Friends:

It was another wonderful day at school. My kindergarten through second grade classes really enjoyed playing “Gingerbread Jam.” There was a lot of teamwork, with students really cooperating and working together to play the game. The first grade teacher commented at lunch, “Thank you. We really appreciated the work you did in class today. The students really enjoyed it.” I just love it when learning is fun.

I have really enjoyed telling the story “Gingerbread Man.” It’s a classic but I’ve jazzed it up with fun rhythm and rhyme and the students are constantly singing the chorus around the school. Classes I visit for the first time are already singing the refrain to me before I even begin the story! Here is a picture of me telling the story to kindergarteners.

In the second grade class I visited, the teacher, Ms. Vizzini, gave me a brilliant idea (it was so obvious that I hit myself in the head for not thinking of it first)! Sometimes you just need a fresh point of view… Anyway, she suggested that I use little Dixie cups to roll the dice. The students shake the cup and turn it upside down, capturing the die. That way, dice aren’t rolling all over the table and onto the floor. Terrific idea. Thanks, Ms. Vizzini!

My third through fifth grade classes were delightful. Third grade was assigned “Sody Sallyraytus,” fourth grade was assigned “The Tortoise and the Hare,” and fifth grade was assigned “The Gingerbread Man.” They story mapped their tales and will be creating board games based on those stories next week. Here is a third grade student working on her story map.

Here is a picture of a 5th grade student looking over his “Stories on Board” worksheet.

What was really cool was that my 5th graders requested that I sing the chorus of “The Gingerbread Man” again before I left the class. Again, another fabulous day. I just love what I do!

Until next time… Happy Tales to You!

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

Even if it is April’s Fools Day, how can your day start off wrong when you receive a note like this first thing in the morning?

“Dear Mommy, you are the best in the whole wide world! You are my angel! I love you so much! Have a great day! Love, Eliana”

So sweet! What a great way to begin my day…

It was a good day at school. This year’s crop of students have been delightful - well-behaved, participatory and very bright. The kindergarten through second graders love the refrain of my “Gingerbread Man” story:

“Run, baby, run as fast as you can
You can’t catch me ’cause I’m the… (clap, clap) Gingerbread Man!”

They also enjoy playing the game I created based on the story: “The Gingerbread Jam.” The game teaches or reinforces so many skills such as:

• Cooperation and collaboration
• Team building
• Good sportsmanship
• Basic math: number identification
• Basic math: addition and subtraction
• Familiarity with a popular folktale
• Story structure
• Sequencing
• Critical thinking

In one of my first grade classes, I had a group of students who took it upon themselves to play the game until everyone won. It was astounding to witness that kind of attitude and to observe their teamwork skills. In the same class, the first grade teacher (Hi Sherry!) told me that another group of students, who had trouble all year working together, worked together so well during the Gingerbread Jam game. I love hearing those types of stories! It makes me feel like my work really has value and makes a difference!

My third through fifth graders worked on story mapping. Again, they analyzed the stories beautifully and contributed some wonderful vocabulary words such as “mischievous,” “devious,” and “persistent.”

Today was a somewhat somber day for many of the teachers and students. On Christmas Day last year, one of the third grade teachers, who had been at the school for many years, passed away suddenly. Today was her birthday so they had a memorial service for her and planted a tree in her honor to celebrate her life. She was one of my favorite teachers, always enthusiastic about my classroom visits. Because many of the teachers attended the memorial, parent volunteers watched many of the classrooms. During the memorial service, I was teaching fifth grade.

One of the students’ grandmothers was in the class with me. She asked to stay because she had heard I was a “fantastic storyteller.” The class chose “Brer Rabbit and the Tar Baby” as their story, which I performed for them. We mapped the story and had a great debate about who was really the protagonist of the story - Brer Rabbit or Brer Fox? After I finished, the grandmother approached me and asked if she could attend my next class with the students because she was enthralled and fascinated with my work. What a great feeling!

Another fabulous day! I look forward to tomorrow… Until then, Happy Tales to You!

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

Today was my first day presenting my “Stories on Board: Creating Board Games From Favorite Tales” residency at a New Orleans area school. This is my 8th year at this school; they have a very special place in my heart. In fact, my first book, Story Fest, is dedicated to this school.

I began the day laminating my “Gingerbread Jam” game boards, and making copies of stories and worksheets for the upper grades.

It was a great day. The students in all my classes were fantastic. In grades K-2, I told the story of “The Gingerbread Man,” which has a super catchy rhythmic chorus that is sung throughout the story. Although the students knew the story already, they really “jammed” to my version of “The Gingerbread Man.” Following the story, I instructed the students on how to play my game, “The Gingerbread Jam.” Using dice and fuzzy pom pom balls as game pieces, the students were divided into groups of five or six to play the game. The game tackles the basic math skills of addition and subtraction. The students loved the game. Here is a picture of first grade students playing “The Gingerbread Jam.”

With the upper grades (3-5), I told them a story (each class is assigned its own story) and then we story-mapped the tale using a “Stories on Board Story Map” that I developed specifically for this lesson. The students learned new vocabulary: protagonist, antagonist, supporting characters, adversary, motivation, peril, triumph, and aid. One of the third grade teachers (Hi Betty! And thank you!!) liked my Story Map so much that she took a copy for herself and asked if she could use it with future classes! She told me that my lesson was great; it was just what they were tackling in language arts. That makes me so happy! Here is a picture of me story mapping with today’s third grade class.

Though I worried that the story mapping might be too complex and perhaps a bit “boring” for the students, I was pleasantly surprised at how attentive and interested they were in the lesson. The students’ contributions to the discussions were incredibly astute and impressive. And we haven’t reached the “fun” part yet - creating the board games - that’s next week…  In a fourth grade class, I told my version of “The Three Billy Goats Gruff.” One of my fifth grade students said he and his group were going to create the game “Goat-opoly.” So clever!

Here are some of my third grade students working on their story maps.

I am really looking forward to the rest of my classes this week. I am also looking forward to seeing the students’ games next week. It’s so much fun working with these students. Since I have been doing an teaching artist residency at this school for so long, many of these students have “grown up” with me. They recognize me every year and wave, hug, and high five me in the halls. What a great feeling!

Until next time, heres’ to fun and games!
Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

I spent most of the day preparing for my residency at a New Orleans area school (I have been a teaching artist at this school for 8 years!). I am doing a two-week artist residency at an elementary school (PK-5) presenting “Stories on Board: Creating Board Games from Favorite Tales.” For grades PK-2, I will be telling stories and then the students will play board games I created based on my stories. For grades 3-5, students will be creating board games from folk and fairy tales that they will deconstruct, from which they will create a story map. Using the elements of the story, in groups, they will design and craft board games based on the stories they choose. The upper grades’ activities will culminate in a grade-wide “Game Day,” where they will exchange games with other classes and play each others’ games.

Because I am teaching such a wide age range, I had to come up with a way to make the board games work even for children who have not yet mastered reading fluency (PK-1). I decided to go with a nearly wordless board game that I invented called “The Gingerbread Jam,” based on my retelling of “The Gingerbread Man.” Here is a picture of my 7 year old daughter (in all light pink) and her cousins helping color the boards.

The students will be divided into groups of 5-6. They will be instructed on how to play the game. “The Gingerbread Jam” tackles basic math concepts of adding and subtracting. Numbers do not go higher than “4.” This is done so that even my preschool students will be able to play the game with minimal supervision. Game pieces are fuzzy pom pom balls and the game uses either dice or spinners.

Here is a picture of Eliana (7 years old) and her cousins, (Camrynn [8)] Ashlynn [7], and Jasmynn [6]) playing the game. They had so much fun that they played it over and over.

The game is simple in concept but addresses many content standards in language arts and math. Besides, it also makes learning a blast!

I will be blogging about my residency every day so please come along and join the fun!

Warmly, Dianne

Friends:

On Saturday night, my mom and I played Bonko, a fast-moving dice game where players rotate from table to table. I have never had so much fun playing a game with such a large group of people. It was an activity sponsored by the PTA at my daughter’s high school. I’ve never played before but I remember my mom playing it and hosting Bonko parties when I was a kid. It was easy to catch on. Here is a picture of my mom, Josie, and me.

I loved the frantic activity of the game with people yelling “Bonko!” as they played. Bonko is when you roll three of a kind when you are playing that number. For instance, if the table is rolling fives and you roll 3 fives, you hit a “Bonko!” While the rules are difficult to explain, the game is super easy to play once you catch on. The best part of the game is that in rotating from table to table, you meet all kinds of cool people. It’s sort of like “speed dating” with dice! Each time you rotate to a new table, you are paired with a different partner.

Although neither of us won (there was a cash prize), Mom and I can’t wait to play again. Next time, we are bringing our husbands. That was a blast! Now I am bonkers for Bonko!

Warmly, Dianne

Friends,

A couple of days ago, Eliana, my little 7 year old, created a new game. She was so excited yelling, “Mommy, Mommy, I want you to play my new game!” What she showed me astounded me. It’s simple but brilliant, a version of the classic “Hang Man.” She calls her game “Broken Heart.” First, draw a big heart. Draw blank lines underneath as you would for “Hang Man.” Each time you guess a letter incorrectly, the letter is written on the side and a “V” shaped crack is drawn down the middle of the heart. You get six “cracks.” It looks like this:

Can you guess the word? It’s “story.” We used a dry-erase board, which allows multiple drawings and no paper waste. A Magna Doodle would work well too. Eliana inspired me to create my own. I call mine “Shot Through the Heart.” (Thanks, Jon Bon Jovi.) With my version, you also get six tries: the bottom part of the arrow, the arrow in the middle of the heart, the arrow coming out of the top, the arrow head, and the feathers at the bottom of the arrow. Here is my Valentine version:

Can you guess the word? It’s… “reading!” It’s a lot of fun and I like it better than traditional Hang Man. I was so in awe of my daughter’s creativity. She inspired mine. Now it’s your turn. What variation of “Hang Man” can you create? “Cupid, draw back your bow…”

Warmly, Dianne