I feel quite honored that my intermediate school, where I used to teach fifth grade, contacted me again to tell stories; this time for their Literacy Night program. I’m thrilled that the school has made the connection between reading and storytelling. Not to mention that fact that I know the children from teaching second grade and can’t wait to see them.
The audience will include the children and their parents, so I’m planning on telling folk tales. Not only are they my favorite, they are universal and enjoyed by all age groups.
I’ll have two sessions: third graders and then fourth and fifth graders combined. Each session will have different stories.
After the telling, I plan on a few minutes of having the kids make those connections between a storytelling experience and reading. They’ll figure it out! The kids actually engage in the same strategies whether listening to a story or reading one. For example: mental images (No kidding on that one!), making predictions, sequence, and story structure.
Well, better practice some more. I never tell a story exactly the same way, but storytelling still requires practice. My biggest tip for remembering a story? Those mental images! Just play the story through your mind like a video.
http://www.ednawaidellcravitz.com/literacy-night…d-storytelling/