Story Time

Story Time
© Copyright 1998 - by Jim Pool

Story time is a fantasy time because we get to listen and talk about words while making pictures in our mind. Inside the story circle is where the words get together and make it all happen. Everyone gets into the story circle (form chairs or a rope on the floor in a circle) and will help with the story.

Lets talk a little about words.

Some words are for information - "Hi, My name is Jim Pool."
Some words are for instruction - "STOP" says the sign at the corner of the block.
Some words are for fun - "Good morning. Have a nice day."
But, the best words of all are the words used in stories for they not only can inform, instruct, and be fun, but they also bring out feelings. They can make you cry, they can make you feel happy, they can make you feel smart, they can make you frightened, and they can make you see pictures of what is happening.

WOW! Words can do all that and MORE!, so let’s tell a story.

What is a story? A story is words in sentences that have a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning sentences tell us who, what, where, when, and why. The middle sentences paint the pictures, express the feelings, and tell us how the the who did what. The ending sentences finsih the story with a moral, happy thoughts, or solve the mystery. We make sentences from the words.

First, everyone must take a word from the word bucket. (Pass around buckets with one story word written on each 3x5 card) Now that everybody has a word, can anyone read their word to me and tell me what it means? Good, that is what the word means, but what picture or feeling does it bring. By itself, each word is only a word, but together they will tell a story with information, instruction, fun, feeling, and pictures. Each word that you have is used in the story that I am going to tell, so listen carefully for your word.

Now that we all have words and we are all in the story circle, let’s put them together and make a story. This is a story of participation, so I need two actors (a guy and a gal) to play the story parts. Just so that everyone knows who is playing what part, I will put information words on each. (Hang "MOM" on the guy and "DAD" on the gal.) What? The words don’t fit? Why not? OK, we will put the words in the right place so they make sense. OK? We can’t just have lots of words, they have to make sense when we put them together.

The story I am going to tell has a long name, "Where does the White Go When the Snow Melts ?". Can you say that again with me? What does that mean? Can anyone give me an answer? Where DOES the white go? Well, here is the story . . .