7.09.2010

Workshop on curriculum-based stories

Tomorrow I present at Tejas Storytelling Association's state conference at St. Edward's University in Austin.  My topic is creating stories (and songs) that tie in directly with school curricula and I'm posting a few links here for the attendees and anyone else who might stumble across this. 

First of all, for a good idea of what's required to be in Texas school curricula visit: Tx Education Agency's site and scroll down to find a list of of Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills by Chapter.  There you can see a list of the different required disciplines and open each one to see the items required by grade.  I opened the science chapter as an MS Word document and just DELETED the ones I didn't feel like my programs fulfilled.  That, obviously, left me with an impressive list of what my programs DID fulfill that I could post on my website and send to principals, librarians, etc.  Educators LOVE this. 

Next, review a list of storytellers and kids' musicians on the Texas Commission on the Arts' Touring Artist Roster.  See if you notice any openings in disciplines that you might be able to fill.  There are many folks who specialize in tales and tunes from various cultures (Hispanic, Native American, African American, old west/Texas are well represented) and I know there are many stories that focus on communicating morals or ethics.  It's a big world with a lot to learn.  Stories are probably the BEST teaching tool out there so see what you can think up...