Storytelling

Introduction

What is Storytelling?

Storytelling is the conveying of events in words, sound and/or images, often byimprovisation or embellishment. Stories or narratives have been shared in every culture as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation and instillingmoral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, charactersand narrative point of view. The term 'storytelling' is used in a narrow sense to refer specifically to oral storytelling and also in a looser sense to refer to techniques used in other media to unfold or disclose the narrative of a story.

Storytelling as an ancient art form and a valuable form of human expression. Because story is essential to so many art forms, however, the word “storytelling” is often used in many ways.

Our hope is to call attention to storytelling as an art worth promoting, and to help those outside the storytelling community to distinguish storytelling from other, related forms of human expression.

Here is what most of us mean by “storytelling”:

Storytelling is the interactive art of using words and actions to reveal the elements and images of a story while encouraging the listener’s imagination.

Task

Read the story. Choose the answers to the questions. After you are done answering the following questions read the story aloud to your classmates. Make sure you will follow the techniques in storytelling. The hummingbird is a tiny bird. It is so light it can sit on a flower. No other bird is so small.A hummingbird’s nest would fit into one side of a nut shell. It holds two eggs. The eggs are as tiny as bees. Four baby hummingbirds would fit in a teaspoon. It flies like a helicopter and its wings make a humming sound. That’s how it got its name. 1. How many hummingbirds would one teaspoon hold?a. 2 b. 3 c. 4 d. 5 2. What word in the story means not heavy?a. small b. light c. shell d. fill 3. The main idea of the story is:a. living in a nut shellb. helicopters c. how hummingbirds flyd. the tiny hummingbird4. Which bird is smaller than a hummingbird? a. robin b. wren c. none b. bluebird Most boys and girls love popcorn. At the movies and the circus, you will see children eating popcorn.Do you know why popcorn pops? Inside each kernel is a tiny bit of water. When the kernel gets hot, the water turns to steam. The steam pushes and pushes against the shell. Then — POP! goes the kernel. The steam pushes the popcorn inside out. 5. What is inside each popcorn kernel?a. seeds b. salt c. water d. heat 6. What is another word for kernel?a. hot b. seed c. shell d. pop 7. The main idea of this story is: a. how good popcorn isb. going to the circusc. what children eatd. why popcorn pops8. What does water become when it’s heated? a. steam b. popcorn c. kernels d. dry Jack heard a strange sound. It came from the edge of the path. He walked toward the sound and saw a tiny gray kitten. Its back feet were caught in some string. He helped untangle the kitten and carefully carried it to a neighbor’s house. 9. Where was the kitten? a. in the neighbor’s yard. b. near the fencec. at the edge of the pathd. at Jack’s house 10. What made Jack notice the kitten? a. he saw the stringb. he heard a strange soundc. the neighbor told himd. a dog was barking

Process

8 Easy Steps to Great Story Telling

1. Create a story telling atmosphere

Firstly, ensure the child is comfortable and ready to hear the story. If your child is still playing with a toy, or distracted you may find it harder to maintain their attention for the whole book.

2. Win the audience with the first line

Capture your audience from the very beginning. Even before I begin to read to my daughter I start to create the desired atmosphere for my first line. With the closed book in front of us, I read the title of the book and open each page slowly until I come to the first line.

3. Read books with great rhyme, rhythm and pace

The best kids books stand out as they have amazingly simple rhyme, rhythm and pace that make them so enjoyable for young children. When selecting a book to read take note of the sentence length, the rhyming structure used and think about how you vary the volume of your voice and the pace of your speech to match the story. Slow your voice down when you read out dialog. Quicken your pace when you describe actions.

4. Tell the story with FEELING!

Make sure you read to your children with feeling and passion! Convey the mood and feelings of characters by using voice, eyes, face and arms. Your voice can be loud, soft, high, low, fast or slow. Use pauses and silences to increase tension. Use your eyes, face and arms to convey happiness, sadness, excitement and fear.

5. Play Games with the book

Have fun when you read to your children by playing games with the books.

6. Involve the audience in the story!!!!

It is much more fun for your children when they to get to participate in the story telling experience. Not only is it more fun but it actually improves the ability for your children to remember. One remarkable statistic is that children remember 60% of what they do, 30% of what they see and 10% of what they hear.

7. Slow down for the ending

It is great to slow things down as you come to the end of a story. It makes the story more satisfying for your children and make sure you follow your ending with a silent pause. In fact many children books are designed so that you slow down your delivery for the ending.

8. Watch a librarian conduct a reading class

Whenever I take my daughter to a reading session at the local library I end up coming away with some ideas on how I can improve my story telling techniques. It always amazes me how the librarians have the ability to keep a group of twenty pre-school kids engaged and interested for half an hour.

Click here for the Art of Storytelling.

http://www.mensaforkids.org/teach/lesson-plans/the-art-of-storytelling/

Evaluation

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words
You will select to the following pictures. Looking at the pictures for inspiration, you will construct a short story about the chosen picture. After 30 minutes, you will read it to the class applying the techniques in storytelling.

Your grade will be based to the following criteria:

	Beginner	Intermediate	Proficient	Accomplished
Voice Mechanics
Facial Expression
Body Language and Expression
Focus
Characterization
Use of space
Timing/Pacing

Conclusion

"The greatest art in the world is the art of storytelling." - Cecil B. Demille

Storytelling happens in many situations, from kitchen-table conversation to religious ritual, from telling in the course of other work to performances for thousands of paying listeners. Some storytelling situations demand informality; others are highly formal. Some demand certain themes, attitudes, and artistic approaches. As noted above, the expectations about listener interaction and the nature of the story itself vary widely.

There are many cultures on earth, each with rich traditions, customs and opportunities for storytelling. All these forms of storytelling are valuable. All are equal citizens in the diverse world of storytelling.

In its simplest form, storytelling remains a powerful element of communication, with the narrative being equally as compelling as essays and textbooks. They humanize learning. It offers us the opportunity to connect to like-minded characters, or see the world literally from within someone else’s skin. Stories touch our emotions and make us laugh, cry, fear, and get angry—a sharp contrast to a plain old presentation.

Plus, no matter how organized or detailed a textbook might be, there’s something about the shape of a narrative—the exposition, the problem, the quest for a solution, the resolution—that resonates with our mental makeup.