Storytelling...it has come a long way in the past 10 years or so! Digital storytelling- what a wonderous concept! While I have very fond memories of the picture books of my own childhood, I can't ignore the fact that there are new ways to tell a story.
Having a Smartboard in my classroom is a wonderful resource, and we view many stories in this way. Youtube is a wonderful resource, and one that I utilise daily in my classroom. There is a beautiful range of Eric Carle books and animations on Youtube which my Kindergarten class love.
Take one of the classics, Rosie's Walk. My Kindergarten students love the animated version available on Youtube (which incidentally was originally made in the 1970's on a film reel). I have a lovely story regarding this video. In my class I have a boy from Vietnam who has almost no English. His understanding of English is absolutely minimal, however, whenever he watches the Rosie's Walk video he laughs so hard. He loves it. This is a prime example of how visual little people can be. He gets a special enjoyment from the video that he would not get from the still pictures of the book. In this way "J" is included in the storytelling experience. We can build on his language by talking about the story.
I use Audacity to record myself reading the Benchmark readers for my children to listen to on an iPod. In this way, they can read along and listen to reading modelled by an experienced reader. I also use Audacity to record the children reading, so that they can listen to themselves and reflect on how they sound. I have found that this has assisted greatly with fluency and expression.
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