Storytime
We are all storytellers. Stories tell us about the human experience. Long ago, when reading and writing were skills few possessed, tales were passed around from person to person, by word of mouth, oftentimes by wandering storytellers.
When stories are retold orally, they mutate as storytellers change and embellish them, reflecting their own worldview and culture. Stories are mostly products of a collective mind, formed in the mists of time, their origins unclear.
Powerful stories evolve and grow; many reminiscent of other stories, often identifiable across-cultures. They contain familiar heroes and villains that we recognise, with similar narrative structures; many beginning with once upon a time, and ending in happily-ever-after. Across continents, stories help us to make sense of our lives and oftentimes, to help us view the world through positive and proactive lenses.
We learn empathetic understanding from others’ stories. They teach us about how to solve common problems and choose successful life paths. Many stories outline how challenges are part of the human experience. The power of stories helps listeners and readers to overcome difficulties in their own lives, develop literacy skills and foster creative potential.
In this section, I tell stories, many which have been smoothed and polished in the rivers of time; incorporating language and musical activities suitable for classroom use. My aim is to model the early reading and music partnership for teachers, drawing on innovations on well-known texts and favourite children’s authors and books.
It all starts with talk…
Oral language (speaking, listening, singing) provides the foundation for future literacy understanding.
Words are made up of sounds that carry a message and can be thought about. Children willingly "chime- in" with the reading of text and talk about what they have heard. Oral language is the vehicle for cognitive, social and emotional development in children. In this Storytime 5, participants practise their oral skills, drawing on the topic of Our Favourite Holidays. The power of music is used through play using sound, rhythm and meaning.
Using voice as a musical instrument
Voice is the ultimate musical instrument. We can use our voices not just for speaking, but for creating sounds and expression in a performance. Using the visual arts- drawing and adding musical sounds we make a text more expressive and increase engagement, enjoyment and comprehension. In Storytime 4, we use our voices to add meaning to the mentor text, The Concrete Garden, by Bob Graham (2023).
‘Momotaro’ (Peach Boy)
Storytime 3 focuses on a Japanese fairytale called ‘Momotaro’. Children add musical rhythms to build meaning throughout the oral text. The retelling of this text raises cultural awareness through storying. As children recite rhymes and rhythms, they are developing their language skills; and at the same time, enjoying an oral story together.
A musical adventure with Mr McGee
This storytime session two demonstrates to teachers and parents the early reading and music partnership, focusing on the early reading pillars of phonemic awareness, vocabulary development and fluency. Musically, we learn about the rhyme and rhythm of the text and learn to play an ostinato, a continuous rhythm throughout the text using tuned percussion (glockenspiels).
Storytime
The first storytime is on the text innovation, The Yappy Dog. Here students add sound effects and rhythm patterns using untuned percussion and voice, to build their phonemic awareness, vocabulary, and reading fluency. Storytime helps young children on their early reading journey.