StorytimeFundamentals

Instructor:

Penny PeckPikly@aol.com

An Infopeople Workshop

Spring 2007

This Workshop Is Brought to You by the Infopeople Project

Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project supported by the California State Library. It provides a wide variety of training to California libraries. Infopeople workshops are offered around the state and are open registration on a first-come, first-served basis.

For a complete list of workshops, and for other information about the project, go to the Infopeople website at infopeople.org.

Workshop Overview

• What is Storytime? Formats by age

• Selecting books and sharing these in a group setting, themes, bilingual storytimes

• Songs and fingerplays

• Issues – dealing with disruptions

• Extras – crafts, puppets, props, storytelling, outreach

Storytelling vs. Storytime (Storytime is our subject today)

• Storytelling - memorized stories - book not used - oral tradition

• Storytime - books used - not a performance

What is Storytime?

• Opening song• Introduce the theme• “Get Ready” song• First book• Fingerplay• Second book• Stretch song• Apron story• Closing song

Storytime by Age: Lapsit• Babies up to 18 months

• Approx. 20 minutes in length

• Opening song, simple book

• Song or fingerplay, simple book

• Another song or fingerplay, simple book

• Closing song

• Pass out board book for parent/child

• Handout with song lyrics for parents

Toddler Time• Lots of movement

activities, 25 minutes

• Opening song

• Interactive book

• Song, short book

• Stand-up song, book

• Fingerplay, book

• Closing song/dance

• Stamp hand

Preschool Storytime• Opening Song, state the theme

• Book

• Fingerplay

• Book

• Stretching song

• Book

• Song

• Book

• Closing song

• Craft activity

Family Storytime• Very similar to

Preschool Storytime

• Shorter books

• More songs

• Still have a craft

• Aim toward the preschoolers, while including the younger children

Reading to a Group

Vocal projection and Pacing:

• Posture

• Head voice or chest voice?

• Breathing exercise – blow out

between your lips

Holding the Attention of the Audience

• Audience participation

• Rapport with audience

• Age appropriate materials

• Holding the book so audience sees

the illustrations

Why Libraries Do Storytime

• Importance of reading aloud- models reading aloud for parents- assists in brain development- develops vocabulary

• Increases library circulation- brings in new users- creates high profile for library- supports school curriculum

Kindergarten Readiness• Learning parts of a

book: spine, title page, direction to turn pages

• How to hold a book

• Motor skills: hold a crayon, hop on one foot, use scissors

• Alphabet, counting

Physical Environment for Storytime• Registration - does it create barriers?

- nametags?

• Scheduling - what works for your patrons?

• Preparation Time - what is the minimum needed?

• Setup - what is essential?

Selecting Books and Materials

• Selecting books– by age group: one

sentence per page for toddlers, more for preschoolers

• Themes• Movement activities• Multicultural topics

Types of Stories - Cumulative

• Stories that have recurring phrases which are added on (or accumulate) and repeat

• “House That Jack Built”

• “Jacket I Wear in the Snow”

• “The Chair Where Bear Sits”

Interactive Stories• Also called Participatory Story, Call and

Response, Pattern Story, or Repetition Story – kids call out repeated words and phrases

• “Little Red Hen” – “Not I!”

• Eric Carle’s books – “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”

• Use at least one Interactive story in every Storytime

Circular Stories• Stories that end up

where they started (or “circle back”)

• “If You Give A Mouse A Cookie”

• Allows listener to predict what will happen

Concept Books• ABC

• Counting

• Shapes

• Colors

• Opposites

• Part of Kindergarten Readiness, also invites participation

Creative Dramatics

• Act out the story – using mime and movement, re-enact parts of the story

• Books like “The Turnip,” “Going on a Bear Hunt,” “Wiggle Waggle”

• Can either act out as a group, or choose children from the audience to come up and act out the story

Books for the Very Young

• Board Books• Picture books with

just a few words per page

• Large, uncluttered illustrations

• Bright colors

• “Time for Bed”• “This is the Farmer”• “Baby Rock, Baby

Roll”• “Crunch Munch”• “Another Important

Book”• Selection

Themes

• What are themes? – storytimes on snow, tying your shoe, apples– What are some of your favorite themes?

• Are they necessary?– how themes can help: reflect what will

happen in Kindergarten– how themes can be limiting: more effort to

include multicultural characters

• Websites that list Storytime themes

Dialogic Reading

• Dialogic reading: what it is– create a dialogue using the pictures by encouraging

child to talk about the story– asking open-ended questions

• How to incorporate it into Storytime– use interactive stories– do fewer books to allow time for dialogue– do it during the last story

• Why it is important– improves vocabulary, builds sentence skills– you are modeling dialogue for the parents

Bilingual Storytimes

• What that means: reading the same story in two languages

• Spanish/English

• Other bilingual storytimes

Using Bilingual Volunteers

• Partner-style storytime– you read one page in English, volunteer

reads same page in other language– Demonstration of Partner-style Storytime:

need one English reader and one Spanish reader

Where to Buy Bilingual Books- Rainbow Books- Lectorum/Scholastic- Pan Asian - Shen’s Books

Multicultural Storytimes

• Multicultural themes– Lunar New Year, Black

History Month

• Diversity at all Storytimes– nonwhite characters in

books on any subject

Using Multicultural Books

• Authenticity important – does it accurately reflect the culture? Or is it dated?

• Do’s – Celebrate holidays, also add nonwhite characters in all storytimes

• Don’ts - books with dialects, books where the nonwhite character is “exotic” or “different”

• Other thoughts on this?

Outreach to Diverse Populations

• Outreach to non-English speakers

– contact them to publicize these new storytimes

• Send volunteer readers to Daycare/Headstart/Preschools with non-English speakers

• Send volunteer readers or book bags to diverse daycare/preschools

Songs and Fingerplays

• Opening songs

• “Get Ready” songs

• Stretch songs

• Fingerplays

• Closing songs

Issues in Storytime

• Dealing with disruptions

- Child behavior challenges

- Parent behavior challenges

• Size of the group

-Dealing with large crowds

Limiting the Size of Storytime• Daycare and preschool groups

– allowing them at Storytime, or going to their site with volunteer readers

• Age groups– how to advise parents who want to bring

toddlers to preschool storytime

• Using “Big Books”– oversized copies of popular picture books

• Avoid registration or is registration necessary?– any tips?

Outreach and Marketing

• Outreach

– volunteer readers going to preschools

– book bags for preschool teachers

– training local daycare providers

– sending staff to daycare/preschools

• Marketing– flyers: at library,

doctor’s office, stores, where parents go

– newspaper coverage– target mailings to

groups– press releases to

Parents’ Press, homeowners newsletters, etc.

Dealing with Disruptions

• Common disruptions

- child behavior issues

- parents talking

- latecomers

• Positive steps

- set expectations

- volunteer ushers

Value of Crafts at Storytime

• How crafts relate to Kindergarten Readiness

- motor skills

- following directions• Crafts can attract more parents

- added value with crafts

- time to talk to other parents• Crafts are fun!

Storytime “Extras”• Puppets

• Props

• Flannelboards

• Apron stories

• Games

• Dance and movement

• Videos

Using Puppets and Props

• Puppet as mascot• Puppet shows to tell stories• Props and realia• Musical instruments• Appealing to kinetic

learners

Flannelboards and Apron Stories

• Use Flannelboards

-for simple stories

-cut our pictures• Use Apron stories

-for large groups• Sources to purchase these

– Sisters-in-stitches.com– Lakeshorelearning.com

Let’s Get Moving• Dances

- “The Hokey Pokey”

• Movement activities

- “Head and Shoulders”

- “Shake Your Sillies Out”

• Games that move

- “Farmer in the Dell”

- “Simon Says”

Evaluating your Storytime

• Age-appropriate material

• Pace and variety

• Vocals

• Rapport with audience

• Interactive elements

Dealing with Success• Crowd control• Volunteers• Adding more sessions• Outreach to daycares &

groups• Kits for Storytime

outreach

Where Do You Go From Here?

• What will you do next?

• What other questions/topics should we address?

• Closing song