Bissonet Plaza Elementary Handmade Tales Residency Day 9 – Thursday, December 17, 2009
12-17-09 5th graders make string figures
Friends:
Today was a big day at Bissonet Plaza Elementary. It was the 9th day of my Handmade Tales residency and my 3rd through 5th grade classes performed in a grade level Story Fest celebration. I saw all of the grades during their P.E. period. First was 5th grade. Ms. Brumfield’s class performed “The Pesky Skeeter” with string.
12-17-09 Ms. Brumfield's 5th graders perform The Pesky Skeeter with string
Then students from Mr. Joyce’s class performed the draw and tell story of “The Emperor’s Drazgon.”
12-17-09 Students from Mr. Joyce's 5th grade class perform The Emperor's Dragon
Last but not least, Ms. McLeod’s class performed “The Magic Star,” a cut and tell tale. I was so proud of this class because my storyteller from this group told the story without a script! It was such a pleasure to teach 5th grade this year! They were such a delightful group of students. To reward their hard work, I gave all the students string and taught them the double star string figure. Yay 5th grade!
12-17-09 Ms. McLeod's 5th graders perform The Magic Star
After a planning period break, pre-K came in. I told them the story of “The Mouse’s Wedding” and they loved the story with the little mice made of bandanas.
12-17-09 Performing The Mouse's Wedding for Pre-K
3rd grade was a lot of fun. They did a great job performing their stories. Ms. Fury’s class performed “The Girl Who Used Her Wits,” a cut and fold tale.
12-17-09 Students from Ms. Fury's 3rd grade class perform The Girl Who Used Her Wits
Mr. Boone’s 3rd grade class performed “Mr. Wiggle and Mr. Waggle,” a story that needs nothing more than your hands to tell the tale! Ms. Arnett’s class had two students to represent them. They told the cut and tell story of “Papa’s Teepee.” Alex, the storyteller, forgot his script and I didn’t have a copy so he told the story from memory! He did an absolutely magnificent job. I was completely impressed. It wasn’t just a couple of lines. It was the entire story!
12-17-09 Dianne with students from Ms. Arnette's 3rd grade class who performed Papa's Teepee
Ms. Frechette’s 3rd graders performed “The Ugly Duckling” with towels. It was precious!
12-17-09 Ms. Frechette's 3rd graders perform The Ugly Duckling
Eliana, my 9 year old daughter, came with me. She comes to Bissonet every year for one day and the students love her! She was such a big help! In fact, she took almost all the pictures I am using in this blog! She helped me with some draw and tell tales and even told stories by herself! Definitely a storyteller’s daughter! I love you, Eliana! Thank you for everything!
12-17-09 Dianne's daughter, Eliana, draws Pile It on the Pie a Mile High
Here is Eliana telling “Mr. Wiggle & Mr. Waggle” while I demonstrate the story.
12-17-09 Eliana tells the story of Mr. Wiggle & Mr. Waggle while Dianne demonstrates
With Kindergarten through 2nd grade, I told stories including “The Mouse’s Wedding,” a handkerchief tale.
12-17-09 Performing The Mouse's Wedding for 2nd grade
I even taught the 2nd graders a partner game from Singapore called “The Pearl.”
12-17-09 2nd graders learn a partner game from Singapore
Unfortunately, I missed taking pictures of 4th grade because all the cameras we brought (3 of them!) either ran out of memory (from the videos we took) or ran out of battery and I didn’t have the charger! I am so sad!! 
But my 4th graders did a PHENOMENAL job, especially Ms. Morrow’s class who put their all into their performance. I was awesome!!
12-17-09 Dianne performs for kindergarten
Tomorrow is my last day at Bissonet. I will be performing a holiday show for all the grades!
Until next time…
Warmly, Dianne
Tags: Art, Artist Residency, Arts, arts education, Author, Children, Children's Book Author, Children's Books, Dianne de Las Casas, Eliana, Kids, Language Arts, Literacy, Louisiana, Madame Poulet and Monsieur Roach, Stories, Storyteller, Storytelling, Teaching Artist, The Cajun Cornbread Boy