Storyteller's Toolbox with Sherry Norfolk
From Kennedy Center: Teaching Artists Present · 2020
10 minK1st2nd3rd4th5thTheatreReading & Writing (ELA)
Summary
Professional storyteller Sherry Norfolk shares the tools a storyteller uses — voice, gesture, repetition, and imagination — to bring a tale to life. Part of the Kennedy Center's Teaching Artists Present series — roll it and let students follow along in a cleared space, then try it themselves.
Viewer safety
All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
This teaching-artist activity gets everyone acting and imagining together.
- What did you use to create your character or scene — your voice, your face, your body?
- Where did your ideas come from?
- How could you change it to surprise your audience?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: character, gesture, imagine, scene, audience.
Try it: Follow along with the teaching artist, then create a short moment of your own and perform it for a partner.