We began the 2009 Castles of Welsh princes literacy project with a training day for teachers, in Llandinam.
Michael Harvey, storyteller, ran the day's activities, which were delivered in Welsh.
An unexpected closure of the A470 north of Llandinam meant that we started a little later than we had planned, as the travellers from the north had a tortuous journey and stories to tell of their journey!
The day began with a very simple exercise, where each participant found an image on their mobile phone or camera and told their partner the story of the image.
Having broken the ice, and with 6 stories told, we listened to Michael telling a marvellous story about Jac, who fell in love with a mermaid. And just when everybody was enthralled by the story, Michael stopped telling it!
Michael told the teachers they had to finish the story in their own way. He divided the group into sets of 3, and each had to create their own ending for the story. The endings could be happy, or sad. The groups worked on this for some time, discussing the possibilities and bringing in new characters and locations. Each group created a wonderful ending for the story, and told it to the rest of us.
The next part of the day involved going out for a 'treasure' hunt - the teachers went out into the grounds and asked to return with a found object of any kind as long as it was just lying on the ground. Of course, the moment they stepped out of the door, the rain began!
The 6 objects the teachers returned with were a tattered piece of old thin plastic rope, a pine cone, a frond from a conifer, an interesting bent old stick without bark, another stick with a sharp end, and a Christmas decoration!
Michael divided the teachers into two groups, and asked each teacher to show their objects to the rest of us, and tell us what the object was, but also what it was REALLY in their imaginations, so the old stick became a dragon's head, the frond became a horse's tail, the pins cone a dragon's eye, the Christmas decoration became a real star, the rope became the mooring line for a boat, and the twig became a crocodile.... Imaginations were running wild!
The next activity was for the teachers to create stories using their objects as props and inspiration. We heard a story of a man who sailed to a small island and became stranded when a crocodile chewed through the mooring rope, and who used various means and methods to escape the island with the help of the star! We heard another story involving dragons and a heroine riding a very fast horse.
Michael began another story, asking people to suggest locations, characters, objects and problems. The group generated the story together, and there was a discussion about the principles and structures of stories.
An interesting and enjoyable day was spent by all, and everybody left with ideas about how storytelling could enhance classroom practice in terms of delivering literacy.
Michael Harvey, storyteller, ran the day's activities, which were delivered in Welsh.
An unexpected closure of the A470 north of Llandinam meant that we started a little later than we had planned, as the travellers from the north had a tortuous journey and stories to tell of their journey!
The day began with a very simple exercise, where each participant found an image on their mobile phone or camera and told their partner the story of the image.
Having broken the ice, and with 6 stories told, we listened to Michael telling a marvellous story about Jac, who fell in love with a mermaid. And just when everybody was enthralled by the story, Michael stopped telling it!
Michael told the teachers they had to finish the story in their own way. He divided the group into sets of 3, and each had to create their own ending for the story. The endings could be happy, or sad. The groups worked on this for some time, discussing the possibilities and bringing in new characters and locations. Each group created a wonderful ending for the story, and told it to the rest of us.
The next part of the day involved going out for a 'treasure' hunt - the teachers went out into the grounds and asked to return with a found object of any kind as long as it was just lying on the ground. Of course, the moment they stepped out of the door, the rain began!
The 6 objects the teachers returned with were a tattered piece of old thin plastic rope, a pine cone, a frond from a conifer, an interesting bent old stick without bark, another stick with a sharp end, and a Christmas decoration!
Michael divided the teachers into two groups, and asked each teacher to show their objects to the rest of us, and tell us what the object was, but also what it was REALLY in their imaginations, so the old stick became a dragon's head, the frond became a horse's tail, the pins cone a dragon's eye, the Christmas decoration became a real star, the rope became the mooring line for a boat, and the twig became a crocodile.... Imaginations were running wild!
The next activity was for the teachers to create stories using their objects as props and inspiration. We heard a story of a man who sailed to a small island and became stranded when a crocodile chewed through the mooring rope, and who used various means and methods to escape the island with the help of the star! We heard another story involving dragons and a heroine riding a very fast horse.
Michael began another story, asking people to suggest locations, characters, objects and problems. The group generated the story together, and there was a discussion about the principles and structures of stories.
An interesting and enjoyable day was spent by all, and everybody left with ideas about how storytelling could enhance classroom practice in terms of delivering literacy.
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