Storyteller June Peters

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Storyteller June Peters
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What is storytelling?

• A story telling is a traditional form that
  compels a listener to open the imagination and
  envision another place, encompass another world,
  experience another life and time.
• Source The Storytellers Circle of Halifax

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Why storytelling?

• Storytelling explores emotions with stories of
  wisdom, humour, love, death, failure, success,
  fear, dreams and hope.
• Stories are guides that help us make decisions,
  create choices, seek and understand our place in
  the world and beyond.
• Telling a story is a live, shared moment in
  time between listener and teller where the
  listener is an active participant.
• Source The Storytellers Circle of Halifax

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Who uses Storytelling?

• School Teachers use storytellingOralcy or oral
  literacy is part of the School Curriculum.
  Students are encouraged to use oral skills to
  present projects, papers, demonstrations. The
  ancient art of storytelling is an educational
  tool that is as old as the first spoken word. It
  is an easy first step in oral presentations as
  there is nothing between the teller and the
  listener but imagination.
• Source The Storytellers Circle of Halifax

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Who uses Storytelling?

• Preschool Teachers use storytelling too.Pre
  reading skills and literacy is an important part
  of the Preschool Curriculum. Babies and young
  children need to hear language before they can
  speak it or read it. Studies have shown that
  preschoolers learn to read faster when exposed to
  oral language and the spoken word, not just
  reading the words. Oral stories, rhymes, songs
  are a vital part of the preschool childs
  understanding of language patterns, sequencing,
  vocabulary, rhythm and phonology.
• Source The Storytellers Circle of Halifax

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Why June Peters?

• 19 years of experience as a professional
  storyteller
• She works with pupils of all ages
• Wide and varied repertoire
• Her accent is easy to adjust to
• She adapts to the audience
• She is awesomely talented!

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More than 250 sessions in South American schools
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How does June adapt to the audience?

• One of the great advantages of storytelling is
  that the tellers can tell different stories, they
  are not tied to a script as in theatre.
• June adapts to the audience, regulating speed and
  changing vocabulary to ensure that students
  understand and interact with the stories.
• She is able to improvise and include music.
• As the storyteller adapts to the audience, there
  is no need to prepare students.

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Typical 40 minute programme for 5 - 7 year olds

• A warm up song with plenty of action and joining
  in.
• A guessing game with a toy inside a bag and
  plenty to look at and talk about.
• A story associated with the toy. The story
  involving artifacts to look at and name, drama
  and action and more songs to join in with.

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5 - 7 year olds

• A taste of June's repertoire
• Nyangara the Python is the only doctor who could
  save the King's life IF anyone is brave enough to
  fetch him...
• Anansi had a large family, and in this story we
  will meet his six wonderful sons.
• The Lion on the Path features a lion who cannot
  resist dancing to the music of the mbira.
• A Witch Selection The children choose which
  witch they want.
• And many more!

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What makes folktales so good for language
teaching?

• Their frequent repetitions make them excellent
  for reinforcing new vocabulary and grammar.
• Many have natural rhythmic qualities that are
  useful for working on stress, rhythm, and
  intonation in pronunciation.
• The cultural elements of folktales help both
  bridge common ground between cultures and bring
  out cultural differences - developing cultural
  awareness that is essential if we are to learn to
  think in another language and understand the
  people who speak it.
• (Extract from Using Folktales by Eric K Taylor)

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A typical 50 minute programme for 8 - 12 year olds

• A warm up activity (riddles, song or word games
  as appropriate to the group)
• A story that would draw on a palate of skills
  that cover expressive body language, facial
  expression, call and response, song, dramatic
  group response, enactment all used more or less
  as appropriate to the childrens standard of
  English.

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8 - 12 year olds

• A taste of June's repertoire
• The Juniper Tree (German)
• Tweety Tutu (Caribbean) Once there was a boy who
  lived with his parents in a small house at the
  edge of a graveyard...
• Lying stories Anansi, Fly, Moth and Mosquito
  (African)
• The Firebird (based on the classic Russian fairy
  tale.)
• And many more!

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Programme for teens

• With a different repertoire and style of telling,
  June has been debunking the misconception that
  storytelling is just for young kids. Teenagers
  are motivated and captivated by her sincere,
  enthusiastic telling.Length 1 hour (1 or 2
  stories)?

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Teens

• A taste of June's repertoire
• Stories from the Cradle of Civilization the
  very first stories that were ever written down
  5,000 years ago on tablets of clay - fragments of
  which are still to be found in the soil of Iraq.
  These are the tales of the very first flood (you
  think you know it but you dont) and of
  Gilgamesh.
• The Haft Pakur or Seven Pictures a romance
  from Iran, involving a good fun participation
  story called which was biggest
• To the Mountains for a Brother, through the
  Furnace for a Lover...
• etc, etc, etc

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Comments from teachers

• ...teniendo en cuenta la fantástica experiencia
  anterior con June Peters, es que confiamos una
  vez más en Dream On Productions.
• Mariana Vierci y Marión Figueras
• Coordinadoras del Departamento de Inglés de
  Primaria
• Stella Maris College, Montevideo
• http//www.stellamaris.edu.uy/

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Comments from teachers

• A imagem de June e de sua interação com as
  crianças está guardado em nossos corações. Por
  favor, de alguma forma, comunique isto a ela.
  Momentos de magia que não serão esquecidos, tenho
  certeza!
• Carmen Hester
• Head of the English Department - Primary
• Instituto Sidarta
• http//www.sidarta.g12.br/

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Comments from teachers

• June is very professional and at the same time
  she was warm and was able to open the boys
  hearts to stories, riddles, a bit of violin
  playing her sounds, tone of voice, body
  gestures captured our students...
• Mercedes Medan
• Headmistress
• Pilgrims' College, Argentina.
• http//www.pilgrims.esc.edu.ar/

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Long-term

• During Storyteller Graham Langleys visit to
  Trener in 2003, this students brother heard some
  stories and told them to him at home. A year
  later the younger brother is retelling the
  stories from Graham, and his brother, to
  June.This is the essence of storytelling, that
  something can capture our imagination and hold it
  for even longer than a year!(The student's name
  is Johan Frech. This photo is being used with
  permission.)?

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Dream On Productions in Mexico

• Some of our repeat clients are
• Colegio Alexander Bain (Laura Cosio)
• Greengates (Frances Lond-Caulk)
• Lancaster - Secondary (Frank Sawyer)
• Liceo de Monterrey, Monterrey (Imelda Saenz)
• Peterson, Cuajimalpa (Martha Frías)
• The American School Foundation (Ryan Dempsey)
• The Anglo Mexican Foundation (Delia Martínez)
• The British Council (Bella McGuiness)
• Tomás Alva Edison (Arturo Lezama)
• etc, etc, etc.

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Dream On Productions

• Thank you for your attention
• Best wishes from the Dream On Team
• www.dreamontheatre.com.arMexico (5255) 8421
  8989
• Bs As (5411) 4302 5755