Stephen Covey's The Leader in Me is seen through the actions of thousands of students in schools across the United States and beyond. The children learn the strong, confident vocabulary that has helped to shape leaders in every child. The students, teachers, administration, parents, and community work together to bring out the best in every child. 

As I've been storytelling in several "Leader in Me" schools, I've unconsciously categorized all of my tales into the seven habits of highly effective people. It was nice to help students create stronger connections to these 7 habits through folktales, fairytales, and personal tales. The students and staff could internalize the stories, ask questions of the characters, see various points of view, feel the emotions of these characters, and decide if decisions made were clever, foolish, sensible, or just plain crazy! Below I've included some tales that I've told in the schools and have categorized them within the 7 habits. You'll begin noticing that several habits can be found in one story and that's always fun to discover when talking to your listeners after the story is told.

The explanations of the 7 habits was taken from p. 21 in The Leader in Me. I will continue to add storytelling titles to each trait.

1. Be proactive: I'm a responsible person. I take initiative. I choose my actions, attitudes and moods. I don't blame others for my wrong actions. I do the right thing even when people are not looking.

*King Bidgoodʻs in the Bathtub by Audrey Wood
 *"Mabela the Clever" - retold by Margaret Read McDonald from Teaching with Story
*"Not Our Problem" - folktale from Burma retold by Margaret Read 
McDonald from Teaching with Story, p.29
*"Old Man Wombat", p. 106 of Margaret Read McDonaldʻs Teaching with Story.

2. Begin with the End in Mind: I plan ahead and set goals. I am an important part of my classroom and contribute to my school's mission and vision.
*"The Three Little Pigs"
*The Gingerbread Babyand The Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett
*Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
*"The Enormous Turnip"
*"The Liarʻs Contest" (Twice Upon a Time, p.190) Judy Sierra and Robert Kaminski

3. Put First Things First: I spend my time on things that are most important. This means I say no to things I know I should not do. I set priorities, make a schedule, and follow my plan. I am disciplined and organized.

*"The Ants and The Grasshopper"- Aesop
*"The Little Red Hen"
*"Baby Rattlesnakeʻs First Rattle"-from Margaret Read McDonaldʻs Shake-It Up Tales!- an example of not putting things first)

4. Think Win-Win: I compromise. I balance courage for getting what I want with consideration for waht others want. I make deposits in others' Emotional Bank Accounts.

*Swimmy by Leo Leonni
*Jangles: a BIG Fish Story by David Shannon
*"Too Much Noise" - Jewish folktale (p.127 of Len Cabralʻs Storytelling Book)
*"The Debate in Sign Language"- retold by Sid Liberman in From Sea to Shining Sea

5. Seek First to Understand, Then to be Undersood: I try to walk in other people's shoes trying to see things from their viewpoints. I listen to others without interrupting. I am confident in voicing my ideas. I look people in the eyes when talking.

*Stellaluna by Janelle Cannon
*The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
*Why Mosquitoes Buzz in Peopleʻs Ears by Verna Aardema
*"The Seal Skin" retold by Lynn Rubright in Best-Loved Stories Told at the National Storytelling Festival
*"Grandmother Spider" - Len Cabralʻs Storytelling Book, p.15
*"How to Break a Bad Habit", p. 143, retold by Margaret Read McDonald in Teaching with Story
*"The Blind Men and the Elephant" - p. 25 in Heather Forestʻs Wisdom Tales from Around the World

6.  Synergize: I work well in groups. I seek out other people's ideas to solve problems because I know that by teaming with others we can create better solutions than any one of us alone. I am humble. I value other people's strengths and learn from them.

*Swimmy by Leo Lionni
*"Stone Soup"
*Seven Spools of Thread by Angela Shelf Madearis
*The Three Princes: A Tale from the Middle East retold by Eric A. Kimmel
*"Frog and Lucust Bring the Rain",p. 172 of Margaret Read McDonaldʻs Teaching with Story
*"Two Goats on a Bridge", p. 162 of Margaret Read McDonaldʻs Teaching with Story

7. Sharpen the Saw: I take care of my body by eating right, exercising, and getting sleep. I spend time with family and friends. I learn in lots of ways and lots of places, not just at school. I take time to find meaningful ways to help others.

*The Napping House by Audrey Wood
*"Lincolnʻs Famous Beard" -  told by Lucille and Bren Breneman in Best-Loved Stories Told at the National Storytelling Festival
*"Hardy Hard Head" in Jack Tales by Richard Chase

Wendy Howk, a librarian friend of mine, has an outstanding bibliography of books that she has categorized in each of Covey's 7 traits. You can find her list here.

If you have stories to add to this list, please comment and I'll add them to the 7 Habits!  I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Chris Van Allsburg's story, The Wreck of the Zephyr, is one of my favorite all time reads. A story within a story, Allsburg expertly leaves the reader asking questions, needing to form opinions on his/her own.  His words and illustrations can not be denied but it would be  nice to tell this story without the book. 

1. Give credit to the source and respect the copyright. Take steps to notify the author of the book and ask permission to tell his/her story to an audience. Written permission would be nice such as a  letter or a well written email. This way you'll have it on record that you did make the effort to contact the author. Hope for the best by receiving a return letter or email.

2. If the author is deceased, the next best step is to contact the publisher of the book. In most cases, the publishers will grant you permission to tell the story (unless you are wanting to tell it for commercial gain). If this is the case, you'll need to work out an agreement.

3. When telling someone else's story, give credit to it by announcing the title and author.

Teachers and Librarians: The Wreck of the Zephyr is a fabulous mentor text to use in your reading and writing workshops. Please check out the link I've provided below to get your juices flowing. One month of school to go - why not apply all of the reading and writing devices you've taught through out the year to this one book - you'll be amazed!

As a final note: This is the last post of our Blogging A-Z Challenge. I'd like to thank everyone of you who sponsored and cheered each blogger on! Thank you to all of my visitors to my blog. It meant the world to hear your responses!  Please visit often. My blog remains active and filled with connections to reading, writing, and storytelling. I'm off to visit other blogs.

Ahoy, me Hearties! Dead men tell no tales so let's find the booty in  pirate stories! Savvy? 
Well, shiver me timbers, storyteller, Karen Chace,
had created a terrific blog post titled "Talk Like a Pirate Day," which includes stories, music, curriculum links, pirate jokes, and crafts. Please check it out or Aaaarrrrgggghhhh - ye be walking the plank.

My artifact for today is Quilt. I remember one of our Tejas Storytelling Festival Themes was "Quilts" and we each wore a colorful swatch next to our name tags reminding us that stories are the fabric of our lives. There are wonderful picture books that depict the importance of memories lovingly sewn into each quilt.

Storytelling Activity:  
1. Students can create creative crazy quilts on square, white paper (8 x 8 or 10 x 10) using any art medium such as markers, crayons, oil pastels.  Each section of their quilt must present pieces of who they are. For example, favorite sport, family, favorite genre of books, favorite subject in school, favorite music, etc. 
2. Bring in real quilts and the quilt maker if possible to tell the story behind the quilt made or share quilt pictures like the ones above.
3. When completed, create a class quilt by placing the squares strategically on colored butcher paper.  
4.  The ideas generated by each student are the fabric of stories to come!

O is for OBJECTS you speak of in your writing and tell in your storytelling . Description is EVERYTHING! Readers and listeners alike must be able to see your characters and what they are up to. Utilizing the five senses to describe objects in your story is imperative. 

Blogging A - Z Challenge has allowed me to not only share several of the activities I participate in with my storytelling students and writing students but also to learn so much myself. This post is near and dear to me because I worked with my 4th grade class for about six weeks to accomplish a STORYTELLING Museum for the entire school to visit. We had a blast and the students enjoyed telling their stories based on the artifact they chose.

I had gathered several art pictures from our art curriculum for the students to choose from. Many of the pictures chosen were Norman Rockwell paintings which suited my students to a tee. I told a baseball story based on one of Norman Rockwell paintings as a model of what I wanted my students to accomplish at the end of our museum collection development.  The students worked in groups of two or three and some even went it alone and did a fantastic job. It was February and our writing abilities had grown by leaps and bounds by this time so the writing process was intact.  The kids worked in their groups developing their own tales based on the picture itself. I asked the kids not to read the artist notes on the back of the posters mainly because I wanted their ideas to be fresh and their own. The main idea was to make ANY connections to the art itself. Above are some prints from Metropolitan Museum of Art and some wonderful websites/blogs dedicated to Norman Rockwell are below.

Norman Rockwell Websites/blogs: Share his pictures on a large screen or the students could use iPads/computers showing the painting as they tell their connecting stories:

1. Petapixal Norman Rockwell

2. Word Press - Norman Rockwell

The Metropolitan Museum of Art offers pictures online to use for educational purposes for free. I chose a few that I hope to use with my storytellers real soon. If you can't find any pictures from printed art calendars or schools, these museum paintings and artifacts from museums are perfect!

I loved this activity. To conclude, I've included other museums that provide public domain or fair use images for educational purposes.  Linking from LibGuide: University of Dayton

Artifact for Wednesday: Hook, line, and sinker. We have two sons who have gone fishing with my husband since they were four years old and that means stories galore - some of which I wish they would keep to themselves. The bloody stories are the worst because both boys all of a sudden speak clearly and precisely to make sure I ingest each and every slow motion movie created by their words. "Mom, Philip cast his line out far into the lake but neither of us could see the line at all. I mean, you know how strong Phil is. That line should have flown out at least half a mile." 
"Well, what happened to the line Chase?" I inquired. "Philip and I both looked at each other bewildered and then turned to Dad for his thoughts on the matter. Dad's face was real contorted. Man, he was in pain. It took Phil and I a moment to figure out where that pain was originating - why that hook was launched pretty well into the back of Dad's head. Dad never screamed though. He just had that look."

It is my hope that many of you have fishing hook stories to share. My brother John would gladly show you the trihook scars he has on the bottom of his toes and you know he has a story to tell - all the way up to his tetnus shots.  Many of the fourth graders I work with in writing also have fish hook tales that are certainly work writing down and telling. This sport is cheap and reaps results, with or without the fish because they will always come come with fish tales!

Here's some great titles that will certainly make your fish grow by each telling:

Here's a few links to fishing stories that will reel you in!

The Walking Catfish

Fun Fishing Jokes and Tales

Let's Swim With the Fishes - Karen Chace's Blog, full of fun songs and rhymes for kids

Fish Stories From Around the World - Karen Chace's "Catch the Story Bug!: Trolling for Tales

Any fishing tales out there?

The artifact for the day is Fantastical Fans. Not fanatical fans at a rock concert, but the beautiful handheld fans created to cool one's body. you can visit Wikipedia to discover the earliest archaeological finds of fans dating back to Greece at or before the 4th century B.C. and East Asia by the 2nd Century B.C.

I lived in Japan for four years while my dad served in the U.S. Air Force. Everyone had fans - beautifully painted fans. I didn't know of stories that included these fans until I was an adult.  One of my favorite stories that I tell to young children is from the book Twice Upon a Time by Judy Sierra and Robert Kaminski titled "The Tengu's Magic Nose Fan." I've included a youtube telling of this tale below.

Another wonderful story is The Magic Fan by Keith Baker. I love every book Keith writes and illustrates! In this book Yoshi is a young inventor who discovers this fantastical fan that illustrates imagination. This fan inspires Yoshi to build a kite. He loses the kite but only then realizes it's his imagination that will continue his journeys in life!

Activities: Wouldn't it be fun for the kids to create their own fans after listening to your stories? They would love it! You could use the traditional accordian folding of paper once they have drawn or painted a scene - no sticks needed. Or you could pass out popcicle sticks to be glued onto the back of the fan created. Here's some website ideas to springboard from:
1. Japanese Fans
2. The Crafty Classroom Blog - several different types of fans

3. Japanese fan making for older kids
4. Pinterest - fun fans!

I leave you today with a wonderful storytelling one man/woman comedy show called Rakugo. These storytellers are only allowed to use a paper fan and a small cloth. It was only because of this A to Z Challenge that I learned about this type of storytelling! I LOVE IT!!! I can't wait to share it with my students. Please check out this blog and youtube: Derivejapan Blog

You know a great book when you read one. I'll mention three fantastic books that have engaged 2nd graders on up to adults to write creatively, share their stories with each other, and then perform their polished tales to eager listeners. Please reply with other titles that you would like to add to this growing list.

These three books act as mentor texts to engage students in reading, writing their own versions, and then performing these tales through the craft of storytelling. Each book contains a variety of stories to connect with everyone. My students have had more fun working together and honing their ELA skills while celebrating their products through storytelling! I've included a few examples of "tall tales"  my 4th grade students created from David Wisniewski's The Secret Knowledge of Grown-Ups.

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, artifact is defined as
1. a simple object (such as a tool or weapon) that was made by people in the past
2. something created by humans usually for a practical purpose; especially :  an object remaining from a particular period 


Anchor is today's artifact. Let's do a quick write (take no more than 3 minutes to jot down anything that comes to mind when you invision either the word or picture of "anchor."  Share your thoughts with someone close to you. My ideas are typed below. I tend to move right into metaphorical but students will probably begin with the actual physical structure of what an anchor is. See what you come up with.

1. My family anchor's me daily. They are only a phone call away.
2.  Anchors Aweigh - Navy
3.  Story: It takes more than a 20 lb. anchor to keep your bay boat from drifting in the waters while fishing. The winds seemed to dismantle the definition of "an anchor" that day. We're definitely amateurs when it comes to fishing in the Gulf of Mexico--almost ran ourselves up against the jetties while fishing.
4. Hope is an anchor for the soul
5. heavy, iron, chains, sink, unmovable
6. heave-ho - pirates

Find quotes from the internet, poems, books, songs, etc. about anchors

Quotes:
1. "Life's roughest storms prove the strength of our anchors."
2. "It is a far, far better thing to have a firm anchor in nonsense than to put out on the troubled seas of thought." - John Kenneth Galbraith
3. My beliefs will run through everything I do. My beliefs,my values are my anchor and when people try to drag me, as I know they will, it is to that sense of right and wrong, that sense of who I am and what I believe, to which I will always hold."- Ed Miliband

Activities to try out with your students or peers:

1. Truisms help shape stories that you write or that have already been written. What truisms can you think of when it comes to the artifact: anchor? Some examples I've found are:
a. We all need an anchor in our life to guide us.
b. Before an anchor can ever be raised, it must be let go
c.  An anchor can drag you down

Using your truism about an anchor (physical or metaphorical), write a story around it. This truism will help you bring in emotion and a deeper sense of what you really want your listener or reader to understand.

2. Sharing connections made with others always generates stories lost and now found - jars your memory. Write down all that you remember and begin to build your story. Share your anecdotes with us on this blog.
I would love to hear from you!

3. Metaphor: Make one of your characters in your tale the anchor and explain why. For example: I am that heavy anchor you heave over the bow

I can't think of a better way to link with others with similar interests around the world than through blogging so I signed up to participate in the Blogging from A to Z challenge beginning in April. I'll have 26 days (not including Sundays) to blog using a theme that I'm  revealing today as so many others are.  Each day's subject will focus on the next letter of the alphabet (A - day 1, B- day 2, and so on).

My Theme for the month of April is ARTIFACTS!
My "Power of Story Blog" fits perfectly in my theme as I will be sharing stories, activities, writing, reading, and research ideas that can be utilized in the classroom, in the library, in a storytelling club setting, or simply, as a spring board for what you want to accomplish with an idea I've presented.


Can't Wait!

Hearing stories and attending workshops filled my soul and boosted my enthusiasm to become a better story creator, story writer, and storyteller. The 29th Annual Texas Storytelling Festival was simply amazing!
Although I worked registration the Friday of the festival (and thoroughly enjoyed myself meeting the many folks coming to listen and tell) I was able to soak up the fabulous workshops and storytelling Friday night and all day Saturday.  I want to share with you two of the workshops I attended because I walked away from both of them with inspiration and enthusiasm regarding the ideas and organization of a narrative or as Craig Harrison says "Homegrown Story."
The first workshop is entitled "Prospecting Your Past to Uncover Hidden Story Treasures" with Craig Harrison and the second workshop is entitled "StoryCrafting: Retelling Folktales in Your Own Voice" with Janice Del Negro.

Craig journeyed from the Bay area of California to present this outstanding workshop. His handout can be accessed from his website: www.HackinBoo.com
In a nut shell, Craig reaffirmed that working with others on your generating of ideas for personal stories and the actual writing of your stories is so important. Connections and bridges are always made when there's more than one - the more the merrier! We worked in pairs at the workshop and were amazed at our own personal contributions made to the stories created!  Craig's handout gave us all an opportunity to interview each other on various fronts: First times (first day at school, first overnight at camp, first pimple, first kiss, first beer/tobacco chew, first trip overseas, etc. We then choose one of our ideas that had substance and tried it out in one of two story structures provided by his handout:
1. The Story Spine: 
Once upon a time…
Everyday…
But one day…
Because of that…
Because of that…
Because of that…
Until finally…
Every since then…
And the moral of the story…(optional)


2. Success Story format


Setting:
Several sentences to set the context and frame the action

Situation:
What is the challenge, the obstacle, the impediment or task at hand? (Several more sentences to set up the success.)

Solution:
How did you resolve the conflict? Accomplish the task? Utilize your skills, experience and judgement to help your client succeed? (Do tell!)
What does it say about you?

Janice Del Negro is a professional teller of folk and fairy tales, always placing her own twists on these tales. She's an award winning author, with titles that include a collection of supernatural tales for young adults, Passion and Poison, which received starred reviews. Co-author of the acclaimed book Storytelling: Art and Technique, Janice's picture book Willa and the Wind was an ALA Notable Children's Book. Featured at multiple festivals across the country including the National Storytelling Festival, she is an Assistant Professor at Dominican University in Illinois. 

Her workshop handout should soon be placed on the Tejas Storytelling Website but here's the gist of our hands on creations:

Janice spoke of the writing structure of a story we want to create: 

I - Introduction: setting and place: who, what, when, where
I - Initial incident which kicks off the action (problem or conflict)
R - Rising action of the story (plot development and logical sequence of events)
C - Climax - high point of interest
C - Conclusion: possible solution to problem or conflict (tie up loose ends quick!)


The hands-on part of the workshop: Students are very interested in variance and retelling of traditional tales that they know. Choose a well known fairy tale, folktale, or urban legend. List what has to stay and what has to go. Use the story structure above to create your own version of that tale. We read from her handout the story called "The Vanishing Hitchhiker" and then worked in groups of the magical #3 and created our own version to that tale. Janis added a few directions for us (can't use a form of transportation and no article of clothing) Wow, some of the stories that came out of that exercise were amazing.  I don't have permission to post "The Vanishing Hitchhiker" but her handout will have it.

Our San Antonio Storytelling Association meets at the Brookhollow Public Library the first Wednesday of every month from 6:30p.m. - 8:00p.m.  We would love to see and hear you, whether you are visiting our festive city or a resident who would enjoy listening to tales told and mini-workshops presented. You may want to try out a story you've been dying to hear feedback on. We welcome each and everyone of you.
Please check us out on Facebook for upcoming events, such as the Texas Storytelling Conference being held right here in San Antonio on July 26 - July 30, 2014! Our annual membership fee is $15.00.

The Tejas Storytelling Association is our Texas organization that houses itself in Denton, TX.  I always look forward to the Tejas Storytelling Festival each spring, featuring world renown storytellers, regional tellers, and swap tents for anyone who wants to share a story. This year, the Tejas Storytelling Festival will be held March 6 - 9, 2014. I'll be telling a ghost story Thursday night, March 6th. You'll have a chance to hear many tellers but also participate in several workshops for educators and want-to-be storytellers. Annual membership fee is $35.00. You can also keep up with TSA on Facebook.

Our National Storytelling organization is the National Storytelling Network. You can find its very informative blog on Facebook. I LOVE listening to their featured storytellers on their blog. I learn so much by listening to their words, inflections, beginnings, endings, and all in-between. NSN has great links to other sites that will help you out in every realm of storytelling, whether your an educator or a business person. NSN has their storytelling Festival during the fall in Jonesborough, Tennessee. The leaves are all the colors of fall, the town is the oldest in Tennessee with much history to brag about. You can't miss it!  NSN also has a summer conference, finding its way throughout the United States. This summer, it will be held in Arizona, July 24 - 27, 2014. I'm hoping I can make it this summer!

I'm preparing for my storytelling workshop held at Region 20 this Friday, Sept. 20th (20th annual Librarian Roundup). My workshop is integrating the new with the ancient - where digital storytelling meeting back porch telling.  There's a few links that I think are pretty powerful when it comes to using your creativity on line with your stories. I thought I would pass them on. Visit this website: www.symbaloo.com/mix/onceuponadigitaltime

If you haven't bookmarked Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything, then stop what you are doing right now and bookmark her because her site is amazing.  She's dedicated a very detailed page to digital storytelling and it really does have EVERYTHING on it. I'll definitely be highlighting her website on Friday. Check it out: http://www.schrockguide.net/digital-storytelling.html