Storytelling Across the Ages

from Taichung ETA, Caitlin Porrazzo

Mid-way through last semester, my Dean approached me to ask if I would be interested in storytelling at the junior high down the road from my school, Ji-Feng Elementary School in Taichung. I was intrigued, as I had been curious to learn where my students would go after they finished elementary school, but I did not know what the expectations might be for storytelling with older students. A few weeks prior, I volunteered to read at a storytelling hour for early elementary age students and families at the National Library of Public Information, one of the largest libraries in Taiwan. For storytelling, we read Elmer the Patchwork Elephant by David McKee and cut out and decorated elephants as a craft after reading. I had an absolute blast with a wonderful group of kids and their parents but did not expect to see any of them again. It just so happened that one of the parents at the library was an English teacher at the Wufeng Junior High, and she reached out to the Dean at my elementary school to request I share storytelling there. After some communication about the type of lesson that would be best for the junior high group, I spent two afternoons at Wufeng Junior High, teaching about winter holidays in the USA with seventh and eighth-graders. In the limited time we had, I taught lessons using a jigsaw, which allowed groups of students to learn about one of four holidays, and then share with classmates what they learned, so that all students eventually learned about all four holidays. Some students had attended Ji-Feng Elementary School, so I was able to see this extension of my school community. I teach first through sixth grade, a wide range of students in elementary school, but this experience informed me of how little a difference one or two years makes. I met students one or two years younger than my students through storytelling and one or two years older through culture sharing at the junior high. Both of these experiences gave me greater insight into my current students and allowed me to meet more students in the community. I was able to try out different activities that I can bring back to my current classroom. It is sometimes a challenge to plan for a wide range of ages, but these experiences helped me to see that working with younger kids informs me of ways to work with older kids, and vice versa.