LIBR 281-10
LIBR 281-11
Seminar in Contemporary Issues
Topic: Storytelling
Summer 2007 Greensheet
Connie Rockman
E-mail
Other contact information: Instructor lives in Connecticut and will only be on campus for the week of the course. Please contact by email with any questions or concerns.
| Greensheet Links Textbooks and Readings Course Requirements |
Resources Blackboard Blackboard Tutorials SLIS e-Bookstore |
The class site on Blackboard will be available by May 15. You should enroll for the course Blackboard site no later than June 15 to begin your story reading and making story choices that you will tell during our intensive week. (Background reading suggestions are listed below to help you get started early.) There will be preliminary discussions on Blackboard before the intensive week that we meet. Background reading and story selection before class meets are very important. I will send a message through MySJSU with an access enrollment code for the Blackboard site by May 15.
Course Description
In public libraries, storytelling has played a key role in children’s services for over 100 years, carrying on the oral tradition that had provided social entertainment and subtle moral teachings in earlier ages. Storytelling programs in libraries are designed to create the desire to read and lead young readers to the riches of folklore and narrative literature, as well as providing an early socialization experience for preschoolers and an enriching literary activity for older children. The cultural importance of traditional storytellers around the world and throughout history has been well documented. Current reading research has established oral fluency as being intimately connected to success in reading and writing, making storytelling an excellent tool for leading children to literature and creating the desire to read.
This course is designed to give participants the opportunity to develop the skill for sharing stories with young people of all ages in the library context. Students will encounter a wide variety of stories from many cultures, learn to identify resources for finding stories to tell, develop skill in telling stories with ease and enthusiasm, and learn to identify the qualities that make stories age-appropriate. Participants will be encouraged to develop their own personal style of storytelling through class exercises, examples of professional storytellers, and telling stories to their classmates. We will also discuss ways to develop and advertise storytelling programs in the school or public library.
Student Learning Objectives
- Create a rationale for story programs in the public or school library.
- Identify sources for stories: Oral tradition (folk tales, fables, myths, legends), literary tales, oral history, biography, and picture book stories.
- Assess appropriate age levels for stories within the context of library programming.
- Tell 3 stories in class during the course of the week we meet.
- Create a personal repertoire of stories to tell.
- Learn how to coordinate programs of stories, songs, & activities for practical application in public and/or school libraries.
- Learn about applications for storytelling in outreach work with community groups, schools, children’s camps, senior centers, etc.
This section of LIBR 281 supports the following SLIS Core Competencies:
- articulate the ethics, values and foundational principles of library and information professionals and their role in the promotion of intellectual freedom;
- recognize the social, cultural and economic dimensions of information use;
- apply the fundamental principles of planning, management and marketing/advocacy;
- use the basic concepts and principles related to the creation, evaluation, selection, acquisition, preservation and organization of specific items or collections of information;
- demonstrate proficiency in the use of current information and communication technologies, and other related technologies, as they affect the resources and uses of libraries and other types of information providing entities;
- use service concepts, principles and techniques that facilitate information access, relevance, and accuracy for individuals or groups of users;
- design training programs based on appropriate learning principles and theories;
- understand the nature of research, research methods and research findings; retrieve, evaluate and synthesize scholarly and professional literature for informed decision-making by specific client groups;
- demonstrate oral and written communication skills necessary for group work, collaborations and professional level presentations;
- evaluate programs and services on specified criteria; and
- contribute to the cultural, economic, educational and social well-being of our communities.
Textbooks and Readings
Required Text
- Margaret Read MacDonald, The Storyteller’s Start-Up Book. August House, 1993.
This text will provide many how-to tips and step-by-step procedures for learning stories.
Required Readings
- Connie C. Rockman, “Tell Me a Story,” School Library Journal, August, 2001: www.schoollibraryjournal.com/article/CA148749.html
- National Council of Teachers of English, “Teaching Storytelling: A Position Statement”: www.ncte.org/about/over/positions/category/lang/107637.htm
These two articles that you can access online will provide good background in the reasons why storytelling is a powerful and necessary tool for school-age children.
Go to SLIS e-Bookstore.
Recommended Texts and Readings
- Ellin Greene, Storytelling: Art and Technique. 3rd. edition. Libraries Unlimited, 1996.
This book especially addresses issues about story time in public libraries. First written by Augusta Baker, the legendary storytelling supervisor at the New York Public Library, it has been revised by her student and colleague. It contains many practical hints for children’s librarians about programming and developing a story repertoire as well as solid information on planning pre-school programs.
- Ruth Sawyer, The Way of the Storyteller. Penguin, 1977, (c1942)
This text is an inspirational reading, with excellent background on storytelling as an art form. You should be able to find a copy in a library. Before class begins read the chapters entitled: “Storytelling - A Folk Art” and “The Power of Creative Imagination.” You are strongly urged to read the entire book, but do read at least these two chapters.
Further recommended readings will be included in the syllabus on Blackboard.
Go to SLIS e-Bookstore.
Course Requirements
Primary Requirements
The primary requirements for this course are:
- Learn and tell three stories in class – a fable, a picture book, and a folk tale of your choice. *Note: These stories should be chosen from the resources listed in the syllabus on Blackboard. Check with the instructor if you want to substitute other titles.
- Write three papers (these are further described in the syllabus on Blackboard):
- on fables and their application for story times,
- on folktales and their application for story times,
- on story program planning for a specific library setting.
- Participate in class discussions, small group sharing, and exercises, in addition to your storytelling.
- Keep a journal in class of stories you want to learn in the future, reactions to stories told by classmates, reactions to reading, ideas for planning programs.
- Participate in class discussion and story choices on Blackboard. The class site will be available by May 15. You should enroll for the course Blackboard site no later than June 15 to begin your background reading and story choices for learning to tell during our intensive week.
Grading
Student storytelling will be judged on effort, preparation and enthusiasm. You are not expected to be a polished performer but you are expected to do adequate preparation before telling to the class. This will require participation in Blackboard discussion and making choices of stories to tell in the weeks before the class meets.
| Presenting a picture book | 20% |
| Telling a fable | 20% |
| Paper on fables | 10% |
| Telling a folk tale | 20% |
| Paper on folktales | 10% |
| Paper on Story Programming | 20% |
Grading Scale
The standard SJSU SLIS Grading Scale is utilized for all SLIS courses:
| 97-100 | A |
| 94-96 | A- |
| 91-93 | B+ |
| 88-90 | B |
| 85-87 | B- |
| 82-84 | C+ |
| 79-81 | C |
| 76-78 | C- |
| 73-75 | D+ |
| 70-72 | D |
| 67-69 | D- |
| Below 67 | F |
Reasonable Accommodation of Disabilities
If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability,
please e-mail me as soon as possible. Presidential Directive 97-03 requires
that students with disabilities register with the Disability Resource Center
(DRC) to establish record of their disability.
No matter where students reside, they should contact the SJSU DRC to register. The DRC Web site: http://www.drc.sjsu.edu/
Academic Integrity
Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by your enrollment at San José State University, and the University's Academic Integrity Policy requires you to be honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report all infractions to the Office of Student Conduct and Ethical Development. The policy on academic integrity can be found at http://sa.sjsu.edu/student_conduct.
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