Friends:
Today I began a 2 week residency at Strehle Elementary in Avondale, Louisiana. This is my third year at the school. I am doing my Story Fest residency, in which I work with the student doing drama exercises and culminating in story theater performances. The classes are each assigned a story, with parts for individual storytellers and a story chorus.
My first class was Ms. Walker’s 5th grade class. They were a great group to work with, and really participated in the exercises. I demonstrated the “Storyteller’s Tool Kit,” with the four tools they have readily available: 1) imagination, 2) body, 3) face and 4) voice. All my upper grades did individual, partner, and group role playing exercises. Ms. Walker’s class was assigned the story, “Paul Bunyan and the Great Popcorn Blizzard.” They were able to formulate some of the chorus with a rap and it came out great!
1-25-10 Ms. Walker's 5th graders portray a Mardi Gras parade with king on a float
Next, I went on to Ms. Guidry’s 3rd grade class. They were so respectful and excited to see me. Many of the students remembered me from years past and looked forward to the activity. They did such a great job with their drama activity. The class did a great job communicating and collaborating and came up with such a fun story chorus for their story, “The Turtle Who Could Not Stop Talking.” I can’t wait to see it all come together!
1-25-10 Ms. Guidry's 3rd graders portray a field goal, kicking a football through the goal posts
Ms. Walter’s 5th grade class was my next stop. Again, I had a great time with the students. They really enjoyed the activities. Using a beat created by a student, they came up with a fun rap for their story, “The Ant and the Grasshopper.”
1-25-10 Ms. Walter's 5th grade class playing a cowboy riding a horse (look at that midair jump!)
Ms. Williams’ 5th grade class was next. All the 5th grade teachers have “W” last names! There are a lot of very expressive students in this class. They were assigned the story, “The Lion and the Mouse.” The students worked well together and created a story chorus. It needs some work but I will see them again on Wednesday.
1-25-10 Ms. Williams' 5th graders role play a boy stealing an apple from a neighbor's tree
On my lunch break, I caught a candid of one of the 5th grade teachers, Ms. Walker. The faculty and staff showed their Saints spirit by sporting black and gold. The Saints won their playoff game last night against Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings so Saints fever runs high in the city! It is the first time the Saints will play in the Super Bowl.
1-25-10 5th grade teacher, Ms. Walker, has Saints spirit! Who Dat!
After lunch, I had my only lower elementary group of the day. I visited Ms. Mauer’s 1st grade class. I told the story of Madame Poulet & Monsieur Roach and then moved into creative movement with scarves. They danced to world music, exploring rhythms from Africa and South America. It was fun and very colorful!
1-25-10 Ms. Mauer's 1st graders dance with scarves to world music
One of the students in the class had a fleur de lis shaved into his hair. His parents must truly be Saints fans!
1-25-10 A true Saints fan with a fleur de lis carved into his hair!
Next, I moved on to Ms. Creecy 4th grade class. They had a ball doing the story theater exercises. The class is large so excitement was high. I had to settle them down a few times. We ran out of time and were unable to create a story chorus but we will do that next time I see them on Wednesday.
1-25-10 4th graders in Ms. Creecy's class become a woman walking her dog in Central Park
My last class of the day was Ms. Landry’s 4th grade class. The students remembered me from previous years and were so excited to see me. They were so well-behaved and I really enjoyed working with them. They really loved the story theater exercises. They were assinged “The Little Red Hen” and did a phenomenal job crreating their story chorus with a rap to a beat. It was so catchy, I found myself singing it all day! And I loved the way the students in the chorus really cooperated, communicated and collaborated. Those were the 3 “Cs” of story theater I taught them. What a great day!
1-25-10 Ms. Landry's 4th graders are mechanics fixing their cars
I ended my day with a photo op. New Orleans Saints Quarterback, Drew Brees, “stopped by” so I had to get a picture with him… Super Bowl bound, baby! 
1-25-10 Dianne poses with New Orleans Saints Super Bowl quarterback, Drew Brees
I look forward to tomorrow at Strehle!
Until next time…
Warmly, Dianne
