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Suitable age range
This event is suitable for young people from 4-16years
Description
| The workshop can take place over a half or full day. I will introduce pupils to a range of Jamaican traditions. I have a market stall, which I take, into the schools with a whole range of fruit and vegetables from the Caribbean, which the pupils are then able to try (this ties in with eating healthily). |
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I tell 'Anancy' stories in Patois, bringing these colourful stories to life with sound effects. There are opportunities for pupils to learn and enjoy traditional Jamaican folk songs.
The exact form of the workshop is designed to suit the specific age range of the pupils. |
Event aims
The event aims to increase cultural awareness in a fun and educational way. The County of Somerset has very few people from black or minority ethnic groups, people from ethnic groups in this area are eight times more likely to be racially abused or attacked than anywhere else in the country.
The idea is to introduce pupils to an important and influential storytelling tradition whilst highlighting the fact that they are part of a global community. Pupils will learn about aspects of Jamaican culture and traditions whilst learning about some of the characteristics of Jamaican patois. |
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They will also experience the techniques and qualities of effective storytelling. The workshop can be adapted to be used across the curriculum, for example, citizenship, history, geography, art, music and literacy and numeracy.
Organisation
A full day workshop would focus on storytelling and traditional folksongs in the morning. The work that I do with children includes using a wide range of percussion instruments for sound effects, which is a feature of storytelling that I emphasise.
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I also take a portable recording unit to the workshop and in the afternoon, pupils are able to record songs and stories, in order to make their own CD. They also take photographs and create their own CD covers. Another possible element in the day would be a focus on analysis of the stories, looking for common elements in traditional stories. |
I have worked with groups of children from 15 to a 150.
Evaluation
Ways of evaluating Storytelling workshops are agreed at an initial planning meeting. For younger children this may involve asking children to respond to a small number of questions about their experiences by choosing 'smiley' faces that depict different emotions. Other ways of evaluating the success of the event could include:
- Use of disposable cameras
- Small group discussions with pupils during the day
- Children's work following the event
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Due to Arts Council funding 2006-2007 I have taken the workshop
to in excess of 100 schools. We have also worked in early years
centers, colleges, theatres, and festivals including Glastonbury.
| I started the workshops
in schools in Somerset in February 2005 to date I have
taken the workshop to many schools in the area, and hundreds
of children have benefited from the workshop. Bookings
are made through contacting the schools from a Somerset
school directory and through workshops that I have led
at conferences for newly qualified and experienced teachers. |
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Initially funding for the first few schools was provided by The Children's Fund to cover half of the workshop costs, this was money left over which was specifically to cover Black History projects. More recently Black History month (October) funding, of £100 per workshop, was provided by the County Council as a contribution to the cost. I have had lots of encouragement from Somerset Racial Equality Council of which I am an executive committee member. I have also received some funding from West Somerset Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, which I have used to provide learning aids and programmes in local schools. Myself and the technician hired for these workshops are enhanced CRB checked and I am registered with Somerset Partnerships Art Education Agency. |
I believe very strongly that raising cultural awareness in an area such as this is vital as there is much that we can learn from the ways of life, traditions, customs and world views of people from other ethnic groups, countries and cultures. Pupils will benefit greatly in terms of the development of anti-racist values and multi-cultural understanding. This is especially important for children and young people in Somerset, which has relatively few residents from minority ethnic groups.
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