Live Drawing During Storytelling: Using Book Creator

 Live Drawing During Storytelling

by Caroline Ramsey Musselwhite 

 WHY.  So, I'm trying to 'up my game', making Literacy Group more interactive. My group has told me in the past that they really like it when I show videos where an artist illustrates as they describe. So, I decided to try to illustrate it as I shared the folk tale.  

 

WHAT.  Live illustration of a folktale.  We are studying Scotland in Literacy Group, and I wanted to share
a folktale.  I found a great website with a wide range of tales:  Fairytalez

 

You can search that website by region, and I found a lovely story that was listed as both short (less than 5 minutes) and easy (simple vocabulary, with limited local dialect).  I chose The Gillie Dhu  because it met
those criteria, was interesting, and would be easy to illustrate.

HOW.  I read the tale a few times, and picked some parts that would be easy and interesting to illustrate.  I chose the Book Creater app, as it's quite simple, but allows very quick access to:  typing, inserting photos, drawing, and recording.  The drawing was especially helpful, because it includes:

- multiple colors

- three choices for line thickness, and, most importantly,

- and undo button!!

 Before the Storytelling.   First, I started the story, making about 14 pages with text.   I drew a couple of pictures in advance, to save time (e.g., Jessie).  I also stored a few pictures in advance (e.g., Gillie Dhu, animals), to make it go more quickly. 

During the Storytelling.  I I'm not an artist by any stretch, but I was quickly able to:

- Add to drawings.  For example, I drew in the woods as I illustrated the page describing how Jessie walked in the woods.  When she started crying, I added tears to her face.  On another page, the

Gillie Dhu says to Jessie:  “Your tear-drops are falling like dew on the blue flowers at your feet!”  So I quickly drew both teardrops and blue flowers at her feet.

- Insert photos.  As I got to the part about the Gillie Dhu, I inserted his photo.  Similarly, I added each animal as the Gillie Dhu talked about knowing all the parts . . . the rabbit's path, the hare's path, the fox's path, etc.

 

 

REVIEW.  Happily, this first adventure went really well. I think it added to the story engagement (e.g., pulling in animal pics as I narrated, drawing her home
'live). It was a way to add visual supports that were kind of animated. At the end, one student used her eye gaze device to say MOST POWERFUL and another said. LOVE IT. GREAT. GOOD JOB. Really really made my day!