Storytelling Blog

Blackmer_Allison_Reading Reflection

Chapters 1, 2, and 3 discussed the history of Storytelling and how it progressed from chants and rhythms to one of Education/Libraries’ best practices.

Storytelling, in its history, has traveled through the journey of life. In its creation, I relate its process to a young baby. Storytelling was not told from the written word but by sound/chant and the Storyteller’s rendition of an event. During that time, Storytellers were to be charismatic and outgoing to catch the listener’s attention. “Song separated from narration as time went on” (Greene & Negro, 2010). With the invention of the printing press in 1450, new opportunities arose for how people were to consume and use stories, and a new responsibility was placed on the Storyteller. During what I would call the toddler phase of Storytelling, stories were in a battle between being written to entertain or teach through retelling one’s cultural history. Storytellers became “genealogists, historians, and keepers of the culture, as well as its entertainers” (Greene & Negro, 2010). Disagreement arose through the teenage phase of Storytelling’s life. With the development of the Grimm Brothers’ stories, scholars began to look down on Storytelling as a means of entertainment. They thought it was best used in an academic setting and stickily focused on historical data and moral/religious teachings. However, as we learn and grow into adulthood, Storytellers and the history of Storytelling progressed into what we know today: a balance between a form of historical reference keeping and entertainment.

The transition between the negativity associated with children and Storytelling and the now-organized storytelling dates back to the 1900s. Librarian storytellers begin storytelling sessions to introduce literature to children in a more artistic way instead of an academic, in-depth discussion. Many storytellers paved the way that we know as “read-alouds” or “storytelling sessions.” I found Ruth Sawyer to be particularly inspiring. She bridged the historical meaning of Storytelling, keeping ones own culture and traditions alive, and the new era meaning of entertainment, sparking a passion for literacy by creating The Long Christmas. A collection of Christmas stories from different cultures around the world. She featured this creation in many storytelling hours and developed a way to teach children something new while entertaining them with literature.

Today, with the help of Thorne Thomsen, library professionals, parents, and educators view that listening to stories increases our children’s chances of being active and proficient readers. Storytelling in libraries is used to develop a child’s skill in imagery, decoding to find meaning, recognizing the patterns in oral language, and connecting those patterns to printed text. The idea that oral language comprehension and written expression are correlated is still being researched. Scarborough’s Reading Rope clearly connects language comprehension and word recognition. Language Comprehension is taught through background knowledge and vocabulary—two literary elements practiced and mastered through Storytelling.

In Chapter 3 of the text, the National Storytelling Association is summarized to define Storytelling as not being a form of recitation or acting. Proper Storytelling should be pre-planned and not require reciting the text. However, I believe in theater and drama’s value when conducting a storytelling event. Good Storytelling encourages active listening. Acquiring a skill in acting or drama and using it to enhance the story’s mood for your listener may encourage the listener to act out or re-play the story in their own words or connect it to their own experiences. Through drama and theater, the Storyteller and listener can relate to literature and build on their language development, a skill needed in literacy comprehension.

Key points in the Article Using Storytelling for Counseling with Children Who have Experienced Trauma by Krystyne Mendoza and Loretta Bradley

The link between reading children’s fairy tales and how this exposure can positively impact the listener’s ability to communicate their trauma dates back to the philosopher Piaget. He believed that in the Preoperational stage of development, children form symbolic thinking or the ability to express concepts. However, exposure to trauma can hinder a child’s cognitive development. A counselor’s use of fairy tales can dispel the fear of the unknown, help children learn about conflict and express proper ways to solve a problem, and provide a way to validate and express emotions a child may be feeling as it relates to characters in the fairy tale.

Mendoza and Bradley mention that as a child develops the ability to express complex abstract thoughts, as discussed above, possibly through exposure to fairy tales, a counselor should focus on helping a child transform a fictional story that relates to them into a trauma narrative. I found it interesting that the same narrative a child might have of pretending to be a superhero and fighting the bad guys can be expressed by a child with trauma as them overcoming the “villains” of their reality. In counseling, Storytelling can teach a child how to make concrete connections and express appropriate responses when managing and overcoming prior trauma.

Genre:Fairy-tales

A fairy tale is a short story genre that dates back to the folklore era. Most of these stories include dragons, wizards, and magical beings. When I think of fairy tales, I think back to the theory developed by Mendoza and Bradley, creating a trauma narrative from the connections a reader has made to another world unlike their own. One challenge a Storyteller may face when breaking apart a genre like fairy tales is the amount of vocabulary knowledge and story mapping a reader may have to overcome to comprehend the read-aloud fully. However, this challenge excites me most because it provides a critical scenario for storytellers to develop word-building strategies with their audience. Once a child likes a world that an author creates in a fairy tale, Storytellers can better select additional books that fit that reader’s interest levels. I would approach Storytelling fairy tales by implementing various props to help bridge the gap between my listener’s reality and the fantasy world the novel has created. Using props such as maps, puppets, or costumes allows the listener to fully engage with the new world described in the book’s pages. Storytellers can bring in an educational measure by reviewing a fairy tales elements with their listeners by creating an anchor chart like the one below:

Summary/Reflection

Storytelling was developed as a way to build relationships. The gathering of individuals longing to be heard and understood grew into something more profound. Storytellers and audiences come together to learn and grow in their spiritual and educational development. Children and adults use Storytelling to express emotions and escape reality. Scholars use Storytelling to teach our vast history and hope that listeners see patterns and choose the path of discovery with the least historical resistance. The child, adult, and scholar have one goal: to communicate something to their audience that sparks social, emotional, historical, and cultural understanding.

List of Read-Alouds that highlights the art and importance of Storytelling

• Tell Me a Story by Alma Flor Ada
• How to Read a Story by Kate Messner
• Tell me a Story by Angela Johnson
• A story, A story by Gale Haley
• A Squiggly Story by Andrew Larsen
• The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
• Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco

Citations

Bridget, & Shez. (n.d.). This resource creates a display of the most common elements in Fairy Tales. Print the different elements and assemble them on a display board to create a large castle shape. The display covers Story Structure, Plot, Settings, and Characters. . Top Teacher- Lessons to Love . Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://topteacher.com.au/about-us-bridget-and-shez/.

Greene, E., & Negro, J. D. (2010). Storytelling: Art and technique (fourth). Libraries Unlimited.

Kastner, P. (2021, June 3). Aligning your books to the reading rope. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_E7mk4bnlo

Scarborough, Dr. H. (2021). Reading Rope . A 20th Year Celebration of Scarborough’s Reading Rope. Retrieved August 31, 2023, from https://dyslexiaida.org/event/a-20th-year-celebration-of-scarboroughs-reading-rope/.

The Jean Piaget Stages of Cognitive Development. (2018, May 25). The Psychology Notes Headquarters. https://www.psychologynoteshq.com/piagetstheory/