The students at Hartly Elementary School have plenty of stories to tell, but when it comes to putting all their outdoor adventures, vacation memories and tales of lovable pets into words, it can be a little tricky.
But for one week the school’s second- and third-graders took a master class in storytelling that, by Friday, had them all spinning their own captivating and entertaining yarns.
Through a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, professional storyteller Michael Forestieri worked with students for an hour every day from Oct. 12 to 16, teaching them how to take the pictures in their heads and commit them to paper.
That meant defeating the evil “I Monster,” who saps good descriptive writing by starting every sentence with I, and crossing the dreaded “Pit of Lists,” where catalogs of things and names go to die.
Teacher Jackie Barbour said the art of writing can be particularly difficult to teach, but that the essential materials are always inside the students, waiting to bubble up.
“They’ll tell you a great story, but when they go to write it down they lose all the voice and all the description,” she said.
But given some guidance, that creative spirit can be transferred to print, Forestieri said.
“I teach the kids to write like a storyteller thinks, in pictures, not words,” he said. “The storytelling skills I’m teaching them show them how to reconnect with all those sensory elements.”
Over the course of the week the students listened to Forestieri tell stories, then tried to imitate his vivid, descriptive style in writing. Each child picked an exciting event to write about, put down a first draft and worked through the editing process with peers.
Mary Petrucci, who co-teaches the combined second- and third-grade class with Barbour, said the level of engagement and enthusiasm among the students was remarkable.
“They’d hang on every word. They actually became peer editors, learning to expand on others’ ideas,” she said. “It’s been neat to see how the kids interact with each other.”
At week’s end, the whole class listened intently while each student read his or her story from the front of the room.
After each tale, other students complimented the reader on things like word choice and story structure.
Third-grader Anthony Koot told the story of how he trained his dog to do a back flip, a tale peppered with descriptive phrases and adjectives.
“I learned how to write a good story with good details, and to speak with a lot of excitement,” Anthony said. “Telling the story to the class, it made me feel like a real storyteller.”
Anthony’s grandmother Catherine Beck joined several parents and family members who came to hear the young writers share their work.
“I think it was a great experience for the children,” she said. “Anytime you can get them reading and writing more often and being creative, it’s wonderful.”
Email Doug Denison at doug.denison@doverpost.com
