Hello all,
This week our reading genre group was picture books, fables, and fairytales. I personally LOVE picture books because my children are 5 and 9 and they are both still really interested in sitting down to read a story with mommy. Even though these are my favorite books to read, I believe that these would be the most difficult for me to translate into an oral story. As I read Duck and Goose Go to the Beach to my five year old I tried to imagine telling the story without the book and it would be very difficult. Some of the humor would be lost without the illustrations. Fairytales and fables would be my go to genre to get started. The reason is these have been around for so long that I don’t have to worry about getting lost or forgetting anything. They also are familiar to most of the children (even if the storyteller changes up some details or puts a personal twist on it). I think fables work especially well because most were originally shared orally and they are a good length for this format.
The textbook readings and lecture covered the history of storytelling in part one (Ch 1-3). The historical component is interesting because it shows how storytelling is an ongoing part of the human experience from ancient Egypt through today’s library story hour. Modern technology allows us to share through different mediums, but regardless of delivery method, storytelling remains at its heart about connecting and sharing with others. To me, the most impactful part of this is the universality of storytelling across time and cultures.
The second part of the textbook reading and lecture (Ch 4-6) switched gears to cover material selection and delivery. I found this to be immensely helpful in feeling more prepared for future assignments. Public speaking is not something I am entirely comfortable with. It may seem odd to sign up for a storytelling class when I am nervous to speak in front of others, but it is important to step out of my comfort zone to grow professionally. The tone of both the text and the lecture is very logical and practical in helping new storytellers. I like that there is no “right way” or “wrong way” to prepare - different methods are presented (outline, cue card, etc.…) and you can experiment to find what works best for you. I have been a little overwhelmed with the prospect of material selection, so the criteria of what makes a “tellable” story are extremely helpful for me as a total beginner.
As a side note, I found the slide that covers types of stories and ages they appeal to hold true for my own children. I had to smile about the fractured fairy tales because I loved the book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs as well as The Stinky Cheese Man as a child. I think that these would both be cool choices to use for storytelling and there are a lot of opportunities for standards-based follow-up activities with these and other fractured fairytale selections.
I have very fond childhood memories of being read to and listening to stories. As a child, I would be totally engrossed in whatever that reader or storyteller was sharing. In the article Why Storytelling Matters Unveiling the Literacy Benefits of Storytelling Denise E. Agosto describes this as the “storytelling trance phenomenon.” I feel that many of us have experienced this as listeners without even realizing it and those of us that have watched young children listen to a story have also witnessed children in this state. The two parts of the trance phenomenon that resonated with me the most is the “placeness” where the listener “goes somewhere else” and the time distortion where the listener is so engrossed that time seems to be moving at a different speed. I distinctly remember those feelings as a child listening to story time. I find it interesting that this is not just a condition of being interested but it is an actual physiological state that we enter.
I find it surprising that few studies have been done on the impact of storytelling on literacy and vocabulary. In the article, Augusto shares the results of one small sample study showing four distinct benefits to storytelling.
Visualization - students were able to describe or draw what they imagined various parts of the story to be like.
Cognitive engagement - we are more motivated to understand things we are interested in. The students in the study imagined alternative endings, created drawings that incorporated parts of the story, and were able to engage with the storyteller to explain what they felt the characters should do or predict what might happen next.
Critical Thinking - students questioned events in the story instead of accepting them at face value
Sequencing - students were able to put the events of the story in order
This is impactful to me because when I read these four benefits I see standards-based skills. Anytime we can link standards to student enrichment everyone wins. I believe that this article and study could be used to help validate using time and resources to bring storytellers into schools or to incorporate storytelling in the media center. Public libraries can also use this information to promote the benefits of Storytime to parents and caregivers and help bring more young children into the library.
We want to be sure that storytelling programs (and all library programs) are accessible to our users. One of the ALA’s key action areas is “Equitable Access to Information and Library Services.” If people cannot access library programs, they cannot benefit from them. I know that the focus of The Evolution of Early Literacy A History of Best Practices in Storytimes Meagan Albright, Kevin Delecki, and Sarah Hinkle is the history of story time, but as I was reading the article the point that stuck with me most are their ideas on how we can make story time more accessible and inclusive. A friend and I were recently discussing how the “toddler time” at our local splash pad is an 9-10 on Wednesday mornings, making this completely out of reach of most working moms. When I was reading this article, it made me think about how these programs designed for the youngest of children are inaccessible to many of the children they would most benefit from. The article gives the suggestion of “pajama story times.” If evenings aren’t possible, a Saturday morning story time would work. They also discuss the fact that some patrons that don’t speak English may be left out. This is where the librarian could work to bring in community partners if they are not bilingual. One of the articles, The Children Sat and Listened, discussed the work of storytellers in Children's Mobile libraries. Although the mobile library wasn’t the focus of the article, it made me consider the fact that many county libraries do have at least one mobile unit that attends events so adding story hour as part of the mobile library services might be another way to make storytelling more accessible and inclusive to more families.
I have linked some additional resources that illustrate these ideas in action.
ALA's Mission Priorities - Key Action Areas - ALA’s Mission Priorities - key Action Areas
Making Room for Inclusion - A Resouces from American Libraries Magazine on inclusive story time. While this does not focus on working families, it does focus on accessibility for more patrons
Read in Your PJ's - how one library shares stories after hours
Berkeley Mobile Library SC My County Library’s Mobile Library
HCPLC'S Parent Tip of The Week: Helping Your Child Get the Most Out of Story Hour
you can share this with the parents of your listeners, especially the youngest listeners, to help them further enrich their child's storytelling experience
Thank you for taking the time to read my first entry. What were your major takeaways this week? Did you come across additional data that could be used to advocate for bringing storytelling to a school library? Do you have thoughts on additional ways that we can make storytelling time at public libraries accessible for working families? Let me know in the comments!
-Lauren Jordan
My Reading Table for Week 1:
References:
Agosto, D. E. (2016). Why Storytelling Matters: Unveiling the Literacy Benefits of Storytelling. Children and Libraries, 21-26.
Albright, M., Delecki, K., & Hinkle, S. (2009). The Evolution of Early Literacy: A History of Best Practices in Storytimes. Children and Libraries(Spring), 13-18.
Greene, E., & Del Negro, J. M. (2010). Storytelling: Art and Technique (4th ed.). Libraries Unlimited.
Lwin, S. M. (2016, April). It’s story time!: exploring the potential of multimodality in oral storytelling to support children’s vocabulary learning. Literacy UKLA, 50(2), 72-82.
Mission Priorities: Key Action Areas. (2021, Jan). Retrieved from American Library
Association : https://www.ala.org/aboutala/missionpriorities/keyactionareas
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your insightful comments on the chapters and readings. I agree with you fully that it is quite difficult to translate many traditional stories into oral stories as much of the humor without the illustrations would be lost. This is one of my biggest fears going into the course as I don't believe I am a very good storyteller without the use of a book to guide me. I tell stories in class to children, but not to the extent that they have a plot or characters.
I love that you provided some additional resources, especially some equitable access information. This is easily one of my biggest proponents when I get my own library is creating equitable access for all. This will also help drive more circulation as when everyone is welcomed, everyone will show up!
Thanks!
Aaron
Lauren,
ReplyDeleteFirst I wanted to say how much I love your website, it's so cute! I also love the layout of your reading log, what did you create it on? I did mine on a Word document and then realized I could not link it in my website.
I also love how you addressed being nervous to speak in front of others. I get nervous speaking in front of people my own age or people older than me, so I am also nervous to do storytelling in this class. Another element I am nervous about is the kids'/students' reactions when I tell a story. I feel like if I do not get the reaction that I am looking for from every single student that I will get nervous and begin messing up. My middle-level students can be very particular about content, so I need to be more confident in my selections and in my abilities.