Bongiorno_Cameron_Storytelling with the book Reflection
Hi all! Welcome (back) to my blog! As the graphic says above, this blog is going to be about the read aloud I did this week. Before taking this course, I believed that I had a decent background in storytelling, or at least reading aloud. I assumed this because I had read countless books to my two daughters and had told them many stories. I thought that those experiences with them would be ample preparation for storytelling and reading aloud. Well, I was wrong. Dead wrong. Storytelling, including reading aloud, is an art, and it requires much time and effort (Greene & Del Negro, 2010). It is definitely not as simple as selecting a picture book with a pretty cover and reading the words on the page to others.
For this assignment, storytelling with the book, I wanted to choose a book that included an entertaining story with colorful pictures. I also preferred to find a book that presented two characters so that I could include a variation in voices. I was scared to select a book with too many characters, however, since I was not sure that I could create such a number of different voices. It is important to engage the audience with a variety of voices but not so many to confuse them. Underdown-Dubois (2011) states that by "changing voices, even slightly for different characters of a story, can help the listener distinguish speakers and clear up plot" (para. 10). I also wanted to sincerely enjoy the book so that the listeners could hear that fondness in my voice (Greene & Del Negro, 2010). I thought that I had come across the perfect book while reading picture books for the annotated bibliography assignment - Saturday by Oge Mora.
It met all the criteria I listed above. I loved this sweet story about a mother and daughter spending quality time together on a Saturday. As I read it several more times silently and read it out loud, however, I realized that I was not comfortable vocalizing the many emotions and onomatopoeia within the book. I was really disappointed in discovering this because I was so sure that this book would be the one for the read aloud.
I went back to the drawing board. I visited my daughter's bookshelf and selected five more books that I thought could be a good choice for this assignment. I reread all of them, paying close attention to the storyline, illustrations, number of characters, the amount of onomatopoeia, and the length of the story. I had come to the conclusion that I did not want the book to be too long or too short. I wanted it to be just right. (Goldilocks, maybe?) After a careful perusal of these books, none of them met my required expectations. One did come close, however.
The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton, was a contender, but I simply could not bring myself to make the pony's farting sounds. I know that this is probably silly and will be something that need to get over in the future.
Then, what? Luckily, when I attended Meet the Teacher at my daughter's school, the Book Fair was in the library. I was determined to find the book for this read aloud assignment there. We were very supportive of the Book Fair and returned home with five new books. Not only did I select the book for this assignment, but I also found a strong possibility for the upcoming interactive storytelling activity. I considered that a win! I finally decided on The Little Duckling by Steve Smallman and Tim Warner. It was the right length, had two main characters, included colorful illustrations, did not have too much onomatopoeia, and was entertaining. I also enjoyed this cute story about a grumpy rabbit and a precious duckling. This book checked all the boxes. Hooray!
After the lengthy process of choosing the book for my read aloud was complete, I read the story several times in order to become more familiar with the text and the accompanying pictures. I then read it aloud a few times to myself and tried out different voices for the characters of Mr. Rabbit, Duckling, and Mrs. Duck. Throughout this practice, I tried to incorporate pauses to draw the attention of the audience to an important point and to give them time to process what they have heard (Greene & Del Negro, 2010). I was also conscious of my timing. I didn't want it to be too slow or too fast. After becoming a little more comfortable with all of that, I performed a mock read aloud to my daughters, complete with the character voices, pauses, and the showing of pictures. They were supportive and gave me feedback. They suggested that I hold the book so that they could easily see the pictures and to make more eye contact. I appreciated their honesty and input.
Since I had practiced quite a bit and had taken to heart my daughters' suggestions, I felt that I was ready to record myself reading Icky Little Duckling for my YouTube channel. This did not go as well as I had hoped. I could not figure out how to steadily record the reading with my cell phone, and I was worried that the screen would not be large enough to capture both me and the opened book. I then tried recording with an iPad nestled on my daughter's music stand, but there was not enough available storage to complete the recording. My last option was using my laptop. I tried placing it on various surfaces with me sitting on different chairs or standing up. I finally decided the best option was to place the laptop on the kitchen counter while I sat on a stool. I made several attempts with different lighting, the positioning of the book, and changing my body angle. Of course, I made mistakes reading and had to start over again as well. I viewed my recordings and cringed during each one. Once I felt that I had captured my best reading that incorporated pauses, good positioning of the book, decent facial expressions, voice variation for characters, eye contact, few mistakes with the text, and a positive energy level, I published it on my YouTube channel. I knew that the one I submitted was not perfect, but it was the best one of the many attempts.
After turning in the assignment to Blackboard, I awaited (and dreaded) the responses and reactions from my classmates and professor. I truly appreciated both the positive and critical feedback I received. One classmate pointed out that they could not hear parts of the story well due to my muffled audio. They also noted that at times I spoke too quickly, and other times I paused for too long. They said that it was difficult to see the illustrations as well. Professor Watson corroborated that the poor lighting in my recording impeded the ability to see the text and pictures in the book. After reading these comments, I rewatched the video of me reading aloud Ickly Little Duckling. I completely agree with both my classmate and professor. My timing was definitely off, and the quality of the recording, especially the lighting, was poor. As Greene and Del Negro (2010) suggest, I am going to watch more recordings of storytelling to help me improve my timing and placement of pauses for the next assignment. I will also try to find a different device to use for recording so that the quality will be better. As Professor Watson suggested, I will record during daylight hours to improve the lighting. I also think this will help reduce the reflection in my glasses. On a positive note, I was pleased with my facial expressions since those helped convey the character's thoughts and feelings (Venkat, 2020). I also thought my attempt at onomatopoeia with the cracking of the egg and the gurgling of the stomach was not too shabby. I will need to continue to practice this as well as holding the book in a position that will enable the reader to see the illustrations and words more easily. In my browsing on the computer, I came across an amazing video from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It is titled "The Mechanics of Reading Aloud", and the presenter Dr. Brian Sturmy offers wonderful suggestions regarding the positioning of the book and the reader's body as well as a simpler way to turn the pages. He also presents the qualities of a book that makes it a good choice for a read aloud. I think this video and his advice are wonderful! I will definitely follow his suggestions in the future. I have linked this video below.
I plan on taking the suggestions from my classmates and Professor Watson to heart and to improve upon my deficiencies. I will also include more information about the author and illustrator before reading the story to the audience as Professor Watson requested. Additionally, I will try to avoid the mistakes that she mentioned in the class announcement. With the feedback I have received and the desire to improve, I have higher expectations for myself for future attempts at storytelling. Cross your fingers for me that I will rise to the occasion!
References
Beaton, K. (2015). The princess and the pony. Scholastic, Inc.
Greene, E. & Del Negro, J. M. (2010). Storytelling: Art and technique (4th ed.). Libraries United.
Mora, O. (2019). Saturday. Little, Brown and Company.
Smallman, S. & Warnes, T. (2016). Icky little duckling. Little Tiger Press.
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UNC - Chapel HIll. (2016, February 3). The mechanics of reading aloud [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54mcQtP6i0k
Underdown - DuBois, C. (2011). Bringing storytime alive with acting and storytelling techniques: An interactive article. Tennessee Libraries Journal, 61 (2).
Venkat, S. (2020). Using oral storytelling techniques in reading sessions. Knowledge Quest, 48 (5), 54-56.
Folktales I Have Read:
Guillain, C. (2014). The empty pot: A Chinese folk tale. Raintree.
Deedy, C. A. (2014). Martina the beautiful cockroach: a Cuban folktale. Peachtree.
Spiegelman, N. (2021). Blancaflor, the hero with secret powers: A folktale from Latin America.
TOON books.
Angutinngurniq, J. (2020). The giant bear: An Inuit folktale. Inhabit Media.
York, M. J. (2013). The magic paintbrush: A Chinese folktale. The Child’s World, Inc.
StJohn, A. (2012). The story of Jumping Mouse: A Native American folktale. Peterson
Publishing Company.
Hey there. I enjoyed your Blog post. You are like me in the sense that I thought sense I read books aloud to students and to my child at home , this storytelling with a book would be a breeze. The hardest part for me was selection. I have so many books that I enjoy reading or that are good books that picking one was very challenging . Another part that I didn’t consider was the video aspect of the performance. I didn’t want my whole body showing but somehow I ended up with it showing . This class is truly challenging my thinking on picking books for storytelling. They say that we grow the most when we are challenged . This class is challenging ideas and concepts about reading aloud. I like it a lot. Thanks for sharing . I loved your colorful pictures on your blog. I enjoyed the relatable insights .
ReplyDeleteCameron,
ReplyDeleteI, too, thought that reading a story out loud to no one would not be that big of a deal. Um, nope, not true at all. And, yes, storytelling and really doing a picture book justice out loud is a huge job with so many details that we must remember, so that we get the story presented to our audiences as the creator’s ideas should be.
I love books with onomatopoeias in them! They are so fun to read, especially asking kids to help by reading them or showing the expressive words with their hands. When and if you’re ready, you should read The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak. The first time I read this book, the librarian left it for me, a brand-new substitute, to read to a group of 3rd graders, and boy I was just as shocked as they were! It quickly became one of my go to reads during the beginning of the school year with a new group of students! It’s a great icebreaker.
My first school year as a sub, I would cringe at the thought of reading a book aloud to anyone, but that quickly changed with the exposure to new and fun authors and titles. This course will help me refine one of the most enjoyable tasks at work. Storytelling and read-alouds aren’t just for little kids. And for me, so much to learn and perfect!
Kelly Justice
Hello Cameron,
ReplyDeleteI too had picked out a book that I thought would be perfect in Courage by Bernard Waber, but after reviewing our text book I realized that it didn't meet some of the criteria that Greene & Del Negro listed when making a selection of a good book to read aloud on pp. 61-62. Specifically that it lacked a well-developed plot and dramatic appeal. Fortunately, I had selected a back up book in Oh! No! by Candace Fleming that met all the criteria and turned out to be a fun book to read aloud. I think it worked out better in the long run and I'm sure you feel that way too.
Thanks for sharing your story with us,
Mark