Internet

Website: Story Arts Online
Link: http://www.storyarts.org/
Search Engine: Yahoo!
Keyword: Storytelling in the Classroom

Description and Rationale: This website offers information about using storytelling in the classroom or library. It also provides lesson plans and activities for classroom teachers and librarians as well as a a story library where website visitors can find links to great stories. I chose this website because it will be a wonderful tool for me so that I can start using storytelling in my classroom and prepare to start a storytelling club when I become a librarian. Storytelling brings the arts into the classroom and is a great way for librarians to teach across the curriculum. Storytelling can be used to help with reading comprehension and can be used to teach important social studies concepts such as culture, communities, and geography.

Multimedia

Type of Multimedia: Video
Search Engine: YouTube
Keyword Search: Storytelling in the Classroom
Title: Teaching Storytelling in the Classroom
Link/Copyright Information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrZc6eztoH4 (accessed July 25, 2008)

Description and Rationale: This video is based off the book "Children Tell Stories" by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss. The benefits of using storytelling in the classroom is students become informed and more fluent readers and it provides students with an outlet for creativity and drama. Storytelling also creates a sense of community in the classroom where students learn how important it is to work together, listen to each other, and be kind to each other.I chose this video because it summarizes the book by offering a glimpse into starting storytelling in the classroom or library. I look forward to buying the book and developing storytelling in my classroom.

Databases: Part 4

Search Strategy: Citation Pearl Growing/Snowball
Search Engine: EBSCOhost Research Databases
Database: Academic Search Complete

To begin my search I entered the search terms (school library AND storytelling AND motivate). The search returned 2 hits and I started with an article that is a perfect match to my blog topic, titled "Children as Storytellers."











Then I used the subject terms to find more articles on the same topic. The subject term I chose was "Storytelling" which returned 1960 hits. The results were very broad and hard to search through, but I ended up finding a great article titled, "Once Upon a Time: Using Storytelling, Creative Drama, and Reader's Theater with Children in Grades PreK-6." It is a review of a book by Judy Freeman.












Author: Mary Jean Smith

Source: School Library Journal 54 no. 4 (April 2008): 176.

Abstract: The article reviews the book "Once Upon a Time: Using Storytelling, Creative drama, and Readers's Theater with Children in Grades PreK-6," by Judy Freeman.












Reflection: I did not find this method to be as useful because the snowball effect was more time consuming than some of the other search strategies. I quickly found an article to start with but had trouble using subject terms to find other articles on my topic because the subject terms were so broad and my topic was very specific. It took a little bit of time to find an article within those search terms and I chose not to continue searching because like the article I started with, it had the same subject term and I would be back at where I started.

Databases: Part 3

Search Strategy: Successive Fractions

Database: JStor

This time my search strategy will be successive fractions and my search string will remain the same. Unlike Specific Facet First, this time I will be starting my search with the search term that created the most hits, that being: school and (elementary or primary). This resulted in over 300,000 hits so I move onto the next facet: motivate or inspire. I still have over 20,000 results so I move on to the third facet: storytelling. After completing the third facet I am still left with just over 500 hits, still too many to look through.













Now I will limit my search even further by adding a date range of articles from 2004 to 2008. My search returns 3 results.












Reflection: Using this search strategy, I did not produce any hits related to my question. This leaves me to wonder if it is my search terms, the user, or the database. As I searched, I noticed that this database seems to offer little information on teaching, schools, and libraries. So far, the strategy that has shown the best results is the specific facet first.

Databases: Part 2

Search Strategy: Specific Facet First
Search Engine: Wilson Web
Database: Library Literature

For this database I will use the Specific Facet First search strategy and search for the following: school(elementary or primary) and storytelling and (motivate or inspire).

Results:
School and (elementary or primary) returned 2217 hits
storytelling returned 654 hits
(motivate or inspire) returned 1196 hits.












First I start with my most specific facet which is "storytelling" since it returned the fewest hits.

Next I add my next most specific facet which is "motivate or inspire". The search has narrowed things down quite a bit as I received 4 hits.













I found the following article to be most useful to answering my question, How can storytelling motivate young readers?

Title:	The Gift That Keeps on Giving
Personal Author:	Arnold Renea and Colburn Nell
Journal Name:	School Library Journal
Source:	School Library Journal 53 no. 9 (September 2007): 31.
Publication Year:	2007
Abstract:	In addition to enhancing daily service and programming, the use of evidence-based practices at Multnomah County Library in Portland, Oregon, inspired the library to create an instructional DVD for new librarians that demonstrates and explains the incorporation of research-based early literacy practices into children's story time. This resource, called Storytime: Not Just for Kids Anymore, includes information on the six essential reading-readiness skills, how to identify them during story time, and how to address parents' queries about early-literacy enhanced story times.

Reflection: The article offered inspirational ideas on how to have a fun and effective story time with toddler and preschool-aged children. I really enjoyed using this search strategy as I felt that all 4 of my results were useful to my question, though two were aimed towards teenagers and not children.

Databases: Part 1

Search Strategy: building block search
Search Engine: DIALOG
Database: ERIC

Search Topic: How can storytelling motivate young readers?

Building Block Search Strategy:

1. storytelling

2. school (elementary or primary)

3. motivate or inspire

4. s1 and s2 and s3 = results

My building block search returned the following results:

Reflection: I found it hard to search through this database, most likely because of the pressure due to the cost. Though it cost about $3.00 to do this search, I felt like I rushed through it and did not get as good of results as I could have gotten had I really taken the time. If I could use this database several times and really get use to it then my searched would probably return better results. My results in this case did not exactly answer my question but they still offered great suggestions for use of storytelling as an alternative reading in the classroom.

LibraryThing Tagging

LibraryThing tags:
409ag storytelling(1) adult(1) books(1) business(1) classic(1) elementary(1) Fall 2007(1) folklore(3) folktales(1) healing stories(1) home(1) how-to(1) ist571(1) Librarianship(1) library discard(1) library science(2) met author(1) non-fiction(3) Paperback(1) professional(1) Professional Collection(1) read(2) read aloud & storytelling(1) Reference(2) school(1) sort(1) storyteller(1) Storytellers--Training of.(1) Storytelling(14) textbook(1) unread(2) writing

LibraryThing links:
http://www.librarything.com/work/688336

The book I selected was The storyteller's Start-Up Book : finding, learning, performing, and using folktales including twelve tellable tales by Margaret MacDonald. I selected this book because it provides useful information for someone unfamiliar with the art of storytelling but wanting to give it a try. The book offers helpful tips on how to perform stories and how to start developing a collection of stories.

The Art of Storytelling RSS Feed

I added The Art of Storytelling RSS feed. This website has podcasts and blogs that cover a variety of aspects in children's storytelling. Each podcast has an interview with a special guest with information about storytelling. I added this feed because I see the importance of storytelling in the school library as a way to instill a passion for reading and teach crucial literary skills and concepts.

Storytelling at School

Podcast: Elizabeth Rose- Empowering Teachers to Use Storytelling in the Classroom

When searching on Yahoo!, I came across www.storytellingwithchildren.com , an online community of storytellers which has weekly podcasts regarding children and storytelling.

This particular podcast was selected to reiterate how using storytelling in school libraries and classrooms is an important vehicle in getting children excited about reading. Elizabeth Rose suggests having school storytelling clubs sponsored by a librarian or teacher, as storytelling provides so many opportunities to improve reading, speaking, and listening skills.

The Power of Storytelling

Name of Blog: School Library Media Blog
Search engine used: blogsearch.google.com

About Story Proof: The Science Behind the Startling Power of Story, by Kendall Haven

She says, “It’s a great book. It’s like The Power of Reading, by Steven Krashen. It’s the research behind storytelling … its value in education, the value in memory, the memory in understanding.”

Here is a quote from Kendall’s introduction:

I have reviewed over 350 research studies from fifteen separate fields of science. Incredibly, every one of those studies, as well as every other study they cite — every one — agrees that stories are an effective and efficient vehicle for teaching, for motivating, and for the general communication of factual information, concepts, and tacit information. Not one doubted the effectiveness of stories!

Purpose

The general purpose for this blog is to collect and share information about school libraries and school librarianship.
Since my love for children's literature is so strong, the focus of my blog will be using storytelling to motivate young readers.