Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #046 Diane Williams
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Literacy Development – Storytelling in the classroom.
Diane Williams spoke about creating a storytelling classroom and literacy development in the storytelling classroom. Teachers, parents, storytellers and students can effectively get involved in a systemic, sustainable, and holistic approach to learning across the curriculum by incorporating story and storytelling elements.
This discussion delves into how a storyteller can Read more »
Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #043
Dianne de Las Casas
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Storytelling: A Safari into Literacy.
Dianne de Las Casas writes… My whole life has been a safari (Swahili word for “journey”) of stories. The power of stories permeated and impacted my life so strongly that, at an early age, I knew I wanted to share stories with the world. It became my life’s dream, which I am realizing today through storytelling and writing books.
Because books, reading, and telling stories are such an important part of my family’s life, I am always saddened to watch the declining literacy rate in America’s school children. Nearly 2/3 of elementary age children read 2 grade levels below their expected reading level. Why is this happening?
Many of today’s families are not “storied” families. Stories are not a daily part of life they are not shared at the “campfire” – the dinner table (many families don’t even eat at the dinner table together anymore). There are a vast amount of children who do not have a basic foundation of nursery rhymes and folktales. Imagine my surprise when I learned that my 6 year old niece never heard of Rapunzel because Rapunzel wasn’t a “Disney Princess!”
In addition, few teachers have time to spend doing something “fun” like storytelling. There are standards and benchmarks to meet as well as tests to administer. Many educators do not understand the value of storytelling and how storytelling is an integral part of literacy in the home and the classroom.
Of course, pop culture also plays a role. Stories are pre-fabricated for our children in the form of television shows, movies, and computer and video games, leaving little room for Read more »
Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #042
Joyce Slater
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Telling to teenagers with newborns.
Joyce Slater writes… Storypartners for Teenage Parents is an intergenerational storytelling/mentoring residency for high schools. It is designed to promote communication between teenage parents and parents of another generation. Like it or not parents have similar experiences no matter when they became a parent. This program gives all participants a chance to tell his/her own story to someone who is there to listen to them.
Before the residency begins, possible mentoring partners are interviewed and screened. After the mentors are chosen, they participate in a workshop designed to help them tell their own personal stories. The students participate in a similar workshop before the two groups meet.
The residency lasts two to three weeks with monthly follow-up gatherings for the mentors and the students. The facilitator meets with the parents and the mentors separately and together to develop the process of telling their own stories of child rearing. The facilitator also uses stories to illustrate topics of discussion, like love, hope, disappointment and fear. Sometimes music is Read more »
Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #041 Alex Feldman
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Connecting Quickly (and Managing Behavior) through Physicality.
Connecting Quickly (and Managing Behavior) through Physicality.
When telling for young audiences, even the most brilliant story is vulnerable to young audiences if the situation is compromised, or your delivery is not ideal for the setting. In this discussion, Alex reveals how his wild and mesmerizing style is methodically built, brick by brick. Small details can reap huge Read more »
Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #038 Bobby Norfolk
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The Brain is Hardwired for Stories.
Bio… Bobby’s innate ability to read and connect with audiences of all ages makes him one of the country’s premier storytellers. Using dynamic movement and vocal effects, he creates vibrant characters who come to Read more »
Purchase a HQ Mp3 File
of Interview #037
Michael Caduto
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Stories about giving and receiving.
Michael J. Caduto writes…
I always start my storytelling performances by focusing on the circles and cycles that we share. Storytelling is a circle: a story needs someone to speak the words and a listener to imagine the story into being. This vital exchange breathes life into stories as they become animated in our mind’s eye. So the gift of storytelling is a mutual experience – an exchange of wisdom and a mindful act of creation.
There is also the circle of our gathering; of giving and receiving; in which everyone is arranged in a shape which symbolizes reciprocity and reminds us that we are all in balance. Whatever we share goes around between us all.
The circle is also a symbol our relationship of giving and receiving with the natural world. Everything in nature works in cycles. The basic principles of ecology and sustainable natural processes are based on exchanges of minerals, carbohydrates, genes, gases and other life-sustaining elements. Without this essential mutuality, ecosystems, and the life therein, could not survive. These are the cycles that we must live within in order to Read more »
African American, Artistic Marketing, Episode List, Storytelling in Community, Storytelling in Schools | Brother Wolf | 
March 9, 2008 2:33 pm | 
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