Figures, Facts, and Fables : Telling Tales in Science and Math

We all know that teachers who teach subject matter with enthusiasm and enjoyment are effective in what they do and that students who approach their learning with eager curiosity will be successful too. Storytelling is a way to make that happen. Stories inspire problem solving, imagination, and creativity. And when applied to science and math, stories make concepts more accessible and understandable-to students and teachers alike.

In Figures, Facts, & Fables, Barbara Lipke provides all the help teachers need to bring storytelling to elementary and middle school science and math instruction. A former classroom teacher and professional storyteller, Lipke presents a rationale for using stories, describing her own experiences in the classroom. Her book is packed with helpful advice on how to tell stories, how to teach storytelling to students, and how to apply storytelling to science and math. An extensive annotated bibliography of resources for storytelling, stories, and subject matter is provided, along with an appendix of original and traditional stories to tell and use as models.

BARBARA LIPKE taught middle grades for twenty-four years in the Brookline, Massachusetts, public schools. She first discovered the power of storytelling to teach in the 1970s and has been sharing the strategy with students and other teachers ever since. She currently works full-time as a professional storyteller and an educational consultant and is a charter member of NCTE's committee on storytelling.