects
by Jackie Baldwin and Kate Dudding
Who will be interviewed on the Art of Storytelling with Children on this coming Tuesday April 1st at 8pm ET.

First, we must confess a strong bias. We believe that storytelling belongs in every school around the world, and we want to encourage and support that goal. Here’s how we went about it with our project, Storytelling in Schools.

As pressures build in schools for national testing, reporting and accountability, many people feel storytelling can be eliminated in schools. However, we knew that there were many quantitative studies documenting the methods and effectiveness of using stories and storytelling techniques in traditional classrooms to help teach the standard curriculum. But these studies were not Continue Reading »

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Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on 2/12/2008 with Dianne de Las Casas who spoke about storytelling and how it can be a safari into literacy.

Dianne de Las Casas writes…
My whole life has been a safari (Swahili word for “journey”) of stories. The power of stories permeated and impacted my life so strongly that, at an early age, I knew I wanted to share stories with the world. It became my life’s dream, which I am realizing today through storytelling and writing books.

Because books, reading, and telling stories are such an important part of my family’s life, I am always saddened to watch the declining literacy rate in America’s school children. Nearly 2/3 of elementary age children read 2 grade levels below their expected reading level. Why is this happening?

Many of today’s families are not “storied” families. Stories are not a daily part of life – they are not shared at the “campfire” - the dinner table (many families don’t even eat at the dinner table together anymore). There are a vast amount of children who do not have a basic foundation of nursery rhymes and folktales. Imagine my surprise when I learned that my 6 year old niece never heard of Rapunzel because Rapunzel wasn’t a “Disney Princess!”

In addition, few teachers have time to spend doing something “fun” like storytelling. There are standards and benchmarks to meet as well as tests to administer. Many educators do not understand the value of storytelling and how storytelling is an integral part of literacy in the home and the classroom.

Of course, pop culture also plays a role. Stories are pre-fabricated for our children in the form of television shows, movies, and computer and video games, leaving little room for Continue Reading »

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Post written by Stephen Hollen interviewed on Tuesday May 29nd at 7 PM Missed the call? Don’t worry - you can listen right now by clicking the play button.

Improvisational storytelling is a teaching tool that is a cross between storytelling that I have been doing for years and improv techniques I learned in my college days. Instead of aiming at oral tradition, it goes into the creative writing classroom to put “meat” on the three “Ps” - Person, Place and Problem plus one “P” of my own - Props.

By using these 4 “Ps” I help children in 3rd-5th grade unlock their creativity and develop the basics of Continue Reading »

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Post written by James Flanagan to be interviewed on Tuesday May 22nd at 7 PM Missed the call? Don’t worry - you can listen right now by clicking the play button.

To tell a story, you must write it down.

Before you tell it, you must have a point of reference, an outline, and hen scratching a script.

After you tell the story, you refine, and you refine your written story too.

Writing a story leads the teller to be able to see if the tale flows, if it makes sense,

The writing defines the beginning, middle and end. You look at the words and play with the vocabulary and the phrases. You see where in the story, you will have to add emphasis. (You might even insert the directions to change your voice)

I would suggest you read it to someone, they act it out. This acting helps you see what you left out or the jumps in the story.

You tell the story and see how it relates to the written tale. If you revise or change a part put that into the written story. Continue Reading »

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