Name or title of organization:
The Art of Musical Storytelling

Description [who you are and what you do]:
Laurie Lynn Clark, musical storyteller for children collaborates with the Alberta Arts Council and Ghost River Rediscovery Cultural Outdoor Education Program to enhance art and music curriculum throughout children's Hospitals and Canada's Elementary Schools- Public/Catholic/ Native Reserve Schools. Laurie works in partnership with Educational Liaisons (teachers/principles) to reestablish the lost art of storytelling as a teaching technique: She integrates puppetry with song with hand painted illustrations as she delivers stories to a youthful audience (k-Grade 4). Children participate in dramatizing the story to create a performance project that includes the entire audience.

Mission of Your Organization:
1] Explanation of Artistic Choices: Musical Storytelling in the Classroom (K to Grade 3) Laurie Clark's artistic choice is to integrate core music curriculum into a musical storytelling collaborative workshop throughout the Public, Catholic and Aboriginal Reserve School systems. This artistic choice offers teachers and youth a creatively educational avenue to implement ideas through the important mode of learning: Purposeful Play. The collaborative workshop – one hour time duration- also makes efficient use of teachers limited instructional time. The Art of Storytelling has always been a vital part of cultural identity of the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. Stories were told to teach lessons, give warnings and keep history alive: For this reason Laurie chooses to share her Collaborative Storytelling Workshop with Aboriginal Reserve Schools. [2] Objectives of the Project: Musical Storytelling alongside the dramatic dance of Puppetry fosters creative thinking, stimulates the imagination, encourages children to express ideas musically, develop lyrical language and share thoughts and feelings through body motion, song and puppet manipulation. The composition, 'A Journey' , is a compilation of lyrical verse (CD: 7 Tracks) expressing the story line's theme and characterization. The creative delivery of this musical tale (funded by FACTOR) combined with the inspirational participation of teachers and youth will result in a highly interactive and educational Musical Storytelling presentation. The collaborative work between professional artist, teacher and student taps into a variety of Reflexive Learning/Teaching Styles: Musical Storytelling implements a powerful learning stimulus causing children and teachers to act and make something happen whether it be through dance, song and/or puppet manipulation. [3] Collaborative Process and Nature of Community Participation: The collaborative process of this Musical Storytelling Workshop (1 hour in length) stimulates student's engagement and participation with the following Provincial Music Curriculum Standards: a) Presents a setting for Active Learning. b) Dance, Lyrical Voice Interpretation and Song will promote understanding and sharing ideas of story elements. c) The Musical Story 'A Journey' is executed as a collaborative performance project. [4] Working Schedule for the Collaborative Project: One hour Collaborative Musical Storytelling Workshop: a) Introduction: (5 minutes) Introduce the Project as a Musical Dramatization of the musical Tale 'A Journey': Children sit in a circle. The Stage is set in the middle of the Circle. b) Laurie delivers Character Idea-Word Cards to each child. (5 minutes) The Character Cards will stimulate a creative response (sharing of ideas) from each child throughout the story. These cards will guarantee individual participation from every child throughout the story's theme development. c)The Storytelling Collaboration Begins: (30 minutes) As Laurie introduces each Song Track and Character, she calls upon individual children to help express the story's themes through the use of visual art, motion in dance, interpreting poetic verse, song and puppet manipulation. d) Eagle's Flight Lullaby: (5 minutes) An Imagination Game for the Collective Group. Children will be asked to close their eyes and imagine the Character's final destination in this Tale while listening to Track 6: Eagle's Flight Lullaby. (CD's recording funded by Alberta Art's Council: This is an excellent calming Imagination Exercise to settle 25 energetic children and prepare them for the final stage of the workshop: The Talking Circle. e) The Talking Circle: (15 minutes) Incorporates - Reflection --Dialog --Learning/Listening An Eagle Feather is passed around the circle of children. The Act of holding and passing the Eagle Feather offers each child a time to share their unique ideas /or/ listen to other unique ideas about the story's props/ themes/ music and characters. Please recognize the importance of exercising Talking Circles especially when concentrating upon Aboriginal Cultural Practices.

Keywords:
art music children teachers Alberta Board of Education Reserve schools storytelling native elders teaching lessons