This program is funded in part by Mass Humanities, which receives support from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and is an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
massmouth announces StoriesLive®
~ a High School Story Slam Project
~ a High School Story Slam Project
oral storytelling: an educational ‘innovation’ that is as old as language itself
Story. Everybody has one. Yet, not everybody knows how to tell one in a way that is compelling and meaningful for both the teller and the listener. Story telling is an art form that connects people through shared experiences; with a word, it bridges ethnicity, age, gender, and geography. Knowing your own story is important for every single human being, but being able to tell your own story is essential for students. A student who crafts a story and orally presents it to an audience will develop essential skills needed to succeed in college or the working world. Students entering college will need to thoughtfully prepare personal essays that highlight their strengths and be able to communicate those traits in personal interviews; students entering the working world will need to fill out job applications describing their background and abilities, as well as meet with prospective employers. Learning the art of story telling will provide each student with the skills necessary to excel in any situation where oral communication is used.
massmouth is an organization dedicated to helping people tell their stories and tell them well. massmouth’s newest venture, StoriesLive®, is a program tailored to helping 11th and 12th grade high school students learn skills that will help them navigate applying for college or the job of their dreams while sharing meaningful, personal stories in a fun, interactive forum. The StoriesLive® program will culminate in a statewide or Greater Boston story slam involving all participating high schools and the winner will be awarded a scholarship. massmouth wants your school to be a part of this very exciting opportunity. Every student, not just the academically talented, who participates in StoriesLive® will have an equal chance to win the StoriesLive® scholarship because the contest is one of “story”, not story telling. Simply put, whoever brings the best story, wins.
StoriesLive® is based on massmouth’s successful citywide story slam season last year, The Moth in NYC, and emulates some organizational aspects of the Poetry Out Loud program. Conceived and organized by massmouth storytellers who are on Young Audiences of Massachusetts roster as “teaching artists” our oral personal narrative program is an educational ‘innovation’ that is as old as language itself. Here are a few points about StoriesLive®:
· StoriesLive® will consist of a 4 session, 45- 60 minutes a lesson program that culminates in a grade-wide story slam at each high school.
· Educators will receive a full complement of reproducible materials to aid in the instruction of storytelling that will be available on this site.
· Teachers will be able to use Live Chat, conference calls and blogs for support from StoriesLive® professional artist-educators who are also professional storytellers.
· Students will have access to helpful resources on this site that will complement their class lessons.
· Participation in the StoriesLive® program will be tailored to the needs of each school and can be as simple as a performance/assembly program, with comprehensive teacher training materials provided, or as complex as a mix of assembly, in class workshops, and teacher training.
· High School story slams will give students the opportunity to perform for a wider audience, create content for your Digital Media Department, share their life experiences in a positive way, and win prizes.
· Students who study the timeless art of storytelling while learning to tell a compelling story about their life experiences will allow them to meet and perhaps exceed many of the ELA Standards found in the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework: Working Draft June 2010.
All schools who participate in StoriesLive® are invited to enjoy an assembly that will include professional story performances, followed by an interactive workshop with instructions on story structure and presentation techniques. The assembly will conclude with students sharing their stories based on a common theme. Funding for these assemblies is being sought through grants. There is wealth of information about story slams at our websites: massmouth.com and massmouth.blogspot.com
We feel this project will greatly benefit your students and extend the timeless art if storytelling into the 21st century, which is massmouth’s mission. massmouth believes that storytelling is the missing link in literacy and quotes the cognitive scientist Steven Pinker often:
We feel this project will greatly benefit your students and extend the timeless art if storytelling into the 21st century, which is massmouth’s mission. massmouth believes that storytelling is the missing link in literacy and quotes the cognitive scientist Steven Pinker often:
"Language is a human instinct, but written language is not . . . Children are wired for sound, but print is an optional accessory that must be painstakingly bolted on. This basic fact about human nature should be the starting point for any discussion about how to teach our children to read and write."
Below: an essay from the Massachusetts DOE archived Curriculum pages:
The Importance of Oral Language
"We listen to the equivalent of a book a day, talk the equivalent of a book a week, read the equivalent of a book a month, and write the equivalent of a book a year." Walter Loban, an advocate for teaching oral language, used this comparison to remind an audience of teachers and graduate students of the dominant role that oral language plays in everyday experiences. Loban followed this statement by pleading,
"We listen to the equivalent of a book a day, talk the equivalent of a book a week, read the equivalent of a book a month, and write the equivalent of a book a year." Walter Loban, an advocate for teaching oral language, used this comparison to remind an audience of teachers and graduate students of the dominant role that oral language plays in everyday experiences. Loban followed this statement by pleading,
"Please in the name of all that is good in language and thinking, please let the children talk. Let them talk a great deal."
Children need to learn how to listen as well. The development of speaking and listening skills must continue from preschool throughout a student's academic career. Loban's passionate plea for attention to oral language development in the classroom stems from his understanding that oral language provides the foundation for thinking in and about language. A significant link exists between well-developed oral language and strong reading and writing skills. Moreover, oral language further enhances thinking through its use in informal writing. When adequate attention is given to instruction in both informal and formal speaking, students learn why the rhetorical elements of purpose and audience so strongly influence such important matters as word choice, usage, tone, and style in oral discourse.
Children need to learn how to listen as well. The development of speaking and listening skills must continue from preschool throughout a student's academic career. Loban's passionate plea for attention to oral language development in the classroom stems from his understanding that oral language provides the foundation for thinking in and about language. A significant link exists between well-developed oral language and strong reading and writing skills. Moreover, oral language further enhances thinking through its use in informal writing. When adequate attention is given to instruction in both informal and formal speaking, students learn why the rhetorical elements of purpose and audience so strongly influence such important matters as word choice, usage, tone, and style in oral discourse.
