Literacy Development in the Storytelling Classroom

This resource offers a series of grade-appropriate lessons that link storytelling in the classroom with the development of essential language skills.

Literacy Development in the Storytelling Classroom shows just how powerful a tool storytelling can be for building vital language skills―not just reading and writing, but speaking, listening, visual literacy, and information literacy as well. It is an exceptionally rich and rewarding resource that helps teachers and tellers work together to focus story time on language development.

Moving grade-by-grade from pre-K to middle school, Literacy Development in the Storytelling Classroom offers both research-based ideas and specific lesson plans for using storytelling to promote literacy learning. Lessons seamlessly integrate material from traditional domains of social studies, science, math, and language arts, while incorporating elements from the creative arts, such as music, visual arts, drama, dance, and folk crafts as both storytelling vehicles and curriculum extensions. The stories themselves in this collection are drawn from the full spectrum of the world's cultures―every child is represented, and every child will benefit from the concepts and lessons in this remarkable book.

Sherry Norfolk, MLS, is a storyteller and teaching artist on the rosters of several state and regional arts councils, as well as Young Audiences, Woodruff Arts Center (Atlanta) and Springboard to Learning―Young Audiences of St. Louis.

Jane Stenson is on the early childhood faculty at the Baker Demonstration School in Wilmette, IL, and adjunct faculty at National-Louis University, Chicago, IL.

Diane Williams is arts industry director and accessibility coordinator for the Mississippi Arts Commission.