I have taught for 11 years, and most of my experience in the classroom has been at the middle school level. I fully believe teaching is performance. I have often times equated my classroom instruction to being on stage. To keep my students actively engaged during my instruction, I utilize many acting skills: voice variations, dramatic pauses, wild-gesticulations, facial changes, quick thinking, improvisation techniques, movement. One especially useful skill is storytelling. I love to tell stories to my students. There is something magical to opening the space for a story. My children immediately engage when I signal that a story is forthcoming. Normally, I open the space for a story by saying "Ya know this reminds me of something that happened to me, but you guys don't really want to hear it, do you?" I usually receive a chrous of "yeses." I always bluff for a minute or two and then begin. I don't know if my students revert back to when they were young children, but I usually can keep the normally chaotic and habitually "antsy" 11 year-olds quiet and listening for a considerable length of time. I just have to make certain that my delievery is exciting. There is obviously power in the personal narrative. Why does a story compel us to block out the otherwise distracting impulses and relax and just listen?
To complete the story telling assignment this week, I told a story to my 6th period class. 6th period is my most challenging class. My students have already attended 5 other classes, one homeroom class, and lunch. When they finally come to me, their attention spans, already stunted due to a combination of hormones, PlayStation 3s , and high fructose corn syrup overdoses, are non-existent. Stories seem to calm them down. Last week, I told a story about a time I almost killed my sister (FYI: she's okay. . .no permanent damage . . .she even graduated from med school). For some reason, 6th graders are naturally drawn to stories about siblings and if violence is at all hinted in the plot, well that is an added bonus. I am always amazed at how a simple story can engage a group. When dealing with middle schoolers, content is important, but the delivery is essential. I believe that a bad story told well is much more effective than a good story told poorly.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
storytelling IS powerful in the classroom. when i was a student teacher, i worked with a lady who could weave a personal story into something as mundane a math lesson about arrays. i think her unplanned storytimes were as you said, a time when all heads turned in anticipation of a great story to come. can't say she was effective all around as a teacher, but something about her stories brought pin-like silence to the room. as an elementary school teacher, we do read aloud everyday, which creates the space for an organized storytelling. i am a believer in its importance. not only because we all love to hear stories but because children use that time to relate very personal stories to the class that they might not otherwise have the time to say.
Post a Comment