Story By Story: Creating a School Storytelling Troupe & Making the Common Core Exciting

by Karen Chace

Overview

Karen Chace’s book, Story by Story, Building a Storytelling Troupe is a must have for anyone even slightly interested in starting a storytelling group with students.  I know I am guilty of sometimes skipping over sections, but every word that Karen writes is important and useful distilled (and therefore potent) information.  Ms. Chace not only tells you what to do to run a successful troupe, but also WHY you need to do it.  This is, to me, very important.  Sometimes one is tempted to skip things, but this book explains how important the steps are. Everything from how many hours Karen thought it would take, to ACTUAL hours, where the funding comes from, how and why to lay foundations and expectations (including ‘no teasing policies’ and group dynamics), right the way through presentation skills to advertising the event and getting bums on seats (emphasis important)!
 
Over the years Karen has and continues to come up with new and inventive ways of teaching the skills of storytelling, and a great many of these exercises and activities are included in the book.  When it comes to research and materials as well as technique, Karen adds new meaning to "thorough".  There are links to websites for stories, for grants, for microphone techniques, and how storytelling connects to the school curriculum and more.  And if you prefer to read books, there is an extensive bibliography, too.
 
Basically, I believe if you want to succeed in building a storytelling troupe or group, all you need is Karen Chace’s book, Story by Story, Building a Storytelling Troupe and to do everything Karen suggests.  I am sure it would be very hard to fail if you follow her words of wisdom between the covers of her goldmine of a book.
Simon Brooks, storyteller, and educator

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781624910319
Publisher:	Parkhurst Brothers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/07/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	102
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Karen grew up among a large, extended Irish family in Massachusetts, surrounded by stories and storytellers all of her life. She has been sharing stories professionally with a wide range of audiences since 2000 and is the founder and director of a student storytelling club in her hometown, producing their Storytelling Festival each year since 2002. She is also the author ofStory by Story–Building a School Storytelling Club.

 

Karen is also a contributing author to the National Storytelling Network's recent publications, A Beginner's Guide to Storytelling and Telling Stories to Children. She is a member of the NSN Press Committee and writes a regular column, "Stor e Telling," for Storytelling Magazine. Known for her Internet researching skills, Karen never heard a story she couldn't find!

 

Karen presents her enthusiastic, interactive and illuminating workshops and residences at conferences, libraries and schools around the country. Combining her passion for literacy and storytelling in delightful programs with stories from around the world, Karen mesmerizes audiences everywhere. She strongly believes that storytelling nurtures children, offering them opportunities to succeed in ways they never imagined!

 

Karen is the 2011 Recipient of the National Storytelling Network Oracle Award for Service and Leaderhhip for the Northwest Region.

 

Karen is also the 2009 Recipient of the Brother Blue - Ruth Hill Award from LANES (League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling). Given in recognition of "the extraordinary commitment and efforts to promote a broader understanding of the art of storytelling and the support of storytellers in the development of their art. It serves, as Brother Blue, has said, “To honor those who give their lives to storytelling to change the world.”

 

Table of Contents

Contents Chapter One: Breaking Ground Chapter Two: Laying the Foundation Chapter Three: Adding the Framework Chapter Four: Cementing the Pieces Chapter Five: Storytelling Activities Chapter Six: The Finishing Touches Chapter Seven: Project Completion Chapter Eight: Producing the Festival Article Bibliography Appendices A Conversation With Author Karen Chace

Interviews

Once upon a time...isn’t that how all wonderful stories begin? I am often asked, “How did you find storytelling?” My response is, “Storytelling found me.”
 
As a college English major I considered registering for a Children’s Literature course. I purchased the text but in the end did not attend the class. Years later, that book, The Uses of Enchantment by Bruno Bettelheim sits on my bookshelf alongside the hundreds of folktale books I have collected through the years. I often wonder if I had attended that course would I have found my vocation sooner. Instead, it was simple serendipity that led me to a storytelling performance years later and brought it, and hundreds of students, into my life.
 
In 2002 when I began directing my first storytelling troupe I could never imagine it would become such an integral part of my work. I confess, I was naïve and took a leap of faith without looking too far ahead. I was fairly inexperienced and in the beginning turned to my more knowledgeable colleagues for guidance, using well-known learning models and activities. While I am forever grateful for those who led the way before me there is no greater platform for discovery than observing and listening to those we teach.
 
As a storyteller and teaching artist I know the value of storytelling and understand how it strengthens any education model. We can read the important scientific research done by Kendall Haven in his book Story Proof: The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story and the Position Statement on Storytelling by the National Council of Teachers of English to validate its impact. There are many papers and studies that prove storytelling is a compelling tool to help students cross cultural boundaries and embrace diversity. Yet, those of us who work closely with children realize there is no substitute for a hands-on approach; I have witnessed astonishing transformations take place before my eyes. When I look into the confident, joyful face of a student after their performance or hear from parent’s years later commenting on the continuing, positive effect of the program, I am further convinced about its significant and far reaching impact.
 
Over the past decade I have brought this program to a number of schools and my experience allows me the flexibility to adapt to specific curriculum and residency needs. This program is designed to accommodate the various learning styles of the students and the time frame offered by the school’s administration. Why is student storytelling important?  Their minds are open, ready to explore new ways of learning, they are willing to play and it is in these moments of play they learn new language skills, social interaction, public speaking, vocabulary, team work, tolerance, and they are having fun!

Since many of my students return for multiple years it is important to keep things fresh and fun, As I progressed, I designed new written and interactive activities; some were sparked by a student’s off-hand comment, bubbled up while watching their audience interaction or during a classroom activity as they practiced their stories. These twelve unique activities, found in this book, complement a variety of learning styles and will deepen your student’s engagement with their stories.   I hope you will not only find them useful but they will act as a springboard for your own creativity. In addition, my friend and colleague, Illinois storyteller and teaching artist Sue Black generously offered to share some of her unique activities as well.
 
I have taught over 450 children to date and the program has changed and matured through the years. I have adapted, reassessed and reinvented, and through it all I continue to be inspired by my students.  I am in awe of their courage as they face their fears and overcome personal challenges: It is the painfully shy child who, in the end, not only completes six school performances but arrives at the festival eager to step into the spotlight.  It is the autistic boy who always wanted his turn at the microphone throughout elementary school and finally has his chance in fourth grade. He bows and smiles from ear to ear as the audience thunders with applause. It is the tandem team courageously overcoming a difficult stage experience by trusting me to build back their confidence one performance at a time. Their goals become mine.
 
Their willingness to play with story, their eagerness to learn, examine, investigate, to make a story their own, is infectious.  I am better storyteller and teacher because of them, their commitment inspires me to craft new ways to connect with them both individually and collectively. Their personal experiences, like cumulative folktales, build one upon the other, each student, each year adding layer upon layer of passion and strength to my work; I continue to hear their voices in my heart.

Editorial Reviews

There’s no doubt about it, stories are powerful. Teachers,

librarians, storytellers, church education leaders, and others

looking for a way to make learning an exciti ng adventure while

enhancing children’s self-esteem will find a treasure trove of

information, resources, and inspiration in Karen Chace’s Story by

Story.”

Kristine Morris for Foreword Reviews

While storytelling isn’t a subject on which students are tested, Chace said the art complements Core Curriculum standards in language arts, reading and oral presentation, but more importantly, it is a tool to access creativity and imagination.”
 
According to the National Council of Teachers of English:
·      Students who search their memories for details about an event as they are telling it orally will later find those details easier to capture in writing.
·      Student listeners encounter both familiar and new language patterns through story.
·      They learn new words or new context for already familiar words.
·      Those who regularly hear stories, subconsciously acquire familiarity with narrative patterns.
·      Learners who regularly tell stories become aware of how an audience affects a telling, and they carry that awareness into their writing.
 
Of course, getting comfortable with public speaking benefits all kids down the line.  “The students who take the stage are confronting one of the biggest fears for adults: oral presentation. They’ll carry this skill with them into adulthood … college, job interviews,” Chace said.
 
Chace has witnessed “tiny miracles” and “amazing student successes and transformations” through storytelling. Perhaps “the shy child who rarely spoke in class who is now a peer leader (or) the autistic student takes stage on festival night and receives a thunderous ovation. “Each child is unique and (takes) away what they need most — it might be newfound confidence, belief in their individual gifts as a performer, enhanced reading skills or cultural knowledge.” 

Lauren Daley for SouthCoast TODAY