THE DREAMY MILK-MAID

Here we are, another day and another story!

Today is a folktale turn! Very classical

                                The Dreamy Milk-Maid.

First of all I want to tell everyone why  I have choose this story because: 

- In Spanish it is the same story and is also a folktale. When I was little girl I loved hearing this story and develop my imagination as does the milkmaid.

- Also I think that is a story that you can instill in students many values above all and big and emotional a moral.

-There is a said in both: English and Spanish some phrases that defines good morals and that is: "Building castles in air will not stand". We could also teach children the other said and explain it well as it is this: "Do not count your chickens before they are hatched".

-The real moral is that we should not consider anything as definite until we have done the necessary work to make it a reality.This story teaches them that are forgiven if any misfortune happens if they are wrong, but it must be precabidos. Is that children understand that is fine dream and imagine but you have to keep our feet on the ground when it's needed.

PRE-TELLING:

Today it's gonna be a different day to tell the story.  This story it's going to be tell when in class they will have finish the project of: THE FARM.

What we want our children  to learn in a super simple way, somo simple process about some products like THE BUTTER and HOW CHICKENS GROW.

It's time for stroytime so as always we are going to sing our song:

The teacher is dressed up like a milkmaid, after sing the storytime song she speaks to the children like she was a real milkmaid. She has to explain in what her job consist and she has also to involve the children with a sentece like:

Do you want to know what happened to me one month ago? (And tell the story involving children and creating 

creating in them wanting to hear, with spaces of intrigue and lots of really mainly thanks to the milkmaid disguise.

TELLING:

Once upon a time there was a maid who lived in the countryside. She had a small piece of land where she had a cow that had started to give good milk.

Once she got a bucket of milk from the cow, she put  it on her head decided to take it to the market.

While she was on her way, she began to think what she would do with the money she would get from the milk.

First, she would buy some hens from Farmer Brown, and the would lay eggs every morning.

The, she thought that she could sell the eggs and that she would get a lot of money.

As soon as she had the money, she would buy herself a new dress.

At this point, she imagined that the women of the village would be so jealous of her new  clothes that she would   just toss her head at tem.

As she thought this, she tossed her head back, the bucket fell off, and all the milk, along with her dreams, was gone.

POST-TELLING:

The milkmaid (the teacher) has brought a little chicken so while some tables are doing to worksheets about the process of growing up of the eggs and how is made the butter by milk from cows.

So after or while some tables are doing the worksheets the teacher can show the little chicken and talk about this animal and that it has grow from an egg.

Also after all we can see the video about the story of the milkmaid and ask them questions about the story and the moral.

In the first worksheet the teacher explains the growing up about chickens. After they have to explain to the ohter (one of each table) they have to explain with their own words how they think.

                     In the second worksheet they have to draw the milk,the butter and other to things that is produced by the cow and by the milk, like cheese and cream.

Hope you liked this new ideas about storytelling,

And remember that...You can't count your chickens before they hatch!

Ester C.

THE SELFISH TOAD!

Time for story, time for story! 

Listening ears ON! Today another tale, but today not a folktale.

With this story we can teach our students so much values, like: don't be selfish, the importance of sharing, be friend with the others and don't treat someone as you don't want to be treat.

PRE-TELLING:

After the teacher has all children sit down in the corner of storytelling, she is going to "make theater" that is...She is going to let children think that she's selfish but she can't say anything. The attractive of this pre-telling is that children aren't going to recognize her teacher because she is never selfish and now she is. 

The teacher will say: 

-Do not touch my land, do not sit with my friend, look at me, give me your toys, I will not let my story book to you anymore...

When the teacher sees that children react or even someone asks what's wrong.

 The teacher will say: Why not Miss behaves like this normally? This I have done, is being selfish person when you want it all for yourself and do nothing for others and they do not share with anyone.

TELLING:

After the teacher has explained the concept of selfish, she says that the story of today is about: A SELFISH TOAD.

"The Selfish Toad" is a Spanish story, which can translate into English. The story is about a frog that lives in a pond where it has rained a lot and there are plenty of water. The toad lives and rests in that pond, many animals will enjoy or drink from the pond but the frog will not let them. Do not share your pond with anyone with any animal. Over time runs out pond water and the frog begins to mourn and dehydrated. Meanwhile were all animals that will "upset the toad" animals to learn that the toad was wrong was told that would lead to the lake where everyone played, laughed and drank and enjoyed. The toad was very soprendido and learned a valuable lesson: We must not be selfish, we must share and be friends with everyone.

POST TELLING:

Story Circle: 

One person begins a tale WITH USING THE CONCEPT OF SELFISH and stops after a few sentences. The next person picks up the story thread and continues it, then stops. Next person adds to it and so on until the tale comes to a resolution. The story could begin with a pre-selected title or subject to guide the improvisation. Try recording the story circle on a tape recorder for later listening.

                                                                       Hope you like this Spanish story, and remember don't be Selfish!

Ester C.

THE LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

Ssssh be quiet, please sit down, please sit down, please sit down.

Ssssh be quiet, please sit down, listen, listen, listen. (Song)

THE LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD: (4-5 years old)

This story I think it's interesting  to tell it, as it is a typical folktale, it never gets old. Although it is a bit complicated or  the story is a bit hard and sometimes sadly to children but for the is recomforting to know that it ends well.

PRE-TELLING:

œ Before reading Little Red Riding Hood, we are going to introduce the fairytale by eliciting our children’s knowledge of the story. Showing to the children the book cover to arouse their interest and trigger their memories. Who can they see on the cover? (Little Red Riding Hood) What’s she wearing? Where is she? Where’s she going? Is she a good girl? Why/not?

œ 

After we can introduce each character with the flashcards in turn. First of all, we have to ask our children to respond non verbally to the character flashcards through actions and/or noises.

Invent an action and/or noise to correspond to each character, for example, Little Red Riding Hood might skip, the Big Bad Wolf might growl, Mum might be making a cake, Grandma might be walking with a stick, the woodcutter might be cutting wood. 

Can they mime those actions? 

TELLING:

Now is't time to tell the all story. (If you don't know the story here you are)

POST-TELLING:

After the telling:  Retell the story and make deliberate mistakes. Ask your children to clap their
hands together when they hear a mistake. For example, “Once upon a time there was a
little boy…” CLAP! Continue telling the story with the correct word. Alternatively, ask
your children to say ‘Stop!’ and to correct any mistakes they hear. For example,
Teacher: “Once upon a time there was a little boy…”
Children: “Stop! ‘Girl!’'

                                          Hope you like it and remember the appareances are not always the truth.

Ester C.

THE MIXED UP CHAMALEON

The mixed up chamaleon.

I have choose this story because it's a tipical folktale, and one member of the group has tell it and we perfommed it in class.

PRE-TELLING:

Children are given a ticket before getting into the class. They have to give it to the zoo worker to get in. Once they are inside the class, the pre-telling starts.

-Zoo worker: Hello everyone, welcome to my zoo.  As you can see there are a lot of... Oh! Where are the animals? I can’t find them. Can you help me?

She starts looking for the animals and encourages the kids to do the same. When a child finds an animal, he or she has to put it in the cage. When all of them have been found, the zoo worker sings this song to get their attention and make them quiet:

"Shh, be quiet please sit down, please sit down, please sit down.

Shh be quiet, please sit down, listen, listen, listen".

-Zoo worker: Thank you! Here are all the animals. Do you know their names? Let’s say the names together…

She takes every toy and teaches the name to the children. And now, open your eyes, close your mouth and prepare your ears to this story…

TEACHING :

Once upon a time, there was a chameleon that lived in the forest. He was a very special animal because he could change the color of his skin.

When he was on a leaf he turned green and when he was on the sand he turned yellow. When he was hungry, he ate flies. He caught flies with his long tongue. He really liked flies. But he was not happy.

-          I don’t like being a chameleon. I’m sad.

One day, he was bored and he decided to go to the zoo. When he arrived to the zoo, he was walking and walking and he saw the, fish? Turtle? Elephant?

-          Oh look! It’s an elephant!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the elephant, I’m veeery big. I have a looong trunk. I’m veery happy. And my color is grey.

And the chameleon sang a song about the elephant. Let’s all try to sing along! Everybody stand up and dance with us!

“ Grey grey  the elephant is grey

Grey grey the elephant is grey.

Grey grey the elephant is grey

The elephant is grey, grey, grey”

-          -Wow! The elephant is very strong. I like him a lot! I want to be an elephant too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a bank (lights off and music) he turned grey like the elephant and a trunk grow from his nose and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

“Try to catch me, try to catch me

You can not, you can not

You’re not a chameleon, you’re not a chameleon

Now you’re sad”

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being an elephant.

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to a lagoon where he saw a, Giraffe? Polar bear? Flamingo?

-          Oh look! It’s a flamingo!

-          

    Hello everyone! I’m the flamingo, I’m veeery elegant and beautiful. I have  looong legs. I’m veery happy. And my color is pink.

-          And the chameleon sang a song about the flamingo!

“ Pink, pink the flamingo is pink

Pink, pink the flamingo is pink.

Pink, pink the flamingo it is pink

The flamingo is pink pink pink ”

-          Wow! The flamingo is very beautiful. I like him a lot! I want to be a flamingo too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a bank, (lights off and music) and he turned pink like the flamingo and his legs grew longer and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a flamingo

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to a lake where he saw a fish

-          Oh look! It’s a fish!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the fish, I’m veeery small. I have short fins. I can swim. I’m veery happy.  And my color is orange.

“Orange, orange the fish is orange 

Orange, orange the fish is orange

Orange, orange the fish is orange

The fish is orange orange orange”

-         

      Wow! The fish can swim. I like him a lot! I want to be a fish too!

And suddenly he turned orange like the fish and his legs became fins and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

“Try to catch me, try to catch me

You can not, you can not

You’re not a chameleon, you’re not a chameleon

Now you’re sad”

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a fish

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to a terrarium where he saw a turtle

-          Oh look! It’s a turtle!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the turtle , I’m veeery small. I can live inside my shell.  I’m veery happy . And my color is green.

“Green, green, the turtle is green  

Green, green, the turtle is green

Green, green, the turtle is green

The turtle is green, green, green”

-          Wow! The turtle can live inside his shell. I like him a lot! I want to be a turtle too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a blank (lights off and music) and he turned green like the turtle and a shell grew on his back and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a turtle

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to a really cold area where he saw a polar bear

-          Oh look! It’s a polar bear!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the polar bear, I’m veeery big. I can live in cold places and I’m very strong.  I’m veery happy .  And my color is white.

“White, White, the polar bear is white

White, White, the polar bear is White

White, White, the polar bear is White

The polar bear is White White White”

-          Wow! The polar bear can live in cold places. I like him a lot! I want to be a polar bear too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a bank and he turned white like the polar bear and his hands became claws and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

“Try to catch me, try to catch me

You can not, you can not

You’re not a chameleon, you’re not a chameleon

Now you’re sad”

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a polar bear

The chameleon was sad again, and he kept on walking to an area with tall trees where he saw a giraffe

-          Oh look! It’s a giraffe!

-          Hello everyone! I’m the giraffe, I have a veeery long neck. I can eat  leaves from veeery tall trees .  I’m veery happy . And my color is yellow.

“Yellow, yellow, the giraffe is yellow

Yellow, yellow, the giraffe is yellow

Yellow, yellow, the giraffe is yellow”

The giraffe is yellow yellow yellow”

-Wow! The giraffe has a very long neck. I like him a lot! I want to be a giraffe too!

And suddenly, there was a flash and a bank and he turned yellow like the giraffe and his neck grew longer and he was happy.

Then a fly flew over his head, he was really hungry, but he couldn’t eat the fly.

“Try to catch me, try to catch me

You can not, you can not

You’re not a chameleon, you’re not a chameleon

Now you’re sad”

-          I can’t eat. I don’t like being a giraffe. I’m so tired and hungry. I was happier when I was a chameleon. I wish I could be myself again!

Suddenly there was a flash and a bank and he turned a chameleon. He was happy to be himself again. Then a fly flew over

-          I can finally eat you!!!!

POST TEACHING:

Once the story is told, it's time for the animal domino. A teacher explains the activity, but before playing the game she asks about the story.

-          Kids, did you like the story?

-          Is the Chameleon happy when he is like the elephant?

-          Is the Chameleon happy when he is like the flamingo?

-          …

-          Is the chameleon happy when he is himself?

-          Do you want to play a game?

-          Let's play the animal domino

She hands out the domino pieces and leads the children through the activity. They have to stick the pieces in the blackboard until the game is completed.

The actors say goodbye and the performance ends.

 Finally here is the real version of: THE MIXED UP CHAMALEON

Hope you like the story, the performance and the pre, the telling and the post telling style.

Ester C.

UNIT 2: ACTIVATING CHILDREN'S LITERATURE

It's time to stories now!

                   Folktales, modern tales, tales of yestarday and today.

                                                     

     The art of story telling: Pre-telling, telling and post-telling.

Storytelling is an art and we can not underestimate. You have to know how to tell stories because this is good for both: students and for us as teachers.

We have operate each of our faces as teachers know how to use the voice, gestures, selection of the story, knowing that possibilities offered by this story ...

• Storytelling is interactive, that means that it involves a two-way interaction between a storyteller and one or more listeners. The responses of the listeners influence the telling of the story. In fact, storytelling emerges from the interaction and cooperative, coordinated efforts of teller and audience.

• Storytelling uses actions such as vocalization, physical movement and/or gesture. These actions are the parts of spoken or manual language other than words. Their use distinguishes storytelling from writing and text-based computer interactions. Not all nonverbal language behaviors need to be present in storytelling. Some storytellers use body movement extensively, for example, whereas others use little or none.

•  Storytelling presents a story that means that Storytelling always involves the presentation of a storya narrative. Many other art forms also present story, but storytelling presents it with the other four components. Every culture has its own definition of story. What is recognized as a story in one situation may not be accepted as one in another. Some situations call for spontaneity and playful digression, for example; others call for near-exact repetition of a revered text. Art forms such as poetry recitation and stand-up comedy sometimes present stories and sometimes don’t. Since they generally involve the other four components, they can be regarded as forms of storytelling whenever they also present stories.

•  Storytelling encourages the active imagination of the listeners. In storytelling, the listener imagines the story. In most traditional theatre or in a typical dramatic film, on the other hand, the listener enjoys the illusion that the listener is actually witnessing the character or events described in the story.

 TO APPLY ALL OF THESE INFORMATION AND REFLECTIONS: 

Have a look to these videos, with simple thnigs our storytelling can be perfect.

THE WATCH.: MICHAEL ROSEN

    CHOCOLATE CAKE: MICHAEL ROSEN

Hope you like it! Remember sometimes teachers we are like actors and our audience are our children.

Ester C.