brer rabbit
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The Seanchai 2.0: Utilizing modern sources and technology to enhance and assist traditional folklorist and storytellers by Robert Dale Nolan
For the storyteller in fact based storytelling, our sources are everything. Our sources bring us closer to what the facts are, and illustrate the world in a way fiction never can. However over the course of time, reporting and facts can become lost, distorted, or misrepresented, or oral traditions fade. Identifying pertinent, and authoritative sources…
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The Day I Became a Storyteller by Kate Helm
Like a lot of people entering the era known as middle age, I began to search for ways to reclaim the bits of myself that had been lost to early parenthood. Mothering, though still very much a part of my life, looks different as my kids have aged. They no longer need me in the…
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‘X’ Marks the Spot: Using a Matrix to Help Identify the Best Story for the Desired Message by Bryce Barraza
You’ve been asked to tell a story at an event –and you say, ‘yes!’ You quickly learn the event organizers are not 100% certain what they just asked for and some of the organizers originally thought you would be reading a story from a book. But that’s okay! It’s an opportunity to share and demonstrate…
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Can I tell you a Story? by Natalie Rivera
Growing up the last of five children was quite an experience. My siblings were much older than me. My first recollections of childhood were being home and waiting for my brothers to come home from school. My oldest sister was married and had a home of her own. My other sister was out working all…
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How Storytelling Helps us Remember Forgotten Heroes by Britney Chapa
What do we do when our own country and culture fails to recognize its various unsung heroes and their monumental contributions? We tell their stories to those who are willing to listen. In America, and likely in other countries, many crucial figures, such as women of color, are often disregarded and ignored in the academic…
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Enter Storyman, A Novel Storyteller’s Experience by Benny Torres
I've never truly realized how big of a factor storytelling was in my life until I had to take a class about it. Going in, I thought that a storytelling class was going to be a pretty surface level, Dr. Seuss group reading type of class. How wrong I was. I had no idea that…
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Back to School at 63 years old! by Connie Galeener
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” C.S. Lewis I am building my dream of becoming a dramatic storyteller on a strong foundation established during my lifetime as an actor, puppeteer, and playwright. As an actor, I’ve told other character’s stories in first person. As a puppeteer,…
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Never Doubt by Lupita Hightower, Ed.D.
“Never Doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has!” is one of my favorite quotes by Margaret Mead. At the heart of any change and particularly, every significant change, from civil rights movements to environmental activism has been a small group of…
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We Get to Share the Gift of Storytelling to Children by Nereyda Martinez
With the use of more and more technology, I notice more and more eyes looking down on screens. I worry about what that means for our children and their interactions with other humans. We know technology is not going anywhere and it will continue advancing. We also know that humans are not going anywhere. That’s…
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I Love Picture Books by Rebecca Love
I love picture books! Picture books can address any topic- from the silly to the serious. They are fiction, folklore, mythology and nonfiction including biography, science, and history. The amount of text is controlled to convey a succinct story or set of facts. Picture books have very clear themes or main ideas. They often employ…
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How Do I Do This? by Elizabeth Wunsch
“Everybody! I need your help to tell this story. When I go like this can everyone yell SLOP!”I flung both of my arms above my head, maybe as an exclamation, maybe as a conductor of my classroom of fourth grade vocalists. “Okay, ready?…. Up went my arms. A loud “SLOP” rang out through the classroom.…
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My Mother’s Classroom by Terri Jackson
I was raised in a family of educators. My mother, Everlyn S. Franks, taught first grade for many years. She use these techniques and concepts in her classroom many years before scientists and researchers figured it out. She knew Storytelling would develop lifelong skills for children: cognitive understanding, communication, listening, language, and writing skills…