One of Guilderland's priorities is to move students beyond New York State's standards, preparing them not just for the tests they will take in school but also for the real "tests" of life. Here is an example of how the district is accomplishing this priority:

Painting a picture with words
The creative art of storytelling

Imagine painting a canvass with only words: creating vibrant, colorful images with the tone of your voice and bringing to life a variety of characters with your facial expressions.

This April, 10 middle school students will be doing just that as they perform in front of family, friends, and community spectators at the Riverway Storytelling Festival in Albany.

This will be the culmination of the Imagination River Storytelling Camp – a yearlong project for students on the Mohawk 7A team, exploring the world of storytelling through research, design and practice.

"Storytelling allows students to look at reading and writing in a new way," says language arts teacher Karen Rogotzke. "They explore the writing process and get to know characters by using their voices, visual cues and by paying close attention to detail."

In addition to academic skills, students are also learning valuable lessons that will benefit them for years to come. They explore their own life stories, developing an appreciation for their emerging sense of self. They also hear stories from different cultures, learning respect and tolerance for other people’s traditions and beliefs. Students perform in front of their peers, gaining confidence and learning to both provide and accept constructive criticism.

Bringing stories into the classroom

The Imagination River Storytelling Camp is a grant project developed by Mary Fellows, youth services consultant at the Upper Hudson Library System. It partners local public libraries with area middle schools to design storytelling programs that not only support the NYS Learning Standards but also promote lifelong learning.

Last spring, Farnsworth librarian Sheila DiMaggio partnered with Ginny LaJuene of the Altamont Free Library to bring professional storyteller Marni Gillard, a former Niskayuna teacher, into the classroom to help students understand the basic conventions of storytelling.

Gillard has been in language arts classes many times, performing and working with students to help them develop their own stories and their storytelling techniques.

"It is something the kids will always remember," says Karen Rogotzke. "They have the opportunity to take on a different persona and express themselves in new ways."

"It’s fun to step outside of your personality and make stories up as you go along," says 7th grader Kevin Root.

Performing also opens up social groups. "As students get to know each other better through the characters they play," says Rogotzke.

DiMaggio agrees, "Students realize that what they have to say is important enough to be heard by others."

The art of performance

Although storyteller Marni Gillard has presented to all four Mohawk 7A language arts classes throughout the year, a focus group of 30 students, led by Rogotzke, has been identified to participate in Gillard’s final three workshops. Of these students, 10 will be chosen to attend a three-day storytelling workshop over February break. During this time, students will learn about library resources and research methods to help them develop their stories for performance.

DiMaggio, Gillard, LaJuene and Rogotzke will continue to help the students prepare for the final stage of the project, a performance at the Riverway Storytelling Festival.

"It’s amazing the number of quiet, shy, self-conscious kids who are now becoming excited to perform at a festival in front of hundreds of people," Rogotzke said.