Storytelling and Early Literacy

ONLINE RESOURCES
Somali Bilingual Book Project, Minnesota Humanities Center
http://www.minnesotahumanities.org/Bilingual/somalifacts.htm
The Minnesota Humanities Centers project includes the publication of four Somali folktales
never before published as individual, fully illustrated childrens books. Titles include: The Lions
Share/Qayb Libaax, Dhegdheer, Wiil Waal, and The Travels of Igal Shidad. An audio CD,
Sheekoy, Sheeko, Sheeko Xariira, of all four stories and additional support materials for
educators are also available.
Caterpillar Exchange Board
http://www.eric-carle.com/catexchange.html
This bulletin board is full of ideas from teachers and parents whove used any of Eric Carles
books in creative ways. Ideas range from using bulletin boards, felt boards, board games for The
Very Hungry Caterpillar and flannel sets for Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Both
of these books are in English and Somali.
Center on English Learning and Development - Literacy Corner
http://cela.albany.edu/literacycorner/activities/default.htm
This is a great resource for teachers of young children (ages 3-6). It has a ton of activities by
language strand (e.g., speaking, listening), theme (e.g., nature, puppets), type (e.g., finger game,
book making), or literacy skill (e.g., rhyming, phonemic awareness). All the activities are
suitable for typically developing children 3-6 years old.
DLTK Growing Together
http://www.dltk-teach.com/books/hungrycaterpillar/felt_fun.htm
This website gives ideas on how to make felt board characters and puppets with Eric Carles The
Very Hungry Caterpillar. Seven templates (in color or black & white) are given online. Also
available are Story Sequencing Cards where you arrange a series of picture cards in the logical
order to create the story from beginning to end. Templates are available for this activity as well.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar is available in both English and Somali.
International Digital Childrens Library
http://www.icdlbooks.org/index.shtml
A collection of scanned childrens books from all around the world. Families can view the
books online and click through the pages together. You can do a search by age group, the kind
of book (short book, picture book), and by language no Somali.
Minnesota Storytime, Minnesota Humanities Center
http://minnesotahumanities.org/Literacy/library.htm
A collection of free pdf reading guides for childrens books with a Minnesota author or
________________________
Sheeko Wadaag/Sharing Stories
Minnesota Humanities Center
www.minnesotahumanities.org

illustrator. Guides are currently available for bilingual Somali-English books published by the
Minnesota Humanities Center.
Mirage Childrens Theatre Company, http://www.miragetheatre.co.uk
This company has dual-language story tapes and acting scripts in English and Somali for the
following books: Goldilocks & the Three Bears and the Three Billy Goats Gruff.
Northstar Storytelling League
http://www.northstarstorytelling.org/resources.html
A nonprofit organization of storytellers includes this list of storytelling links.
Online Multicultural Communities Gateway, Western Australia
http://www.multicultural.online.wa.gov.au/cgibin/dpms/dpr.cgi/dpmsref51/eccru/original/Website3Stories.pdf
This pdf contains three stories one of which is a traditional Somali story.
Public Broadcasting System Early Childhood Educator Resources
http://www.pbs.org/teachersource/arts_lit/prek-storytelling.html
This PBS website has lesson plans and activities for Pre-K through 12th grade (organized by
subject area, grade, and correlated to several state curricula). It has 12 different activities and
lessons on Storytelling and two activities/lessons on Folklore.
Somali Folktale Project Sheekooyin Curruread, Lyndale School S.P.I.R.A.L. Project
http://www3.mpls.k12.mn.us/schools/elementary/lyndale/somali/tocword.html
The primary goal of this project is to help retain some of rich oral tradition of Somali culture.
Each story has the same format: an English version of the story, followed by a Somali version.
The story is then written as a play (in English). A page of background material with classroom
ideas and vocabulary is included as well as two student pages (with answer keys) - a cloze
activity and a sequencing activity. An example of one activity is listed at the front of this
section. There are 19 folktales in this collection.
Storyteller, Mike Mann
http://www.storymann.com
This storyteller has done presentations on the connections between storytelling and early literacy.
What Can I Say? Storytimes and Early Literacy
www.ala.org/ala/pla/plaissues/earlylit/deepeningtheimpact/storytimeapp/whatsay.pdf
This four-page handout provides a script that highlights three different categories: Storytime
Pieces (books, strategies), Early Literacy Skill, and the Communication to Parent/Caregiver. For
example, with Little Red Hen by Golden, children will learn print awareness. Communication to
Parent / Caregiver: Run your finger along the lines of repeated text. Running your finger along
the words you are reading from time to time helps children understand that you are reading the
words, not the pictures. It also helps them understand that in English we read from left to right
and from top to bottom of a page.
________________________
Sheeko Wadaag/Sharing Stories
Minnesota Humanities Center
www.minnesotahumanities.org

VIDEOS-DVDs
Kala Maan ($8), Minneapolis Public Schools, Funded Programs Office, 807 NE Broadway,
Minneapolis, MN 55413 or fax order form to 612-668-0471
http://statefed.mpls.k12.mn.us/sites/d17c000e-7f2e-4223-89113eabdc5d270e/uploads/somali_order_form.pdf
Kala Maan means different states of mind, how you see things and what you value in the
Somali language. The video illustrates the generational and cultural gaps that develop as adults
and children adapt to a new culture in different ways and at different rates. It highlights the
stresses of Somali students and families, acculturation issues and the need for inter-generational
connections to preserve the Somali culture in a multi-cultural world. The video is 45 minutes
long and comes with a copy of the English voice-over script.
ARTICLES AND BOOKS
Bibliography of bilingual Somali-English childrens picture books
Somali Bilingual Initiative, Minnesota Humanities Center
http://www.minnesotahumanities.org/Resources/somali.htm
Brand, Susan Trostle and Jeanne M. Donato. Storytelling in Emergent Literacy: Fostering
Multiple Intelligence. New York: Delmat Thomson Learning, 2001.
This book is divided into 15 chapters. The first chapter addresses the benefits of storytelling.
The second chapter presents information on different theories by researchers. The third chapter
outlines the various methods of storytelling and the grade level for which it is appropriate,
theme/subject it addresses, and the titles of books one can use. Chapters 4 through 15 present 48
stories, and, for each, three creative, multiple intelligence/content area activities. Photographs,
recipes, songs, and illustrations accompany the stories.
Carlson, Ann D. Flannelboard Stories For Infants And Toddlers. Spanish translation by AnaElba Pavon, Maria Kramer, & Isabel Delgadillo-Romo for Bibliotecas para la Gente. Chicago,
IL: American Library Association, 2005.
Cobb, Jane. I'
m A Little Teapot! Presenting Preschool Storytime. Vancouver, British Columbia ;
Point Roberts, Wash: Black Sheep Press, c1996
Sierra, Judy. The Flannel Board Storytelling Book. New York : H.W. Wilson, 1997.
Walsh, D., Parker, K, & Walsh, M. (2001). Dr. Daves Cyberhood: Making Media Choices that
Create a Healthy Environment for your Kids. National Institute on Media and the Family.

________________________
Sheeko Wadaag/Sharing Stories
Minnesota Humanities Center
www.minnesotahumanities.org