Telling true stories

We are telling true stories in Studio Red! Children and adults are always telling true stories as we play, have snack, and get dressed to go outside, but we have introduced another practice. During our gatherings, we choose a name from our pile of cards and that person is invited to tell a true story to the group.

If they accept, and do not pass for the day, they retrieve a chair from our studio and find a place to sit in it on the edge of the circle. This chair becomes the author's chair. It is from this elevated place that the storyteller begins to speak once the audience is silent and attentive.

On Monday, Elliott accepted the invitation.​​

Once upon a time my mom went to Harry Potter Park and we got to buy wands.  My brother bought Harry Potter’s and I got Albus Dumbledore’s.

ELLIOTT

Once finished, the storyteller listens to questions and connections shared by others. With a silent thumb, children indicate they have a response to the story. As the storyteller hears these thoughts, they engage in the writing process—revising their work to add details or make other changes.

Did they do magic?  CHARLOTTE

Yeah, but not when we went back to where we live.  ELLIOTT

How long were the wands?  JOSEF

About that long.  ELLIOTT

How were they real when they stay at the store?  MARKY

I don’t really know.  ELLIOTT

How did they hold the wands if they were about this big?  SOPHIE

You hold them from the end, the handle.  ELLIOTT

How heavy were they? JOSEF

As heavy as picking up the classroom.  ELLIOTT

How big was the wands?  AVIA

About that big.  ELLIOTT

I have a wand bigger than Emily and Lauri.  MARKY

I have the book.  ELEANOR

You have the book of Harry Potter?  ELLIOTT

Who is Harry Potter?  LAURI

Harry Potter is the thing he has a scar on his forehead because he was trying to fight Malfoy because he’s a bad guy in Harry Potter.  ELLIOTT

I watched the movie and when we was a baby he got a scar.  Someone tried to make a booboo.  AVERY

How did it feel when you were holding the wand?  EMILY

It was made of plastic.  ELLIOTT

What kind of magic did it do?  

There was a bowl of nothing and then water comes out and then comes in and that was the magic.  ELLIOTT

Was it like a regular hose?  SOPHIE

No, a magic hose.  ELLIOTT

What kind of magic did it make?  JOSEF

It made people disappear and people reappear and fire appear and an ocean turn into a monster.  ELLIOTT

Sometimes when the author is finished, a teacher offers to retell the story with all the details that were added through the questions and connections. It can be quite a challenge, as the story seems to grow very long, with so many parts to remember!

Once upon a time, Elliott and his mom and brother went to Harry Potter Park and they got to buy wands.  Elliott got Albus Dumbledore’s wand and his brother got Harry Potter’s.  Harry Potter is a character from a book and a movie.  He has a scar on his forehead that he got when we was fighting the villain in the story.  The wands were about this long and made of plastic.  Elliott and his brother held them by the handle at the end.  They were as heavy as the classroom!  When they were at the store, the wands could do magic.  Elliott wasn’t really sure how it worked.  There was a bowl of nothing and then water would come out and in and that was the magic.  There wasn’t a regular hose, but a magic hose.  The wands also made people disappear and reappear.  They made fire appear and an ocean turn into a monster!  When Elliott and his mom and his brother returned home, they brought the wands with them.  But at home, the wands couldn’t do any magic.

Children are learning . . .

what makes a compelling story,

how to construct a story,

how to add details to convey meaning (feelings, senses, perspectives…),

how to listen,

what makes a question a question,

about another’s experience,

the connections they share,

the differences they have with one another,

. . .