LISTENING TO A TOLD STORY IS NOT JUST CHILD’S PLAY

STORY IS FOR ALL OF US!

 

 

THE THEORY OF EIGHT FACETS OF INTELLIGENCE. 

 

This theory highlights the fact that we exist in a number of contexts which both call for and nourish different categories of intelligence.

 

The eight intelligences, meshed with myth and legend, folktale and faerie tale are part of each of us and we use all or some of them in different ways and degrees.

How can we as storytellers provide the opportunities, environment, atmosphere, props, attitudes, and the activities that will enrich the lives of our community? How best can we effectively encourage audience participation?     One way is to include in our repertoire stories and sequences to appeal to all intelligences, and perhaps this is because a STORYTELLER uses all of these.

These are eight facets of intelligence

Verbal/linguistic

The ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings.

We use words to remember the past, to connect to the present, to look to the future. Linguistic learners are the ones who read, write and tell stories, who enjoy expressing themselves through word games, debating, persuading, asking questions and defining problems.

???  Does your storytelling ability include

ó           encouraging storytelling skills

ó           dramatising stories or poetry for an audience .

ó           listening to other professional storytellers

ó           publishing stories, poetry

Logical-Mathematical

the ability to calculate, quantify, consider propositions and hypotheses, and carry out complex mathematical operations.

Logical/mathematical learners find in story the chance to explore abstract patterns, categorize, calculate, find solutions, and solve problems.

How strong did Maui's rope have to be to haul up the island from the depths of the ocean?

How many men could fit into the Trojan horse?

How far to London for Dick Wittington?

How many snakes grew from Medusa's head?

How long was the string needed to escape from the labyrinth?

???  Does your storytelling ability include

ó           posing and solving problems related to folklore

ó           changing scenarios in a story. What if... Suppose that...

ó           recognise common structures in folklore by comparing, contrasting, comparing patterns across cultures

Visual/Spatial

the ability to think in two and three dimensions.

These are our dreamers and daydreamers who visualise, imagine, paint, draw, and work with colour and image. Give a listeners a paintbrush or a pencil and watch them put story down on paper via image and representation.

???   Does your storytelling ability include

ó           using fibre, fabric and embellishments to create a story focus

Musical/Rhythmic

the ability to discern and use pitch, rhythm, timbre, and tone.

These listeners listen and respond to music, sing, compose music and rhythmic patterns and sense music where the rest of us sense words. Think of the great stories and someone has written the symphony, the opera, a song or with today's listeners a rap. The great ballets, tribal dances, folk dances are story set to music and movement.

???   Does your storytelling ability include

ó           turning a folktale into a song, a rap, a rhythm

ó           Using music as a background.

ó           Listening to CD.

ó           making individual CD recordings

Bodily-Kinaesthetic

the capacity to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical skills, including both large and fine motor skills.

All the stories contain shape and movement, interaction with space. Bodily/kinaesthetic listeners interpret story and process knowledge through dance and physical expression. They invent, create models, dramatise and demonstrate how to do things

???   Does your storytelling ability include

ó           Dancing a story

ó           Comparing cultural variations of a story portrayed through dance

ó           identifying the importance of dance in different cultural settings.

Interpersonal

the ability to understand and interact with others effectively.

Interpersonal listeners are the talkers, the joiners, the consensus builders, the listeners and communicators, the ones who understand others’ stories. They empathise with and understand others feelings. They share stories because stories need listeners as much as tellers. They love to share the wonder tales, trickster tales, and humorous tales, tales ofenchantment, mystery and suspense. Witness the growth of Glistening Waters -the story festival in the Wairarapa.

???   Does your storytelling ability include

ó           Creating  a 'magical' listening space to listen to a story

ó           Selecting from anthologies of stories

ó           Communicating feelings and reactions to stories in a group situation.

 

Intrapersonal

the ability to understand through self-paced instruction.

 

There are times when intra personal listeners need to spend time alone reflecting about story in order to understand the patterns, how story resonates and

thereby create their own stories. The introspective, self- aware students who need time and peace to absorb and analyse stories.

 

??? Does your storytelling ability include

ó           keeping journal entries about characters, situations, scenes.

ó           Creating personal stories

 

Naturalistic

the capacity to observe, interpret and construct meaning from the natural world.

 

The collectors, the organisers, the pattern-makers who revel in observing  characteristics in the world around them.

Does your storytelling ability include

 

Relating how ‘pourquoi’ legends  explain natural phenomena

ó           Tracing cultural story patterns in nature e.g. Aboriginal Dreamtime stories

ó           interpreting Polynesian, Greek and Roman star constellations

ó           Compiling a folder of cultural symbols characteristically associated with stories e.g. mosaics, engravings, brass rubbings, Tukutuku panels, Celtic patterns, Tapa cloth designs, Moko, wheat sheaves, Kumihimo braiding from Japanese, Peruvian and Inca cultures, Renaissance paintings