Sue Kuentz's Door to Lore
  • About Sue
    • Hear Stories
    • Press Kit
    • What folks are saying about Sue
    • Where Have I Been Storytelling?
  • Programs
    • Pre-K through 8th grade
    • Reading, Writing, and Storytelling Workshops
  • Storytelling Links
    • Just for Students
    • Just for Teachers
  • Power of Story Blog
  • Calendar
  • Contact Sue
    • Storytelling Fees for Schools and Libraries >
      • Save 50% with TCA
      • Storytelling Fees for Schools and Libraries

Nesting dolls and storytelling: adding detail to our bare bones

11/8/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
Picture
My mother and I have our own collections of Russian nesting dolls which seems to go back to our childhood days of stacking one inside the other. I love my nesting dolls on the left that represent the folktale of The Enormous Turnip and then the traditional nesting dolls that are featured in Corinne Demas Bliss' The Littlest Matryoshka. Most novice storytellers and writers tell the bare bones of a story very well but forget to add the richness of details to their rendition. The students often mixup the events in the story which becomes confusing to the listener. What better way to teach detail and sequential order but through the use of nesting dolls.

Introduction to lesson - Read the story The Littlest Matryoshka to your students and share out some cheap nesting toys that you have from home.
Inquiring Question - How could these nesting dolls represent the story you are working on right now?  Another question might be: If these dolls represented your story writing/storytelling process, how could they help you develop a story listeners would want to hear and see in their minds?

Kids responses have been:

* Stories start with a seed and grow the more I practice telling.
*Stories have a big idea with details that support that big idea.
*They remind me of a snowball that gets bigger and bigger the more it rolls on the snow.

I then ask for a volunteer to place the smallest doll into the next size doll, and so on until the largest doll is standing alone. I then ask the students to rethink what this doll with all the dolls in her stand for when it comes to crafting our stories either through writing or storytelling the bare bones:

Inquiring Question: What does this doll, with all the smaller dolls inside her, stand for when it comes to crafting your stories through writing or storytelling the bare bones?

Kids responses:
*All of our details make up the story.
*We can't forget to use our 5 senses ideas to make the story come alive.
*etails are important to use in order to make sense of the story

Extensions: 
a. Tell the story of The Three Little Pigs out of sequential order and listen to responses from the listeners. Unorganized stories just confuse the listener. 
b. Tell the story of The Three Little Pigs as a bare bones story and ask the students to add details to make it more entertaining.
c. Ask the students to look at their bare bone stories that they have collected on their index cards. Choose one of those stories to work on - add detail using the five senses. Make sure the events are in sequential order and the conclusion is strong.
1 Comment
Chris Pederson link
6/2/2021 10:40:53 am

I like the idea of using nesting dolls to develop a story listeners want to hear. My kids are trying to learn how to write creatively. I'd like to help them in any way that I can.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Book me as a storyteller. TCA can help pay fees.
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Want to follow my blog? Just fill in your email below and you'll receive new posts!

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2018
    February 2018
    February 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    February 2016
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    October 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    398.2 Poem And Rap
    7 Habits Of Happy Kids
    Anchor
    Anchor Quotes
    Artifacts
    A To Z Blog Challenge
    Birthday Surprises
    Blogging A Z Challenge
    Blogging A - Z Challenge
    Blogging From A-Z April Challenge Reflection
    Books
    Books About Quilts
    Cari Young
    Chris Van Allsburg
    Chuck Wagon
    Civil War Stories
    Class Activity
    David Novak
    David Titus
    Descriptions
    Digital Storytelling
    Dust-bowl
    Epitaphs
    Fan-activities
    Fishing Jokes
    Fish-tales
    Five Senses
    Gadgets And Gizmos
    Giving Credit To A Written Story
    Hawaiian Stories
    Historical Photographs
    Historical Stories
    IPad
    Iphone Apps
    Jamberry Nails
    Japanese Fans
    Japanese Stories
    Japanese Storytelling
    Joshua Chamberlain
    Journals
    Kamishibai Storytelling
    Leader In Me
    Librarians
    Luggage
    Mentor-texts
    Metaphors
    Museums
    Ocarina App
    Old West
    Paintings
    Paintings-and-storytelling
    Pictures
    Poetry
    Primary Resources
    Quick-write
    Quilts
    Radio
    Rakugo
    Reading
    Research
    Stephen Covey
    Stories
    Storytelling
    Storytelling Organizations
    String Figures
    Sue Kuentz
    Talk Like A Pirate
    Tandem Telling
    Tejas Storytelling Festival
    The Secret Knowledge Of Grown-Ups
    The SOS File
    The Wreck Of The Zephyr
    Truisms
    UTSA Storytelling Festival
    Violins
    Visualizing
    Wagons
    Westward Expansion
    Winter And Holiday Stories
    Writing

Sue Kuentz's Door to Lore Website
Kuentz Creative Consulting, LLC
151 Saur Road
Bulverde, TX 78163



cell: 210-326-7877
email:  sue.kuentz@gmail.com

© Sue Kuentz 2018
Photos used under Creative Commons from h.koppdelaney, ken ratcliff, pellaea, a.dombrowski, steveczajka, Mellicious, Dougtone, Peter G Trimming, CraigMoulding