Storytime
Fundamentals
Instructor:
Penny Peck
Pikly@aol.com
An Infopeople Workshop
Spring 2007
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.
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
Storytelling vs. Storytime
(Storytime is our subject today)
• Storytelling
- memorized stories
- book not used
- oral tradition
• Storytime
- books used
- not a performance
What is Storytime?
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Opening song
Introduce the theme
“Get Ready” song
First book
Fingerplay
Second book
Stretch song
Apron story
Closing song
Storytime by Age: Lapsit
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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
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
Preschool Storytime
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Opening Song, state the theme
Book
Fingerplay
Book
Stretching song
Book
Song
Book
Closing song
Craft activity
Family Storytime
• Very similar to
Preschool Storytime
• Shorter books
• More songs
• Still have a craft
• Aim toward the
preschoolers, while
including the younger
children
Reading to a Group
Vocal projection and Pacing:
• Posture
• Head voice or chest voice?
• Breathing exercise – blow out
between your lips
Holding the Attention of the
Audience
• Audience participation
• Rapport with audience
• Age appropriate materials
• Holding the book so audience sees
the illustrations
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
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
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?
Selecting Books and Materials
• Selecting books
– by age group: one
sentence per page for
toddlers, more for
preschoolers
• Themes
• Movement activities
• Multicultural topics
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”
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 Carle’s books – “The Very Hungry
Caterpillar”
• Use at least one Interactive story in every
Storytime
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
Concept Books
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ABC
Counting
Shapes
Colors
Opposites
Part of Kindergarten Readiness, also
invites participation
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
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
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
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
Bilingual Storytimes
• What that means: reading
the same story in two
languages
• Spanish/English
• Other bilingual storytimes
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
Where to Buy Bilingual Books
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Rainbow Books
Lectorum/Scholastic
Pan Asian
Shen’s Books
Multicultural Storytimes
• Multicultural themes
– Lunar New Year, Black
History Month
• Diversity at all
Storytimes
– nonwhite characters in
books on any subject
Using Multicultural Books
• Authenticity important – does it accurately
reflect the culture? Or is it dated?
• Do’s – Celebrate holidays, also add nonwhite
characters in all storytimes
• Don’ts - books with dialects, books where the
nonwhite character is “exotic” or “different”
• Other thoughts on this?
Outreach to Diverse Populations
• Outreach to non-English speakers
– contact them to publicize these new storytimes
• Send volunteer readers to
Daycare/Headstart/Preschools with nonEnglish speakers
• Send volunteer readers or book bags to
diverse daycare/preschools
Songs and Fingerplays
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Opening songs
“Get Ready” songs
Stretch songs
Fingerplays
Closing songs
Issues in Storytime
• Dealing with disruptions
- Child behavior challenges
- Parent behavior challenges
• Size of the group
-Dealing with large crowds
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?
Outreach and Marketing
• Outreach
– volunteer readers
going to preschools
– book bags for
preschool teachers
– training local daycare
providers
– sending staff to
daycare/preschools
• Marketing
– flyers: at library,
doctor’s office, stores,
where parents go
– newspaper coverage
– target mailings to
groups
– press releases to
Parents’ Press,
homeowners
newsletters, etc.
Dealing with Disruptions
• Common disruptions
- child behavior issues
- parents talking
- latecomers
• Positive steps
- set expectations
- volunteer ushers
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!
Storytime “Extras”
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Puppets
Props
Flannelboards
Apron stories
Games
Dance and movement
Videos
Using Puppets and Props
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Puppet as mascot
Puppet shows to tell stories
Props and realia
Musical instruments
Appealing to kinetic
learners
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
Let’s Get Moving
• Dances
- “The Hokey Pokey”
• Movement activities
- “Head and Shoulders”
- “Shake Your Sillies Out”
• Games that move
- “Farmer in the Dell”
- “Simon Says”
Evaluating your Storytime
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Age-appropriate material
Pace and variety
Vocals
Rapport with audience
Interactive elements
Dealing with Success
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Crowd control
Volunteers
Adding more sessions
Outreach to daycares &
groups
• Kits for Storytime
outreach
Where Do You Go From Here?
• What will you do next?
• What other questions/topics should we
address?
• Closing song