When I first started participating in Flannel Friday, I had no idea that "Draw and Tell" stories would be my most popular posts. "The Night Walk," the first one I posted, is the most popular with over 4,000 views. Overall, the draw and tell stories are the most popular posts on this blog with over 10,000 views. (Cut and tell stories are a distant second with around 3,700 views.)
More people are interested in draw and tell stories than I realized. This was a surprise to me since I didn't think they were used much in storytime any more. They seem old fashioned in these tech obsessed times. Old they are. People have probably been drawing in dirt or wet sand as long as there have been stories to tell. It is this connection to our past that appeals to me. I also love the idea of creating a picture as I tell the story. Children love it because not only do they see the picture being created but they also like to guess what it will be. Some clever folk have adapted this format using technology. A tablet can be a drawing pad and images can be projected. I still prefer a pad of newsprint and a Sharpie but then markers were new technology when I was a kid.
Because of the interest in draw and tell stories, I am going to explore this format in future blog posts. I have gathered some of the resources I have used over the years as well as some that are new to me and will talk about them. I will also post some tips and techniques as well as talk a bit about how I came up with my own stories. I hope that these posts will encourage people to try this form of storytelling.
Now that I am retired, I do some volunteer reading to kindergarteners at a local elementary school. The Wednesday before Halloween I did "The Halloween Hike" for two of the children. For various reasons we did not meet for almost a month. When we met again, the first thing one child asked was for another drawing story. I think I'll be doing more of them and maybe by the end of the school year I'll teach the children how to do one themselves.
More people are interested in draw and tell stories than I realized. This was a surprise to me since I didn't think they were used much in storytime any more. They seem old fashioned in these tech obsessed times. Old they are. People have probably been drawing in dirt or wet sand as long as there have been stories to tell. It is this connection to our past that appeals to me. I also love the idea of creating a picture as I tell the story. Children love it because not only do they see the picture being created but they also like to guess what it will be. Some clever folk have adapted this format using technology. A tablet can be a drawing pad and images can be projected. I still prefer a pad of newsprint and a Sharpie but then markers were new technology when I was a kid.
Because of the interest in draw and tell stories, I am going to explore this format in future blog posts. I have gathered some of the resources I have used over the years as well as some that are new to me and will talk about them. I will also post some tips and techniques as well as talk a bit about how I came up with my own stories. I hope that these posts will encourage people to try this form of storytelling.
Now that I am retired, I do some volunteer reading to kindergarteners at a local elementary school. The Wednesday before Halloween I did "The Halloween Hike" for two of the children. For various reasons we did not meet for almost a month. When we met again, the first thing one child asked was for another drawing story. I think I'll be doing more of them and maybe by the end of the school year I'll teach the children how to do one themselves.
Hi Linda: you are so my go to gal for draw and tells.
ReplyDeleteI think this tool isn't used very often because it's seen as intimidating. Because you share it for generously it's less intimidating. We want to know it's easy and worth it. You do that ! So YAY for Linda!!