TYPES of STUDY GUIDES

I. One full page that could be used on a variety of stories. Be sure to include your contact info and your web address. This can be a useful and easy way to provide information to teachers. The ideas on this page can be used for almost any story. It allows the teachers to use their creative spirit to find ways to extend the story to fit into the curriculum standards. It also allows the teller to give something to the teachers that helps to justify bringing stories to the students. It can be easily stored, copied, and reproduced. It is ready at a moment’s notice. Useful links to websites.

II. One paper folded with 4 printable sides

This will take more time. It is prepared for a specific story or for a story program. It takes some thought, research, and updating. It is personalized to the event. So, it needs to be changed every time the teller uses it. However, once the basic work is finished, it can be stored in one’s files and easily changed. The generic list has its uses, but the study guides give a synopsis of the story (s), vocabulary words, and references for the story. That information will be at the teachers’ fingertips. It also gives the teachers specific ideas on ways to extend the story experience in the classroom, and it lists places for further exploration. Finally, it gives information on how to contact organizations connected to storytelling. There are many ways that tellers choose to organize their study guides. See Part III for those links towards the bottom of this page. The folded paper with four printable sides is my favorite way. The finished product will look like a pamphlet - one piece of paper folded across with Page One on the top quadrant. If you’d like to see the finished product, email me at markinsella19@hotmail.com and I will send you one as a Word Attachment. After you copy it, you can use that format for your own information. The following is one way to set up a paper for a study guide...

Information to include on study guide:

Page 1 (See samples here.)
Keep in mind that Page four will be on the same side of the paper as Page one. See the set up I use at the bottom of the paper.

<>Name of school, date, title of presentation Personalizing this storytelling event at a school will go a long way in the perception of the teller being happy to come to the school. The teller cared so much to develop a study guide...just for them.
<>Storyteller’s picture (optional) The teller may have a logo or clip art to dress up the front of the study guide. If the teller has a picture, I recommend it. It is one more connection to remembering the teller.
<>Short bio of storyteller ­ Keep this to four or five sentences with a link to your web site or e-mail. Make sure you put down your area or city and state.

Page 2
These pages( 2 and 3) will be on the inside of the study guide. It will depend on how much information the teller decides to include on each page as to which of the following will actually fit.

<>Title of story and bones of the story
<>References for variants (books and websites)
<>List of unfamiliar words used in the story
<>Simple comprehension questions
<>List a couple of the educational standards for your state (See - http://www.statestandards.com/)
<>Begin with a list of easy, grade appropriate story extension ideas

Page 3
Again, some of this may spill over to Page 4 depending on how much information the teller chooses to put on the page.

More story extension ideas (include at least 3 of the following) I get my ideas from teachers, from fellow storytellers, from the Internet, and from my years as a classroom teacher. You are bound only by your imagination. It’s a challenge, but one I love, to find ways to connect the story to the curriculum. There is a Reference section at the bottom of this page for books and websites.

Language arts <> Science
Social Studies <> Math
Visual Art <> Movement

Page 4 (See sample of ...Page 4)

<>End of story extension ideas
<>References and Websites for related stories and lesson plans
<>(Optional) Have a reward for the class for any teacher who gives a report to the teller on any of the follow-up activities suggested on the handout. This could be a CD, a certificate, or a small toy that relates to the stories that were told.
<>Information on local storytelling guilds/ beginners’ workshops/ NSN
<>Prominently display your website for further information and more story extensions
<>Include the teller’s e-mail address and phone number.

Set-up: I have used Microsoft Word and Microsoft Publisher. For some reason I seem to have trouble with Publisher. So, I’m now using Word exclusively. To set-up the page go to "File" and select "Page Set-up" and click on the "Paper Size" tab, then click on "Landscape". And click on "OK." That will allow your paper to be printed horizontally. You may also want to change the margins at some point. Just hit the "Margins" tab (also in Page Set-up) and adjust accordingly.

Remember each side of the paper will have two pages on it - one side with Pages 1 and 4 and the other side with Pages 2 and 3. To get the paper divided into the two sections, go to "Format" and click on "Columns" and click on "Two," and then "OK." On the side that has Page 1 and 4, make sure that Page 1 is on the right hand side and Page 4 is on the left. That allows the paper to be folded on the left and your bio page on front and your reference page on the back. One the other side Page 2 is the on the left and Page 3 is on the right. Once you set-up on Word, you can use it over again by saving the newly changed study guide as a "Save As." Just be sure to change the title. That way you will save the old copy and your new one. As I stated above, you can email me and I’ll send you one of mine. Then you can pop in your info and save it as your own!!

Printing -When you copy, to get the two sides back to back, you will need to work with your printer to see how it is done. On most printers, the printed page will go in with the printed side UP. You will need to play with your printer to see if it goes in to the left or to the right. Otherwise, it will print upside-down from the other side.

Pit falls: How much of it is really ever used? I have no way of tracking this. I have recently added the note on Page 4 about sending me what they have used from the study guide. I intend to send a little something to the class for doing this. So far, no takers. How many do I print up? Just enough! I sometimes just give it to the principal and let him/her reproduce. Or, if the school to smaller, to one teacher in each grade level. If very small- to each teacher. Problems - Sometimes I get frustrated getting the papers in the correct way for printing. It does tend to use up the colored ink - but I can always put it on black and white print. Giving too much information - if you look at the first study guide I did on Stories ’n Stones below, you will see that I went a tad overboard. It reads like a book. I’m sure a real turn-off for busy teachers. It’s real heavy on academic and very light on practicality. Live and Learn.

III. Other Study Guide Formats

My format is just one way to produce a study guide. Each storyteller takes the same information and presents it in a format that is easy, not only for the teacher, but for themselves. What is your comfort level? Do you want something with more information or less? How detailed to you want to make the extensions? What grade levels do you want to target or do you want to make it grade specific? All these questions and more will guide you to developing your own study guide. Here are some other tellers and their on-line study guides:

Linda King Pruitt - http://lkpstoryteller.com/teachers.htm
Dianne de Las Casas - http://www.storyconnection.net/classroom.htm
Tales and Scales - www.talesandscales.org/ansg7-12.doc
Jim Cogan - http://www.ptgo.org/pdfs/cogan.pdf
Jack Tales - http://www.ferrum.edu/applit/studyg/JackTaleAct.htm#Gam
Angela Davis - Angela’s Study Guide "Swamp Party"

IV. On-Line Handout
(also knows as "Save a Tree")

I have attended hundreds of workshops. Most of the material that I thought I could possibly use, I dutifully took home and put it in my file cabinet...never to see light of day again. I think that the way to go is to put hand-outs on-line. If a person wants to keep the information, they have options. They can put the website on their "Favorites;" they can cut and paste it and put it in their Word files; they can run it off to make a paper copy to put in their files. I always make a few "hard-copies" for the individuals in the workshop who do not own a computer. The following are some of the good and the bad about putting papers on-line.

a. You must make sure the teachers have your website ­ perhaps, on promo handouts or on the generic list. They must also find it easily on your website. On your website have a page that lists your Study Guides. I call mine "Teacher/Teller". From there they can easily access the study guides.

b. There is no need to do a Page One, so follow the outline above for Pages 2-4 for the website. Now, you can give as many ideas as you want on the website. You are not limited by space. You can dress it up with lots of pictures and clip art. You can add new ideas and delete out-dated ones at the tap of a finger.

c. The great thing about on-line handouts is the information to references on other web pages is just a click away. You can highlight any word and have it linked to information. However, you do need to go over your website periodically and make sure the links are still viable.

d. Some tellers prefer to not list their home phone since it is on-line and open to the world-wide-web. However, your information is out there on the web anyway. If, however, you choose to not list your phone or address, at least post the area you are from somewhere on the study guide.

e. Yes, your paper is on-line. Maybe someone will copy it. Maybe they will claim it as their own. I try not to worry about such things. Copy it, claim it...I don’t care. It would be nice to give my name and website as a reference, but I’m not out to police this work. In fact, it’s my gift to you!

f. For my on-line study guides go to:

How the Animals Got Their Coats
Stories ’n Stones (see for yourself how to beat the blood out of a turnip!)
Stories ’n Stones Along the Expedition Trail
Rumpelstiltskin (ideas from the Sharing the Fire Conference, the Internet and my own)

Earth Day Sidebar: When making up a packet to send to schools, be sure to include a sample study guide or the generic list inside. When showcasing, have a few different copies on the table.

REFERENCES:
Storytelling in Emergent Literacy Fostering Multiple Intelligences By Jeanne Donato and Susan Trostle Brand Based on recent brain research and multiple intelligence theory, this book combines the art of storytelling with popular selections from children’s literature.

Suppose the Wolf Were An Octopus: Guides to Creative Questioning for Elementary and Secondary Grade Literature By Joyce Pastor Foley, Michael Bagley and Myrna Kemnitz Using Bloom’s Taxonomy to ask questions about folk literature.

043507105X
Figures, Facts, and Fables: Telling Tales In Science and Math - Barbara Lipke.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1996 Stories inspire problem solving, imagination, and creativity. And when applied to science and math, stories make concepts more accessible and understandable-to students and teachers alike.

Beyond The Beanstalk: Interdisciplinary Learning Through Storytelling - Lynn Rubright Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1996 This was my first teacher and reference for developing my own lessons from stories.

http://www.kendallhaven.com/works.htm Storyteller and Educator, Kendall Haven provides a veritable plethora of books that have great stories and ideas for math, science, history, writing and storytelling.

Figures Keepers of the Earth: Native-American Stories and Environmental Activities - Joseph Bruchac Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 1989 One of a series of books that explore Native American myths and science activities.