Children Tell Stories: Teaching and Using Storytelling in the Classroom (Multimedia DVD included with the book) [Paperback]

Martha Hamilton (Author), Mitch Weiss (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 2005

The revised edition of this award-winning guidebook on storytelling in the classroom includes over 80% new material. The authors provide compelling rationales for the value of storytelling, links to state literacy learning standards, detailed storytelling unit tips, easy ideas for storytelling throughout the curriculum, and carefully selected and extensive bibliographies. Considered the classic in the field, Children Tell Stories is useful to both experienced and novice teachers and storytellers who work with students from preschool through college. Includes a multimedia DVD, "Children Telling Stories: A Storytelling Unit in Action" which contains interviews with parents, teachers, administrators, and students, demonstrations of storytelling by the authors, teachers, and students, and 25 printable stories.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Combining enthusiasm and inspiration with practical tips, handouts, and resources, Hamilton and Weiss offer a comprehensive second edition that will be useful to both novice and experienced tellers. Citing studies that confirm the educational value of storytelling, the authors demonstrate how such activities correlate well with state standards that involve language-arts skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Step-by-step instructions on effective story selection, learning, and telling will empower even the most timid teller. In addition, the authors give many suggestions for connecting storytelling with writing and other classroom activities. Children's librarians, library media specialists, and teachers will appreciate the complete bibliographies, listing Picture Books for Telling in Four Categories of Difficulty, and anthologies whose stories are coded for levels of difficulty. Unit plans, strong bibliographies, numerous activity and exercise suggestions, ideas for differentiated instruction, and a detailed resource-rich appendix add to the value of this book. The accompanying high-quality DVD shows children and adults telling stories, gives Web links, and includes 25 stories to download and print. This resource goes a few steps further than Nancy Schimmel's Just Enough to Make a Story (Sisters' Choice, 1992) and Kendall Haven's Super Simple Storytelling (Libraries Unlimited, 2000).–Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
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Review

"Children Tell Stories is THE book for creating a new generation of storytellers..." -- Esme Raji Codell, Author of the best-selling EDUCATING ESME

"The second edition of this wonderful book includes fresh and newly invigorated hints ...a must-have book." -- Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald, Folklorist and author

"This thoughtful and practical resource, written by committed and compassionate storytellers, should be in every school library in the country." -- Jay O'Callahan, Storyteller, Winter Oympics Bard, and NEA recipient

...an indispensable guide to all aspects of teaching storytelling. An accompanying DVD brings the entire process to life,.. -- ALA Book Links, January 2006

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Richard C Owen Pub; 2nd edition (2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572746637
• ISBN-13: 978-1572746633
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #289,084 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Children Tell Stories will help breathe life into your literacy curriculum!, February 2, 2006

By 

Carol Alwood (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Children Tell Stories: Teaching and Using Storytelling in the Classroom (Multimedia DVD included with the book) (Paperback)

Teachers who want to liven up their lessons and make a strong connection with students will be glad they read this beautifully written, inspiring book. It is obvious that the authors have stepped into many classrooms with many different types of people and had success; their expertise on the topic is incredibly rich and there are so many good ideas for teachers of any subject and any grade.

Children Tell Stories is a joy to read. It touches the reader through heart-warming examples and illustrations by children, along with photographs and a DVD that convey the fun that children are having. The book reminds the reader that telling stories is the most basic and human way to communicate any thought in an interesting way. Storytelling is a living, breathing human activity that incorporates the big curriculum musts ... analyzing, studying, reading, communicating, listening, evaluating ... the list goes on, and the authors offer compelling arguments and include a handy chart on how storytelling meets numerous state standards. As a teacher who is staying home with her kids for a few years, I can't wait to get back into the classroom to value storytelling in the way the authors have described.

Even though it seems that the authors have thought of everything, and even include twenty-five tellable stories in printable form on the companion DVD, they still include so many other books, recordings, and Web sites as resources. They seem more concerned with helping teachers than they are with looking as if they know everything about teaching and telling stories (even though they might!). The book left me feeling confident that I can tell stories and teach this invaluable life tool to my students, and that I don't necessarily need the help of a professional. I believe it will leave others feeling that way too, even if they have thought that telling stories might be a terrifying experience.

The companion DVD speaks volumes about the power of story. It is a documentary that has something for everyone. It can convince teachers, administrators, and parents of the importance of storytelling as an educational tool. It can also be shown to elementary students, middle-schoolers, or even a high school storytelling troupe. Young viewers will see that the students in the film have the same fears they will most likely feel when asked to tell a story in front of a group. But they will also see that because the students in the documentary take the risk and give it a try, they have lots of fun, gain tons of confidence, and are triumphant in the end. The boy who says his biggest fear is that he may "stutter so much that he will faint" later beams as he gets a big laugh from a crowd that includes his classmates and their families. Another boy, who is almost in tears the first time he is about to tell his story, is later shown confidently telling his tale for the same big crowd of listeners at a family storytelling night.

After reading Children Tell Stories I am convinced that storytelling in the classroom is the best way to achieve a multitude of communication and literacy requirements in a real and life changing way. For teachers who apply the ideas in this book, any subject will become more alive and interesting and will stick with students forever. I wish that my history teachers had read this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Telling Stories at Taipei American School, August 28, 2006

By 

Gregory Aiani (Taipei, Taiwan) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Children Tell Stories: Teaching and Using Storytelling in the Classroom (Multimedia DVD included with the book) (Paperback)

As an elementary teacher for almost ten years, I've recognized the importance of telling stories to children and have been telling stories for years. I was missing a piece of the literacy puzzle, the piece in which children tell stories themselves, but I didn't know how to approach it until I stumbled across Mitch and Martha at a storytelling conference and bought their book. It provides a practical, manageable approach to teaching children to tell stories. Our school has a high percentage of ESL students and the lessons and activities in this book are of particular relevance. Perhaps the most important part of the book is the companion DVD. It's truly an inspiring 20 minutes. I've shown it several times around our school and teachers who claimed they have no time for storytelling are now finding time.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gift for You and Your Class., January 25, 2006

By 

C. D. Wilhelm "C.D. Wilhelm" (Ithaca, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Children Tell Stories: Teaching and Using Storytelling in the Classroom (Multimedia DVD included with the book) (Paperback)

This text is packed with fun, skill-building exercises based on the authors' real experience with thousands of school-aged children. The exceptional resource list is current, meticulous, and descriptive. The DVD is a big bonus-it is, simply, wonderful-and it alone changed the mind of one third-grader about storytelling; at first steadfast in her refusal to tell a story, after watching the DVD she announced, "I think telling and listening to stories is going to be so much fun!" She captured a gift of the DVD--everyone's having a good time telling stories. . . actual students are filmed performing entertaining (not flawless) tellings-and my class came away feeling they really could tell a story, too. Thank-you, Beauty & the Beast!