Act I: Storytelling

Storytelling is an interesting method to communicate events in words and images by improvising or embellishing. Storytelling is not memorization but internalizing and visualizing a story. This craft meets the set of skills that are needed for literacy including making letter-sound correspondences, the ability to make meaning by making connections, and understanding language (syntax) which comes from oral language. The act of retelling stories can help make children aware of story schema and gain an understanding of narrative structure. Storytelling often uses kinesthetic activities which suit the physical needs of younger students. It can also motivate children and provides them with an aesthetic experience. 

For example, you can read the story Fox by Margaret Wild and Ron Brooks. The teacher will tell students that they will create a tableaux, or a retell of the story using still pictures created from human bodies and presented to an audience. Within their groups, have one student nominated as the 'sculptor' who moves the other group members into position and gives them instructions on where/how to look during the story retell. Tableaux can be used simply to communicate single ideas/emotions from the story: love and belonging, unity, harmony, power, temptation, betrayal, despair, and redemption. Groups can present their tableaux to the class.

A soundscape has a narrative structure and could be used to retell the story of Fox using sounds and silence. Have groups within the class take responsibility for the different stages of the narrative and then perform these in sequence.

Many urban students come from a culture of storytelling and therefore using it in your classroom is an effective strategy to build on literacy growth. Oral traditions are characteristic of descendants of West Africa and can be empowering to African American children.The oral act of storytelling encourages a sense of community and belonging, as well as preserving cultural roots.The book, The Girl Who Helped Thunder and Other Native American Folktales by James and Joseph Bruchac is an excellent collection of folktales to share with students. The teacher can be an oral storyteller and then students can create a play to retell the folktale. My favorite story from the book is "How Rabbit Got Wisdom" by the Creek or Muskogee people.
The very act of storytelling can fuel the writing process. Storytelling also meets the needs of gifted students through their cognitive, academic, creative, and social/emotional needs.

Storytelling can be used with a flannel board. For example, the story "Teeny-Tiny" is an English jump tale. In a jump tale, the final words are said suddenly as the storyteller jumps toward the audience. It is a perfect story for a novice storyteller like me. The story has a mix of frightening plot and ridiculous verbal style. I