Storytime Fundamentals

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StorytimeFundamentals

• Instructor
• Penny Peck
• Pikly_at_aol.com
• An Infopeople Workshop
• Spring 2007

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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.
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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

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Storytelling vs. Storytime (Storytime is our
subject today)

• Storytelling
• - memorized stories
• - book not used
• - oral tradition
• Storytime
• - books used
• - not a performance

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What is Storytime?

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

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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

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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

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Preschool Storytime

• Opening Song, state the theme
• Book
• Fingerplay
• Book
• Stretching song
• Book
• Song
• Book
• Closing song
• Craft activity

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Family Storytime

• Very similar to Preschool Storytime
• Shorter books
• More songs
• Still have a craft
• Aim toward the preschoolers, while including the
  younger children

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Reading to a Group

• Vocal projection and Pacing
• Posture
• Head voice or chest voice?
• Breathing exercise blow out
• between your lips

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Holding the Attention of the Audience

• Audience participation
• Rapport with audience
• Age appropriate materials
• Holding the book so audience sees
• the illustrations

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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

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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

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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?

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Selecting Books and Materials

• Selecting books
• by age group one sentence per page for toddlers,
  more for preschoolers
• Themes
• Movement activities
• Multicultural topics

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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

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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 Carles books The Very Hungry
  Caterpillar
• Use at least one Interactive story in every
  Storytime

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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

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Concept Books

• ABC
• Counting
• Shapes
• Colors
• Opposites
• Part of Kindergarten Readiness, also invites
  participation

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Bilingual Storytimes

• What that means reading the same story in two
  languages
• Spanish/English
• Other bilingual storytimes

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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

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Where to Buy Bilingual Books

• Rainbow Books
• Lectorum/Scholastic
• Pan Asian
• Shens Books

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Multicultural Storytimes

• Multicultural themes
• Lunar New Year, Black History Month
• Diversity at all Storytimes
• nonwhite characters in books on any subject

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Using Multicultural Books

• Authenticity important does it accurately
  reflect the culture? Or is it dated?
• Dos Celebrate holidays, also add nonwhite
  characters in all storytimes
• Donts - books with dialects, books where the
  nonwhite character is exotic or different
• Other thoughts on this?

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Outreach to Diverse Populations

• Outreach to non-English speakers
• contact them to publicize these new storytimes
• Send volunteer readers to Daycare/Headstart/Presch
  ools with non-English speakers
• Send volunteer readers or book bags to diverse
  daycare/preschools

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Songs and Fingerplays

• Opening songs
• Get Ready songs
• Stretch songs
• Fingerplays
• Closing songs

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Issues in Storytime

• Dealing with disruptions
• - Child behavior challenges
• - Parent behavior challenges
• Size of the group
• -Dealing with large crowds

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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?

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Outreach and Marketing

• Marketing
• flyers at library, doctors office, stores,
  where parents go
• newspaper coverage
• target mailings to groups
• press releases to Parents Press, homeowners
  newsletters, etc.

• Outreach
• volunteer readers going to preschools
• book bags for preschool teachers
• training local daycare providers
• sending staff to daycare/preschools

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Dealing with Disruptions

• Common disruptions
• - child behavior issues
• - parents talking
• - latecomers
• Positive steps
• - set expectations
• - volunteer ushers

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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!

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Storytime Extras

• Puppets
• Props
• Flannelboards
• Apron stories
• Games
• Dance and movement
• Videos

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Using Puppets and Props

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

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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

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Lets Get Moving

• Dances
• - The Hokey Pokey
• Movement activities
• - Head and Shoulders
• - Shake Your Sillies Out
• Games that move
• - Farmer in the Dell
• - Simon Says

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Evaluating your Storytime

• Age-appropriate material
• Pace and variety
• Vocals
• Rapport with audience
• Interactive elements

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Dealing with Success

• Crowd control
• Volunteers
• Adding more sessions
• Outreach to daycares groups
• Kits for Storytime outreach

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Where Do You Go From Here?

• What will you do next?
• What other questions/topics should we address?
• Closing song