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A residency with David Novak is A Telling Experience!
David's residencies directly address competency goals in the Arts and English, and core concepts in Science for Inquiry, Systems, Order, Change and Constancy as they explore the natural world for ancient patterns that create new stories. As your class discovers and creates stories, Social Studies competencies are involved when they practice pattern recognition, problem solving, interpretation, and public speaking.
Residencies can run from one day to several weeks. Below is a list of basic residencies and classes David offers. For more information, contact David now to discuss customizing A Telling Experience to your needs.
Here Are Some Popular Themes:
Story Weaving This residency introduces the use of string figures for the presentation of oral narratives in world cultures, including African, Native American, Polynesian, Asian, and European. The residency culminates in a public presentation of student work. This residency links with the assembly program First Books.
Something Beautiful This residency is inspired by Sharon Dennis Wyeth’s book "Something Beautiful." Students learn to identify beauty in the world around them, to describe beautiful places and people, and effectively share their experience via storytelling.
Add Just One More Through storytelling, basic math concepts such as chain sequences, cumulative events, additions, subtractions, and pattern recognition will be conveyed so that students can use and explore these concepts to create their own unique works. Students will make and use a paper folded storytelling tool to initiate and generate new ideas for narratives that will be practiced orally, visually, and in written form.
Where The Stories Begin Did we get stories from stones, writing from birds, and composition from caterpillars? This residency connects stories with nature using personal experience, folk tales, myth, and history. Students learn new strategies for identifying and creating stories. This residency links with They Came From Land and Sky
What Teachers Say:
Amazing...at the mention of your name, people's countenance change. Frowns, blank expressions or just mildly happy faces all turn into beams! When asked what story they liked best, they're quick to name it and quote at least their favorite line. But, again, the most amazing reaction to your name before and after your visit is that all who have heard you react the same way. They beam at the mention of your name.
––Beverly McBrayer, Librarian Hall-Fletcher Elementary, Asheville, NC
"David,
I wanted to share with you something you inspired. My class has written pour quoi tales and today we had the parents come in for our storytellers' campfire. We made a "campfire" out of a crate, a lamp, and yellow and orange tissue paper taped around the outside. We made construction paper twigs and sticks then snapped our fingers, popped our palms, and slapped our hands to get our fire going. Finally we warmed them by the blaze before sharing our stories with our parents. It was magical! THANK YOU!"
––Fran Emmel, Sterling School, Greenville, SC
"David,
Thank you again for coming to visit. The class was very excited both before and after your presentation. I thought the stories correlated nicely with some of the subject matter we have been working on in class and the students enjoyed being able to actively participate. I hope you will be available in the future for more telling experiences. I have told several others of your storytelling and I hope they will take advantage of this opportunity.
Thanks!"––Jonathan Burnette, North Buncombe Elementary, NC
"Beyond the artistic excellence which he so abundantly conveys, David is one of the most probing thinkers that I know on a wide range of performance issues. He is exceedingly well-trained in the gamut of performance skills, from mime and clowning to acting and directing, from the handling of dense poetic text to improvisation and movement. He applies these skills to create an environment of excitement and shared discovery, in the theater or in the classroom. Many of our students have cited David’s classes as important milestones in their academic careers at ETSU. "
––Joseph Sobol, Ph.D., Coordinator, ETSU Storytelling Graduate Program
David teaches story arts on many levels. As a Teaching Artist for numerous arts education rosters...
   
And on the faculties of East Tennessee State University and A-B Techniocal Community College...
 
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Morehead School of Expressive Arts in Greensboro, NC: more... Indian Creek Elementary in Marion, IA:  more. |