Youth, Educators, and Storytellers Alliance

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Comment by Muriel Horowitz on May 7, 2008 at 9:48pm

I did a program I called Honoring the Earth this past week. I was only given 40-45 minute sessions for groups of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders. I was really pleased with how it turned out. For each group, I told 2 stories, did some "activities" and told 1 or 2 more stories depending on the group. THe kids were really engaged! Wish I could have had them longer. I used the idea of a storybag- got it from the Alliance website. I have lots of junk at home; so the bags were easy to fill. I put kids in groups of 5 or 6, had them pick 2 items, and asked them to tell a story around the circle. They had a ball, and some clever first draft stories emerged. I also had them moving around the room showing a variety of animals expressing various emotions. Thank you YES for all the ideas I got on the website.
I'll post some of the pictures on my blog once I figure out how.
Muriel

Comment by Brian "Fox" Ellis on May 7, 2008 at 7:56am

Glad to see that YES! has joined professional storyteller.

Comment by Youth, Educators, and Storytellers Alliance on May 6, 2008 at 10:01am

Posted by permission of Stuart Nager--

Rachel: thank you for the invitation. I am a member of YES, but I am so woefully not active within it all...and I should be. I use storytelling in my classrooms constantly, building new ones, telling and or exposing traditional ones to the students. I created an in-school Storytelling Festival.

My third grade year long curriculum is all about storytelling. First, traditional tales (myths, legends, fairy and folk tales, tall tales and family/oral histories). I then go into part of the Cinderella Project which ends with out creating new Cinderella stories, using the basic principles that make up a Cindy story. The last third of the year is how to take a story and write a play about it. Playwriting.
Struggle struggle struggle..but some fun stuff.

Storytelling weaves it's way in and out of my other grades. I do Shakespeare in 4th and 5th grades (A Midsummer..., Romeo & Juliet with 4th; Macbeth in 5th)..and what is the basis of a play but a good story. Especially those. The 5th grade continues with a very long process (ongoing) drama based off of a Japanese folk tale (The Wise Old Woman). It's an amazing unit, hitting so many angles.

Oh..for those who don't know me, and you are legion...I'm a full time Drama teacher as well as this, a professional storyteller.

Right now, I haven't been as active on this board as I intended. I'm in the final bout of my Spring production ("SHELed, the cracked world of Shel Silverstein") and we go up in...aieee...four and a half hours!! yeah..I can't sleep tonight!). Hopefully, after today, I'll have more time to think about me and my storytelling again.

I'm glad this group is here. I'm glad Diana started this whole mishagoss. I'm glad life is good. I'm not glad I'm up at 4:30 in the morning..but what are you going to do? ; )

Comment by Stuart Nager on May 6, 2008 at 3:37am

lol...I sent a message to the group that I meant to send here. OK..way too early in the morning. Sigh. Sorry about that.

Rachel: thanks for the invite. I plan to be around a lot more.

Comment by Rachel Hedman on May 5, 2008 at 11:53pm

2006 National Youth Storytelling Showcase Finalists

Comment by MARY JO HUFF on May 5, 2008 at 9:43pm

YEA RACHEL this looks great. I think it will generate some traffic and new members. Sorry I missed the conference call but did not get back to office until 9:30 p.m.

Comment by Nick Smith on May 5, 2008 at 9:35pm

Great idea for a group!
I enjoy working with people in ways other than "just" entertaining them with a story. I will be teaching a workshop on family stories for a genealogy group next month, and just got asked to do a storytelling workshop for the local Girl Scout council's summer camp. I am always curious to learn and to share ideas.

Comment by Muriel Horowitz on May 5, 2008 at 8:57pm

Hi Rachel,
I'm glad you started this group. I was going to write to you to thank you for the wonderful storytelling game ideas you have on the YES alliance website. I was looking for ideas for a program I did on Friday. The whole web site was most helpful. I had a great time doing stories to honor the Earth with all the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders in the school I teach in part time. The "story bag" activity was especially successful for getting the kids engaged in thinking about telling their own stories.

Comment by Ramona King on May 5, 2008 at 8:54pm

Thanks for creating this group. I'm working with youth and children in theater as resident storyteller, head teacher, and assistant director. The experience has been interesting to say the least. The founder and director of this program had a vision of bits and pieces of African and African American culture passed down like an intricate quilt of fascinating stories . The children are encouraged to tell their own stories, listen to and translate the stories of their elders, while learning classic African American literary pieces. The children have been singing my "Catch A Story" song during our break time and occasionally duplicating rehearsal routine's during their playtime. It's pretty cool to see them do this on their own.

I too look forward to what each of us has to share.

Comment by Dawnella Sutton "The Barefoot Storyteller" on May 5, 2008 at 8:36pm

Thank you for creating this group! I am anxious to hear other storytellers experiances with teaching youth.
I have been offering storytelling workshops for youth for some time now and love it!
Two weeks ago I had a successful day long (five hour) workshop, and had three boys who were still doing "complete the story" in the round, while waiting for parents to pick them up and did not want to leave after the parents arrived! :)