Let's meet a Polar Bear

STORYTELLING SESSION

LET'S MEET A BEAR

Sources

Introducing the characters

WARM UP

STORYTELLING

Follow the polar bears by Sonia W. Black

FOLLOW UPLaboratory

Polar expedition

Before storytelling

Gretel dropped on a floor a white blanket and she spread some small white Styrofoam cubes all over the blanket to represent the ice. She also brought a soft toy of a polar bear to introduce the main character to the audience.

Gretel invited children to focus their attention on specific sequences of the story and ask them to pretend to take photos. The storyteller can prepare (before the storytelling session) some images taken from the picture book or inspired by the story. As children pretend to take a photo, the narrator can pick one of the images he/she has prepared and show it to the audience saying “Look! What a nice photo! Thankyou!”. All the images can be placed on a poster about the polar expedition and the encounter with the polar bears (Picture). After the storytelling, the narrator can also add some captions under the pictures, children can help him/her suggesting what he/she should write retrieving the information from the story they have just listened to.

In order to underline the importance of responsible behaviors for the preservation of the environment and animals ‘habitat we suggest involving children in crafting activities with recycled materials. Here are some pictures of the activity children did in the library. The narrator and children used plastic plates and other recycled materials to create polar bears.