Storytelling in the Classroom Lesson Plans
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These lesson plans are designed to assist teachers in helping their students develop and perform their own
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Lesson Plans
Here is some specific information about the lesson plans:
Broad across grades objective:
To encourage the telling of personal stories by schoolchildren.
Lesson plan focus: Students identify, create, analyze, and tell their own stories. Listening and speaking skills are emphasized. (Writing skills are closely related, and extensions for addressing writing skills are included with the last plans.)
Storytelling is a learning experience in which both teller and listener are enriched. Helping students create their own stories, learn to tell these stories and to listen well to others’ stories address various Utah standards outlined in each specific lesson plan.
The lesson plans largely follow ideas developed in more detail by Donald Davis in the DVD Make It, Tell It, Write It. Each school participating in the POPS program will receive a copy of the DVD along with other teacher resources.
Program Rationale:
Listening to or telling stories, whether the recounting of life experiences, family history or culturally relevant oral tradition stories (fables, fairytales, legends, myths, and fables) is an activity with which many modern students have little experience. Even privileged populations engage in
While there seems to be less incidental,
But what about those closest to a student’s everyday life? What about their teachers and their family members? It may be a culturally exciting experience to be in a performing teller’s audience, but to cause real change teachers and family need to model telling effectively and frequently.
These lesson plans include opportunities not only to build on a performing teller’s concert, but also opportunities for teachers, and family members, as well as the students to begin to develop their storytelling skills. Designed as stand alone CCSS aligned lessons, they can be integrated with other core subjects and standards. For schools participating in the POPS program, there are professional development opportunities and tools included for the teachers.
Implementation:
Please note that the level of engagement within these lesson plans should be left mainly up to the classroom teacher as he/she is the expert on what his/her students need.
The following are the expected commitment of participating teachers:
1. Attend school storytelling concert with class.
2. Teach class adapted versions of the lesson plans provided.
3. Help students develop and perform their own
A Word about Kindergarten Students:
Kindergartners are different from school to school, month to month and sometimes day to day, they grow and develop so quickly. It is very hard to write a lesson plan that can take into account all the variables. Kindergarten participation in the curriculum is not required, although teachers can feel free, if they so desire, to use some or all of