Blog Post #6- Storytelling Experience

For my fifth storytelling experience, I decided to bring it back to the basics and read a children’s book to my class of second graders. I wanted to take what I have learned so far in this class and see how much I had grown since the first storytelling experience. I also wanted to determine anything I needed to continue working on as I progress into my career as a librarian. One thing I knew I wanted to focus on, going into this experience, is my introduction. Through every storytelling experience, I have always felt that my introductions could be stronger. So, this was my focus for this story.

The story I decided to read to my students is called Regina Is Not A Little Dinosaur by Andrea Zuill. It is a fun tale of a small dinosaur who wants to do everything the big dinosaurs do. She believes she is big, strong, intimidating, and capable of hunting all on her own; even though her mother tells her to stay in the nest. On her hunt, she encounters some much larger dinosaurs and characters who challenge the question of “who is the hunter and who is the prey?” This story is humorous and heartwarming! It truly allows children to see themselves in Regina’s shoes. Children often have a feeling that they cannot do anything because they are so small. It hits on the importance of being able to realize what things they are capable of, how to earn independence, and that it is okay to ask for help. My students are starting to face some difficult concepts in reading and math, so I thought this would be a great book to share with them.

 Watch me read the story here!

 I started out my storytelling time with an introduction explaining that our story was about a dinosaur, not a big scary one, but a little one named Regina. I asked my students if they were little too, and they agreed. I asked the question, “sometimes do you feel like you can’t do everything you want to because your little?” This question got many nods of agreement. I went on to explain that in this story, Regina feels this way too. I challenged the students to try to see what lessons they can learn from Regina’s experiences in the story.

I believe my introduction for this book was much stronger than my initial storytelling experience. I took the time to think out how I could help my students make genuine connections with this story and peak their interests. Grigsby (2014) states, “when students have a high level of interest in what they are reading… learners will use context clues and deeper thinking to extract meaning”. In order for students to have meaningful experiences with literature, there must be engaging connections to their interests and lives.

I also believe that using questions and a challenge helped the students to have an idea of what to look for while the story was being read. I love for my students to develop their own interpretations, but I have learned that meaningful conversations can stem from giving them direction. After the story, I wish I would have had a bit more conversation with my students to see if they made any deeper connections with the text and the characters. This is something I will keep in mind moving forward.

I am so glad I made this decision to read a children’s book because I have been able to have some wonderful self-reflection! I have been able to observe different ways I have grown in the way I tell the story with my voice and movements, but especially in the ways I introduce and close a story time session. I know the skills learned in this class will be valuable resources to use once I am in the library. I plan to continue working on these skills throughout my time in the MLIS program, to prepare myself for the magical role that is being a librarian and storyteller.

 

References

Andrea, Z. (2021). Regina is not a little dinosaur. Schwartz & Wade.

Grigsby, S. (2014). The story is more important than the words: A portrait of a reader-focused

library program. Knowledge Quest, 43(1), 23-28. https://pascal-usc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01PASCAL_USCCOL/1brpj2a/cdi_gale_infotracacademiconefile_A384341049