Story Wok - A Peer Coaching Worksheet

Listening Boy
Robert Henri, 1924

I am in my 20^th year teaching and directing a student storytelling program. Every year I try to develop new tools, either written or interactive, to help my students work with their stories, and their peers.

I always make time for the students to independently practice their stories during class time, but another component is a turn and tell, where students share their stories with a partner. 

This year I designed a new tool, the Story Wok. The name is an acronym, with each letter corresponding to a specific story or performance element, to be used during the turn and tell. 

Since the worksheet is fairly extensive I instruct the students to choose three things they want to focus on. As the student tells their story the partner listens deeply. When the teller is finished the listener/peer coach writes down some suggestions, then shares it with the teller. The process is then repeated with the partners switching rolls.

I only use this tool after we have met for many weeks, when trust is established within the group, and after the students have participated in one round of story coaching. Before we begin, part of the instruction process is to remind them that their role as listeners is to be supportive and encouraging. 

Below are some of the specific notes the listeners took on the various stories they heard and then shared with the tellers.

Setting: Perhaps you could describe where the alligator lives.
Talking: You could add dialogue when the king finds the fairy.
Omission: You might want to leave out the royal chair.
Reactions:  When you're climbing maybe you could use a scary expression.
Yawn! You could add more action when the horse gets its tail stuck in the fence.

Word(s): Maybe you could add some similes.
Observation: You were very calm when you told the story.
Kindness: I loved your different character voices. 

After I collected the papers I noticed some of the students wrote on their worksheets: “Thank you for the advice.” One even drew a smiley face.

I think it worked!

Permission to use the Story Wok in your personal work is granted with the following restrictions. Do not remove the copyright information and please credit the source. Do not reproduce in any publication in any form or format without my expressed written permission. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I appreciate your support. 

If you would like me to send the Story Wok worksheet to you in a Word .doc email me at storybug@aol.com . If you do use it I would be grateful if you shared how it worked for your students.

If you are interested in more original, interactive games, as well as story worksheets, please consider my award-winning book, Story by Story: Creating a Student Storytelling Troupe.

Please note, websites change at a rapid pace and weblinks may change or break without notice. I cannot be responsible for redirected or broken links. At the time of this posting all links were in working order. Thank you for understanding.

 

Karen Chace 2023 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission, please contact me at storybug@aol.com.

 

Shower Your Story With Similes: A Storytelling Worksheet

Rainy Day in Paris
by
Gustave Caillebotte, 1877

I am always searching for new ways to help my storytelling students connect with their stories and make them their own. I use a variety of worksheets I created, which can be found in my book, Story by Story: Creating a StudentStorytelling Troupe. However, since I have returning students from year to year I try to offer something new and fresh.

Recently I asked them to work with their stories, adding a few similes using the worksheet I created below. Here are some of the examples my fourth and fifth grade students added to their stories, the simile portions are underlined.

• So he took out his slingshot and shot the sparrow with the aim of a skilled archer.
• With the roar of a lion he demanded to know how he had become rich so suddenly.
• As quick as a squirrel the older brother began to climb, and climb, and climb.
• The woods were as dark as an evil castle.
• She went home as sad as a dog without food.
• As softly as a mouse she asked her, “Do you see him? Do you see my brother?”
• Her face healed as fast as butter melted.
• In days long ago, the sky was as close to Earth as a little boy is to his mother.

It was a good exercise for them to further visualize details about their characters and setting

Please feel free to use the worksheet below in your personal work with your students. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without written permission. (Please refer to full copyright statement at the end of the blog post.)

Karen Chace 2018 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

Tales and Transformations

 

Athene and Arachne
Jacopo Tintoretto, c. 1475-85



The Story of Arachne

Athena, goddess of wisdom, was a proud and talented, young goddess. In times of peace, Athena taught Grecians about the arts. She herself was a skillful weaver and potter and always took pride in her pupils' work, as long as they respected her.

One of Athena's pupils was a maiden whose name was Arachne. Arachne was a poor, simple girl who lived in the country. Her father was a quiet man of humble birth. He dyed sheep's wool to earn money for a living. Arachne wove beautiful fabrics of delicate designs, and people began to comment to her that surely she had been taught by the goddess Athena. Arachne denied this and stated that she was certainly better than Athena and that she had learned little or nothing from Athena's teachings. She even went as far as to say that she was a better weaver than Athena! For the rest of the story go to http://www.hipark.austin.isd.tenet.edu/mythology/arachne.html


This past week I've been in coaching mode, helping my third grade storytelling students fine tune their tales. They have already been through the peer coaching process during class time, helping each other by listening, then offering Compliments and "I wonder if..." suggestions. They know what to look for, eye contact, pacing of the story, gestures, etc. in others, but sometimes it is more difficult to see the process in themselves.

Later, each student or tandem team receives two separate half hour sessions with me. The first is a straight telling for me where I take notes. Then we talk about what worked, what they might wish to change, suggestions of things to try and then they tell it again, incorporating the changes.

On Wednesday, just like Arachne, one student transformed right before my eyes! Victoria is telling the Greek myth of Arachne and I suspected she was memorizing the story, although they are cautioned to put their stories in their own words. When Victoria arrived for her coaching session I asked for a copy of her story. As she told the tale I glanced down at her story a few times. Yes, she was reciting it verbatim; not a good idea.

When she finished and sat down to chat I asked, "How was your eye contact with the audience (me). She truthfully stated, "I kept looking up." When I asked her why, even though I already knew the answer, she said, "Because I was trying to remember the words on the paper." Bingo!!

I pulled out parts of the story and read them to her exactly as they appeared and modeled changing the words while retaining the meaning. I then asked her to try and she got it. I also asked, "Do you have any gestures to go with the story?"  Again, "Yes, but I was too nervous trying to remember the words." Such an honest young lady!

I reiterated that as storytellers we are artists, painting pictures with our words and asked her to think about some images she could offer the audience as she traveled through the story. Those images would naturally call up gestures for her as well. Now it was time to try the story again. What followed was so strikingly different from her first attempt it actually gave me goosebumps.

Victoria began the story once more about Arachne and the beautiful weavings she designed then added "Her work was lovelier than the roses in her mother's garden."  Such a gorgeous image and it was all her own!  She continued the story and on the spot was able to step away from the written text and tell the story in her own words. The gestures began to flow; I saw her physically relax and step into the story, taking us back to ancient times with Arachne and Athena. When she finished, she was glowing and smiling from ear to ear...and so was I!

In the nine years I have been teaching storytelling I have never witnessed a student make such wide spread changes in their story in such a short span of time.  For the next session I will bring a video camera, tape their telling, roll it back and then they will critique themselves. Who knows what will be captured then? I can't wait to find out!

Spreading Their Wings

Moon Maiden, Warwick Goble, 1910 

Since 2002 I have directed a student storytelling program, The Story Explorers, at my local Elementary School. While choosing and learning their stories is paramount, each week there are also a few fun games/exercises to help them with improvisation, intonation, body language and more. Not only are the exercises designed to hone their storytelling skills but very subtly they increase their time in front of an audience, even if it just our core group for the moment.

While some students may be a bit reticent at the beginning of the program, each week more and more hands spring up, eager to spread their impro wings. I am always amazed at their creativity and the ideas that flow when faced with this storytelling challenge. This week we played an improvisation game I call Fabric Follies.

FABRIC FOLLIES

All you need is one yard of fabric. I actually use a small, lace tablecloth. The fabric should be large enough to use for different ideas the students have but not too large to hinder their movement.

The leader demonstrates by using the fabric in a new way then asks the students to guess what it is. The fabric is then passed to the person who answered correctly and they take their turn with a new idea. Students cannot repeat an idea already used. Here are some of the inventive and creative ideas the children came up with this week.

• Briar placed the cloth on the floor. Moving to the edge of the room she began to run towards it, plopped herself down and slid across the floor. Sledding in the snow!

• Mari placed the cloth on the floor as well but instead of laying it flat she took a minute to scrunch the cloth up lengthwise. No one was quite sure, including me, what she was doing. When she was finished she stood up, stepped on the cloth and began to mimic a surfer in the water. She was actually creating waves with the way she displayed the cloth on the floor, using the center as a surf board.

• Hannah wrapped it around her neck like a scarf then strutted across the room. Stopping now and again to smile, wave and silently mime some words as if she were speaking into a microphone. Can you guess? She was a superstar walking the red carpet!

Over the years that same cloth has been been a:

o Magic carpet
o Flag
o Picnic blanket
o Shower curtain
o Superman/Bullfighter’s cape
o Hula skirt
o Baby blanket
o Toga
o Cane
o Race car
o Baseball bat

I don’t claim to have invented this game but unfortunately I cannot remember where I read about it through the years, otherwise I would offer proper credit.


There are many improvisation games available on line, here are a few sites you may wish to view:

Improv Encylopedia - Categories from A - Z.  http://improvencyclopedia.org/games/index.html
Drama Activities for the Classroom - http://plays.about.com/od/actes/a/activitylist.htm
Friday Night Live - http://tinyurl.com/2dr3vul

Now go out and turn yourself into something brand new!