I am a firm believer that storytelling in the early developmental years is one of the keys to literacy and literacy efforts. I am not just talking about reading a story to a group of kids, I am referring instead to the art of storytelling, which is more of a performance and less of a recitation. I will share storytelling tips here which are great for writers too, because tips for good storytelling often can directly correlate to tips for good story writing. First tip: Helping kids make predictions while story telling.

Don’t you just love feeling smart? Kids aren’t any different, and storytelling is a great opportunity to make kids feel like little budding Einstiens. Remember, when children feel clever while listening to stories they feel less intimidated by “literature” which makes them more receptive to books and reading. And books and reading make kids smart, which in turn begins the circle anew.

With the right kind of book and the right kind of body language, you can help kids predict lines, story developments, upcoming rhymes, etc… As my example, I will use one of my stories that I regularly perform, Frog in the Bog–rhyming books. In that story I have a repeating, but unrhymed line, “And the frog grows a little bit bigger.” My aim with any repeating line in a story is to get the kids to anticipate the upcoming line and say it, in rhythm, with me.

To help kids anticipate the line I need to firmly set the pattern the first time I say the line, and cue the listener in to what they need to listen for to join in. This means that there is a definite dramatic pause before I say the line, then I scan the audience making eye contact as I sweep my eyes from one side of the room to the other. This lets them know, “Oh, something interesting is going to happen.“ Then as I say the line I emphasize the most important word (bigger) by saying it louder. For Frog in the Bog the cadence is almost like a scale, going higher and louder as the sentence flows: And the frog grows a little big BIGGER!

(Writers tip: Include font cues in your manuscript to indicate when there should be a change in flow, inflection, etc…: In Bear Snores On my font size changes and formatting were written by me into the manuscript.)

The vocal qualities are important, but so is body language. As I say the line I use one of my hands to demonstrate the frog’s growth (palm flat, outstretched, and I raise it up as I speak).

Usually by the second line the audience has come to recognize what to look for (I pause, look across the room, and widen my eyes). They often hesitantly join in. If that happens it is my job to reward their participation with a head nod and a smile signaling approval (kids aren’t always encouraged to speak out during stories–so they need to know in this case it‘s okay).

But if they didn’t quite get it, I have to cue them in that I want them to join. I do this by holding my hand up to my ear as I say the word “bigger”. I have never read the story in a school and had them not join in by the third time I say the line.

But later in the story the line changes to the “And the frog grows a whole lot smaller”. This gives us another opportunity to make children feel ahead of the story. Since I want my reader to be able predict that the line changes, I wrote it so that this time the reating line DID rhyme with the preceding line (holy tongue twister Batman!). In this case:

And right in the middle of his holler,
That frog grows a whole lot smaller!

To further emphasize the change from “bigger” to “smaller” I hush my voice a bit, and bring my hand lower to indicate shrinking. Most audiences guess the word smaller with these cues.

Rhyming books are great for helping children predict, but there are other types of story patterns that also work. Circular stories, unrhymed stories with repeating lines, etc. And of course, when reading picture books you can always point out clues in the art to help clue in your reader, or dramatically pause when you read a line that offers a plot clue.

I’m sure many of you are much better story tellers than I, but breaking down the process can help us understand what makes a great read aloud so successful and hopefully nail it in our own writing endeavors. And there is a special thrill in hearing an auditorium full of eager, bright-eyed little learners yelling your story at the top of their lungs!

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

K….

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

I was kinda, sorta nervous.

But I think it went well. When I was done and the kids were leaving they said things like, “YOU ROCK” and gave me fist bumps and high fives. And I got to sign a cast (get well soon Trevor)!  I also read the first chapter of my novel to a group of advanced fifth graders. One really sweet girl said, “Drop everything else and finish that so I can read it!” So I guess I have to finish it.

Just a little good news update. Hope everybody is having a great spring. I’m loving the sun and sky and warm breezes….and the melting snow/ice.  The mud? Not so much.

Karma

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.

The main component in making an author visit successful is getting the kids pumped for the visit. If the kids aren’t excited for me to come, the visit will not be very exciting–period. I do my best, but nothing beats teachers working with the students before the visit to generate enthusiasm!

To get kids ready involves preparation. I will do my part, which is sending you ideas and materials to help prepare the students for the visit. Your part is spend weeks (not days) preparing students for the author visit. Use the time to read the author’s books, do crafts and activities which revolve around the author’s books, and let the the students check out the author’s website, etc…

This is a great display the schools prepared for my visit. There were dozens and dozens of pictures of students reading my books. What a great idea! Every child felt included in the visit, which ensured the students had a vested interest in the visit succeeding! Eureka!

This is a craft (a little blurry, sorry) the kids made that is suggested on the Features for Teacher’s activities on my website. It is a paper quilt made of students’ drawings based on my bear books. It was truly adorable.

But this wasn’t all they did! They also did hippo crafts for Hilda Must Be Dancing, they did Frog art, they made posters. The hallways were a tribute to reading and my books! This isn’t about my ego (really). It’s about getting the kids thrilled for the visit, and boy were they! Kids were literally coming up to me, hugging me, saying how excited they were. They were talking about how much they love books and reading and how long they had waited for the visit. It literally reminded me of kids who had waited for Christmas. The schools even did a countdown for weeks before the visit! Every day they would count down one more day until “Karma Wilson Day!”

Here is one of the posters that was made especially for the big day. Isn’t this great? When children see that the teachers are this excited, they figure it must be something big!

If you are planning an author visit with me or ANY author I ask you to do what Russell and Franklin schools did. Get your students begging for the visit! There should be a carnival air to the whole event.

Here are a few more ideas:

1. A week leading up to the visit hold lotteries each day for a signed book.

2. Help kids think of great questions for my Q&A period, and be diligent about explaining the difference between a question and a statement or story. (I love hearing the names of their cats and their latest injuries, but it does eat time…heh heh!)

3. Kids are excited to share their stories with me, so have them write a story to give me when I leave.

4. Ask art teachers, librarians, and even the PE teachers to contribute to the visit. Art projects can revolve around themes in my books, librarians can encourage kids to check out my books or use my books in story time, and PE teachers can do physical activities related to themes in my books (Frog hopping, Bear crawls, etc…) You can even enlist the lunch cooks! Can Bear book themed foods be served on the day of the visit?

The more involved everybody in the school is, the more the kids will catch the enthusiasm for the visit. They will naturally be excited about reading and writing, and that is the whole purpose of any author visit! So go CRAZY and use your imagination! I guarantee, you won’t regret it!

Karma

©2012 Good Karma. All Rights Reserved.