Reading Reflections- Week 2
Storytelling- The History and Importance
This week's blog post will focus on two things: storytelling in general and fables. Greene and Negro refer to storytelling as the oldest and the newest art (2010). This week I read Chapters 1-3 of The Art of Storytelling (Greene and Del Negro, 2010) along with a variety of articles about storytelling. The reading I have done this week delves into the history of storytelling as well as the importance and benefits of storytelling not just in libraries but also in classrooms and homes. "We tell stories in order to make sense of our world. We express our beliefs, desires, and hopes in stories, in an attempt to explain ourselves and to understand others" (Greene and Negro, 2010, p. 3).
As an educator I was particularly interested in chapter 3, Purpose and Values of Storytelling. However, one quote that stands out from another chapter was, "the current emphasis on 'teaching to the test' too often means literature-sharing the the classroom is neglected" (Greene and Negro, 2010, p. 39). In an educational system that is so focused on testing and testing outcomes even in the primary grades, read alouds and storytelling are often pushed to the back burner and thought of as unimportant. However, this could not be farther from the truth. The benefits of storytelling are numerous and have far reaching impacts on literacy and academic skills. At the most basic level, storytelling builds excitement for reading and books and allows children access to literature and stories they may not be able to access independently. Agosto discusses a study on the literacy benefits of oral storytelling and found evidence for four main literacy benefits: visualization, cognitive engagement, critical thinking, and story sequencing (2016). Greene and Negro share additional academic benefits of storytelling in chapter 3 of their book The Art of Storytelling. Among those benefits are richer vocabularies, creating fluent readers, supporting comprehension, content recall, and reading earlier (Greene and Negro, 2010). On page 54, they also state, "telling oral stories to children inspires them to write about the stories, to imitate the stories, and to use the stories as a trigger for creating their own stories" (2010). There is a plethora of evidence throughout these reading that oral storytelling is well worth the time invested in it, and it has tremendous positive effects on literacy and academics.
Not only is oral storytelling beneficial from an academic standpoint, there are also social and emotional benefits attached to oral storytelling. Storytelling keeps alive the cultural heritage of a people as well as helping to develop connections and a sense of community and shared experiences. Greene and Negro (2010) also discuss how oral storytelling improves social development and helps to develop empathy, tolerance, and understanding in listeners. There is even research to support oral storytelling creating physiological changes such as lower blood pressure, slower breathing, and the brain becoming more active in children and adults when they listen to stories (Green and Negro, 2010).
One genre of literature that lends itself to oral storytelling is fables. Fables are often forgotten about among the multitude of shiny new picture books that are published each year, but they are fantastic for storytelling and have valuable lessons most of us could benefit from. The most widely known fables are probably those from Aesop. Many of his fables have been retold in anthologies, picture books, and even movies. Even Disney produced a loose retelling of Aesop's The Ant and the Grasshopper with their movie A Bug's Life. Fables tend to be great for storytelling because most are short, have interesting characters, are applicable to real life, and are entertaining. I often use fables in my classrooms with my students to teach literacy skills, to practice storytelling, reading fluency, and just for entertainment. I have a collection of partner plays (reader's theaters) that my students love that includes some of Aesop's fables such as The Lion and the Mouse, The Tortoise and the Hare, and The Ant and the Grasshopper. They are written at multiple levels and the message and plot are simple enough that they can me used with a wide range of elementary students. One of my favorites books with fables is You Read to Me, I'll Read to You: Very Short Fables to Read Together. This book lends itself to the partner reading as well, and I love it (as do my students)!
In addition to the articles and text book, this week I also read seven books with fables.
by Jan Brett
In addition to the book there is a video of a storyteller reading the selection for an audience.
by Mary Ann Hoberman
Foxtails: Four Fables from Aesop by Amy Lowry
References:
All book cover pictures taken from Amazon.com
Greene, E. and Negro, J. D. (2010). Storytelling: Art and technique (Fourth). Libraries Unlimited.
Agosto, D. E. (2016). Why storytelling matters: Unveiling the literacy benefits of storytelling. Children and Libraries, 14(2), 21. https://doi.org/10.5860/cal.14n2.21
Hi Susan- I enjoyed reading your post about our readings this week. I too wrote about chapter three in our textbook! All of our readings were rich in content, so it took me a while to decide which of the many subjects to highlight in the blog post this week. On the very first page of chapter three, stories were described as "love gifts" which seems a perfect description if you can stories up in two words. It somewhat explains why I want to be a librarian. I want to share stories and books and I want to engage with the members of my community to hear theirs. It is such a personal way to "give and get":) I was glad to re-read the line you highlighted in the chapter, "There is even research to support oral storytelling creating physiological changes such as lower blood pressure, slower breathing, and the brain becoming more active in children and adults when they listen to stories". We ALL need those fabulous things in our lives. Being a librarian will help my blood pressure and keep my brain active!!:) Just when I start to worry about people switching to e-books and the future of libraries in school being in question, I remember all of these fabulous things and know that I will have job security. Thank you for sharing how you use fables with students! All such great ideas and I'm sure they love when you teach this unit. I bet the students have so much fun and you as well as you watch them engage with these timeless stories - again - giving and getting! Love Gifts!!!!!!
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