Manners Matter!
(Collected and adapted by Sharon Kirk Clifton, with thanks to Richard Marsh, a storyteller from Ireland; "Granny Sue," a West Virginia storyteller; and Mary Garrett and other tellers who participate on Storytell listserv.)
Most children today have grown up with television, which often merely provides background noise for other activities, including eating, homework, games, and conversation. As a result, some children are not sure of what is expected of them during a live performance.
Storytelling differs from some other forms of live performance in that it is very interactive. There is no "fourth wall" between the teller (or tellers, in the case of a tandem or team performance) and the audience. The teller, the story, and the audience work together to form a web of communication. All three are essential for the performance to be "successful." Good audience manners are a way of showing the performers and other people that one is considerate and ready to partake in the storytelling experience. And everyone can have a good time.
If families attend the performance, many tellers prefer to have the children sit with their parents, rather than having them segregated and seated with other kids in a group up front. This allows the performance to be truly a shared experience for the family.
Here are some suggestions to share with younger audience members:
| Turn off cell phones, watch alarms, and pagers. |
| Do not talk to others during the performance and don’t yell out inappropriately during the story, except for times when the teller invites you to participate. |
| Do not throw objects, participate in horseplay, or fidget with things. Please come to the telling area with nothing in your hands. |
| Do not play video games, etc., during the performance. |
| Pay attention to the teller; do not lie down, lean on your neighbors, or sleep. |
| Applaud at the end of each story and at the end of the performance. |
| Watch your teachers, parents, and the other adults around you. They are role models and will demonstrate how to behave during a performance. Notice that they are not talking or doing other activities while the tales are being told. |
| If you must leave or enter the area where the program is in progress, do so between stories, if at all possible. Try not to draw attention to yourself. Do not walk in front of the audience or in the performance area, unless the teller invites you to come up to be a part of some activity. |
| If the teller invites the audience to ask questions at the conclusion of the show, you are welcome to ask serious questions about storytelling or about the storyteller. Try to start your question with “who, what, where, when or how.” |
| Have a good time! Let your imagination take you to far away places. It can happen when you listen to a story. |
Remembering a few good manners helps everyone to enjoy the stories. Now, let the telling begin
From Harlynn Geisler (storyteller from San Diego) - We all want the students to have the best experience with oral literature possible. If they enjoy the storytelling, it will increase their vocabulary and sense of story structure, expose them to other cultures and ideas, and encourage reading. The best way to accomplish this is to have an assembly that goes well with no interruptions.
Teacher's Checklist:
1) Do my students need to be reminded of appropriate assembly behavior such as no playing with Velcro on shoes or with other students, to follow the storyteller's instructions and participate as she asks, to enter the room quietly, etc.?
2) Can my students sit for 40 minutes of unsheltered (no props or pictures) If not, before the assembly, inform the storyteller that you will be leaving after 20 minutes. She will let you know when it is a good moment to exit quietly.
3) Have I placed nearest to me the students who might need my attention during the assembly?
4) Do the students know the difference between fiction and reality?
(Tell them a story about a talking animal. Read them a paragraph from an encyclopedia about a real animal. Ask them what the differences are.)
After Story Activities:
After the students listen to the story talk to them about the sequence. What happened first, second, etc.. Then give them a piece of paper and fold it into sixths or eighths. Have them draw a picture of as many scenes as they can.
Find a copy of one of the stories that I told. Have them draw a picture of what they thought one of the characters looked like. Then read the storybook to them and show what one person (the illustrator) thought it looked like. Aren’t our imaginations great!
Make a story map. Have a line that circles around the page. Draw simple stick figures and objects in the various scenes as they appear in the story.
Try to elicit from the class alternate endings to the story. Or, tell a story about one of the minor characters that is in the story.
A sample letter that Marilyn Kinsella sends to the schools:
Dear Principal and Teachers,
I am delighted you asked me to visit your school. I love to visit new places and then, hopefully, to return to visit old friends. Since 1981, I have been telling primarily to school age audiences. My experience as an elementary teacher and as a children’s librarian has enabled me to develop the stories most appropriate for their grade levels. Sometimes, when I get to a school, I like to walk down the halls and get a feel for the school. It is often the children’s artwork or a poster that inspires me to tell a particular story that day. So, I never know for sure which story will beg to be told until I see the faces of my audience. However, I do have a list of some stories that I try to keep especially for certain grades. That way, if I come to your school next year, the class won’t hear the same story because they will be in another grade. If your school is following a certain theme, I will try to match my stories to that theme. If your school does not want stories with any ghosts, witches, or other such beings, please tell me, and I will not tell them.
Below I have some of the stories I often tell. If you would like to find these stories at your library, it would add another dimension to the telling. However, please do not show or read those stories ahead of time. One of the joys of telling a story that children have not read or seen or TV is that they use their imaginations to see the pictures. If they see the book…that will be the pictures they see. Once I leave it would be fun for you to review the story with the kids. Have them tell it back to you. Then, read the book and show the pictures and ask… Do these pictures look like the one you saw in your head? What did your picture look like? (There are no right or wrong answers here…only different perspectives.) How was the storyteller’s story different than the one in the book?
My stories often come from different countries. When you get back to the room, try to find the countries on the globe from where the stories originated. Talk about any unfamiliar words or phrases that came from another culture. Try to find books in the 398.2 section of the library that has other stories from that country.
I find that children need very little preparation to hear stories. However, since some schools request a study guide to prepare for storytelling, I have not only listed the possible stories that I tell, but I have also collected some ideas from fellow tellers on manners during a performance. Perhaps, it’s because students are inundated with entertainment that allows them to roam, and talk, and lie down that they don’t realize that they are being rude. Storytelling is an art form that demands full attention for everyone to receive the most from the experience. Some of these ideas are ones your teachers and students already know, but it’s always good to review good manners before a performance.
At the end of most of my performances, I ask the students if they have any questions about the stories I told or about storytelling. I try to answer as many as I can. If a child has a question that I wasn’t able to get around to answering, please feel free to email me (markinsella19@hotmail.com), and I will answer as soon as I can.
Here is a sample of stories to told by Marilyn Kinsella to each grade level:
STORIES AND BOOKS ACCORDING TO GRADE LEVELS
Preschool - K Tiki-Piki Boom-Boom* A Jamaican folktale
Chit Chat a version in One Minute Folk Tales by Shari Lewis
Rumpelstilskin*
Waiting For Spring Stories by Bethany Roberts
K-1 Sody Sallaratus in the Grandfather Tales by Richard Chase
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Anansi the Moss-Covered Rock collected by Eric Kimmel
Zomo the Rabbit by McDermott/ Purple, Green & Yellow by R. Munsch
2 Pink and Green/Silver Paper Toffee Paper a story by Bob Barton
Sandy and the Toad Frawgs* from a collection of Br’er Rabbit stories
Coyote Dances with the Stars*
3 Abiyoyo by Pete Seegar
Anansi and the Hat-Shaking Dance* collection of African tales
Lazy Jack in Jack Tales by Richard Chase
4 Tailypo* (a version by Paul Galdone)
Freedom Bird adapted from a story from India by Bill Harley
Jack and the Haunted House in Jack Tales by Richard Chase
5 Mc Googan Moves the Mighty Rock by Dick Gackenbach
Skunny Wundy and the Stone Giant in Iroquois Stories by Joe Bruchac
The Hairy Man * (a version by Molly Bang)
Br’er Possum and Br’er Snake from a collection of Br’er Rabbit Stories
The Whistling Tsonaquas* a Northwest Indian how and why story
*Many of the stories that I have developed came from collections of folk and fairy tales that are found in the 398.2 section of the library. I have greatly adapted these stories, but you will find other versions in these collections.
To see a more of Taleypo's stories click on:The Story Stone
