In with Oni
Teaching Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
Fran Stallings, a storyteller based in Oklahoma, works on a weekly basis with a local 2nd grade class (7- to 8-year-old children). Their classteacher, Mr C, uses the story she tells as the basis for an amazing amount of his teaching, in particular in the STEM subjects.
Fran has posted some details of this work on the Storytell listserv. She has generously given permission for me to publish some of them here – until such time as she creates pages on her own website.
Below are some of them.
In With Oni
(Japan, pp 71-77 in The Price of Three Stories, Fujita-san’s story for Setsubun, Feb 3: end of winter, at least near Tokyo!)
When other villagers were getting rid of the past year’s bad luck by shouting “Oni get out! Good luck come in!” a young couple who had had several years of bad luck decided that they might as well shout “Oni come in!” – and the Oni came.
The couple showed them hospitality, even pawning wife’s best petticoat to buy snacks and sake. The chief Oni was so grateful, he gave her his tigerskin to pawn, and then they partied hard all night! But at dawn they dashed back to the underworld in such a hurry that they left behind many magical objects. These the young couple kept safe, unused: but everything they did that year prospered.
They prepared for the next Setsubun with a redecorated house, new clothes, and lots of food and drink. They shouted “Oni come in!” but none came.
The boss had scolded them for leaving their magic items behind, and forbade any more parties.
But this couple and their descendants have continued to have good luck, and they continue to shout “Oni come in!” when everyone else is shouting “Oni get out!”
I explained Oni (with another of Fujita-san’s stories) and Asian new year customs. Although Japan now celebrates Jan 1 on our solar calendar, China and many other Asian countries still celebrate with the lunar calendar.
STEM lessons on Sun, Moon, time keeping, calendars.
The students concluded that the moral was, “Be kind to those everyone else rejects.”
Below are some more of Fran’s posts
They are in no particular order, but serve to show what is possible.
Visit Fran’s website
to find more about her wide range of work.
In particular, explore the Earth Teller Tales, where she shares many articles about teaching natural science through storytelling.
Fran’s article The Web of Silence: Storytelling’s Power to Hypnotize is a deep exploration of many aspects of the storytelling experience, including the storytelling trance. It also offers great insight into the whole art itself.
Fran can be contacted here.
Further resources relating to storytelling in schools
- Science teaching: Hawthorn Press
- Generally using storytelling in schools: Storytelling schools
Go here for a list of all tales included on this site
Go here to receive an e-mail notification when new tales are added
Permission to tell outlines my views on copyright
For those who are teachers: Telling stories in the classroom: basing language teaching on storytelling