In the Midst of Storytelling and Two of a Kind

Always start with a smile.

Adding expression takes practice.

Hand gestures work for Genesis' story.

The more dramatic the better!

Using different tones is very effective.

This week in third grade, we worked in small groups, pairs, and as a whole class to discover the power of different storytelling techniques. In storytelling, you are telling a story that is perhaps different slightly every time you tell it. Every time you must remember the essential plot points of the beginning and end but the details can change and every time it must be interesting and engaging for the audience. To develop these skills we worked on gestures and movement through charades and activities where we imagined walking in a variety of physical environments such as a snowstorm and a squishy swamp. We practiced tone of voice, volume, emotional expression, clarity and enunciation through saying tongue twisters and repeating sentences with different feelings and intonations.

Move your body to tell the story!

We're working hard, but a smile says it all.

Each student adapted the story to make his or her our own by changing details and aspects of the story. It was a process of synthesis – adding pieces of themselves into the story to make something new and exciting to share. Through many, many practices, we incorporated the feedback, constructive criticism, and advice from our classmates on how to improve our stories for our next performance. We watched young storytellers our own age perform their stories for an audience to give us an idea of what we were doing. All of this prepares us for Tuesday’s performance.

Two of a Kind musicians, David and Jenny, worked with our students several times during the past week. Together the students, David, and Jenny wrote the music and lyrics for two songs. On Thursday afternoon they performed their songs with 1st and 2nd graders. The songs they wrote were an answer to the query, "What is the impact of our footprint on the world?" We also heard a song composed by the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades answering the same question. It was a lovely concert - beautiful singing and meaningful lyrics.