You is Smart.
Nearing the end of this class I was permitted to attend a literacy conference in Rhode Island. I had high hopes of learning how to be a great storyteller and then I learned that the session was not about me as a storyteller, but rather the children as storytellers. It was an excellent learning experience. I implemented this storytelling technique with my students when I returned to school because I felt it was truly relevant to the population that I serve. Basically you get a notebook and have the children tell you stories. You are the scribe and the child tells you a story. Through this process you learn about the child's: individual interests, ideas of a story, understanding of story structure and elements, use of conventions, imagination, oral language ability, and vocabulary.
Below are the first two stories told to me. My excitement spilled over that I did not have to coax them into telling a story. They were confident and excited to have the teacher's undivided attention. But how is this relevant to solving problems by exploring stories? Through my research I found that personal storytelling is a way of making meaning in our lives. These two students demonstrate that they are transferring some of their moral literacy experiences into their own stories. They are making the habits and good choices part of who they are. Maguire asserts, "Every personal story expresses a point --or at least a point of view. It also creates wholeness out of disparate parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end; characters, settings, and times; causes and their corresponding effects. Thus, on the most basic level, composing a personal story in our mind is the act of making order--or "sense"--out of a chaos of memories, thoughts, and emotions. Actually, telling the story to others is the act of breaking out of an inscrutable silence into intelligible, meaningful language" (1998, p. 14).
Below are the first two stories told to me. My excitement spilled over that I did not have to coax them into telling a story. They were confident and excited to have the teacher's undivided attention. But how is this relevant to solving problems by exploring stories? Through my research I found that personal storytelling is a way of making meaning in our lives. These two students demonstrate that they are transferring some of their moral literacy experiences into their own stories. They are making the habits and good choices part of who they are. Maguire asserts, "Every personal story expresses a point --or at least a point of view. It also creates wholeness out of disparate parts: a beginning, a middle, and an end; characters, settings, and times; causes and their corresponding effects. Thus, on the most basic level, composing a personal story in our mind is the act of making order--or "sense"--out of a chaos of memories, thoughts, and emotions. Actually, telling the story to others is the act of breaking out of an inscrutable silence into intelligible, meaningful language" (1998, p. 14).
He never gived up. Cristian surprised me with his nonfiction piece. I expected him to tell me some random incoherent story, but he stayed focused on his topic and recounted the details that he visualized in his mind.
This story is very Cristian because he is quite athletic and competitive. He respects his family and is close to his brother. I see the story as an amalgamation of school and home. Cristian wanted to tell the story of his brother's perseverance and accomplishment through adversity. Our school habit, no excuses, teaches the children to never give up, just keep trying you best. I feel that he made a habit connection between family and school. If that is what he was doing, then the stories, songs, and puppetry are permeating every area of his life. That is the only way true change will happen! |
He was focused and never even said a peep of a word. This is Mayor Davis' first story. It is absolutely charming. Where the name Bubble Guppie came from, I have no idea, but I believe the ending of the story reflects expectations at school and our habit five, academics. We uphold that everyone has the right to focus to learn and maintaining an appropriate voice level supports learning. Level 0 means no one says a peep of a word. Mayor Davis is transferring his understanding of our habit one story (academics) into his own personal story.
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Whatever it Takes
These two little storytellers are behind their peers academically and social/emotionally. It didn't hinder their storytelling abilities! I have to say that I was very impressed by their first tellings. While some may wonder how this ties into problem solving, I would argue that they embedded problem solving into their story, but moreover, they also started developing oral language skills and essential writing connections. Merging social studies and literacy is an effective way to combat reluctant administrators to new ideas. Kramer, Caldarella, Christensen, and Shatzer (2010) researched formal SEL (social and emotional learning) instruction in the kindergarten classroom and presented evidence supporting its effectiveness. Kramer, Caldarella, Christensen, and Shatzer (2010) share that, "It seems the primary concern raised by school personnel is that SEL programs would compete with other high priority activities (Seifer et al., 2004). Often if an immediate clear benefit to academic progress is not established, schools will hesitate to engage in non-essential programming (Zins et al., 2004). This view remains, despite research clearly linking social-emotional learning to academic achievement (Payton et al., 2008)" (as cited, p. 304). While I do not think that a school needs to adhere to a program to teach SEL, I do believe that it must be addressed and will support academic growth.
The Storytelling session that I mentioned above presented how storytelling would improve academic skills for the early learner. I recently found a text to support their claims; Hamilton and Weiss (2005) write, "Research backs up the idea that "even students with low motivation and weak academic skills are more likely to listen, read, write, and work hard in the context of storytelling" (U.S. Department of Education, 1986, 23). Any point that is made in a telling or any teaching that is done afterward is likely to be much more effective" (p. 2). Furthermore, "In a study conducted by Cliatt and Shaw (1988), the researchers reported that storytelling not only helped participants enhance the language and logic skills of the children but also resulted in the development of positive attitudes towards instruction" (Miller & Pennycuff, 2008, p. 37). These students are making meaning of what they are experiencing. Moreover, their imaginations are soaring and much can be revealed through a child's imagination. The fear, I believe, of many administrators and policy makers is that you can't measure imagination. How do you put a grade on it? "Scientist Albert Einstein said that "imagination is more important than knowledge." Yet too often this essential part of education is ignored at home and in school. Imagination helps us to solve problems, to get beyond "right" and "wrong" answers; it helps us think outside the box" (Hamilton & Weiss, 2005, p. 9).
The Storytelling session that I mentioned above presented how storytelling would improve academic skills for the early learner. I recently found a text to support their claims; Hamilton and Weiss (2005) write, "Research backs up the idea that "even students with low motivation and weak academic skills are more likely to listen, read, write, and work hard in the context of storytelling" (U.S. Department of Education, 1986, 23). Any point that is made in a telling or any teaching that is done afterward is likely to be much more effective" (p. 2). Furthermore, "In a study conducted by Cliatt and Shaw (1988), the researchers reported that storytelling not only helped participants enhance the language and logic skills of the children but also resulted in the development of positive attitudes towards instruction" (Miller & Pennycuff, 2008, p. 37). These students are making meaning of what they are experiencing. Moreover, their imaginations are soaring and much can be revealed through a child's imagination. The fear, I believe, of many administrators and policy makers is that you can't measure imagination. How do you put a grade on it? "Scientist Albert Einstein said that "imagination is more important than knowledge." Yet too often this essential part of education is ignored at home and in school. Imagination helps us to solve problems, to get beyond "right" and "wrong" answers; it helps us think outside the box" (Hamilton & Weiss, 2005, p. 9).