Author uses wedgies, rock & roll music to get students to "Tell Story"

Posted Feb 9, 2012 By Jill Hudson

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EMC News - Put an award-winning children's' writer, a gym full of school kids, play classic rock, add stories full of humour - about boogers, cockroach-infested hockey equipment and a giant slingshot together, and you will find kids wound up and enthused about "writing story."

Sigmund Brouwer (author of 19 books including Timberwolf Rivals and Rebel Glory) used these tales to hook his listeners during his Rock and Roll Literacy presentation on Monday, Jan. 30, at Maynard Public School. He demonstrated how writers use the "right story, right time, and right audience for the right feeling" to reach their audience and how "telling story" can "mess with" a reader to invoke a feeling or reaction.

The school had already made a commitment to reading and writing - that can be witnessed with the reading worm that works its way throughout the hallway, in celebration of Literacy Day.

Youngsters from kindergarten to Grade 6 were captivated by his fun presentation. Classic rock was played, kids were asked to clap along, play air guitar and drums. Between the giggles and hilarity, Brouwer wove wisdom about writing techniques and why it is important to learn to read and write well.

In an interview after addressing the students, the author shared his motivation of his Rock and Roll Literacy presentation.

"My purpose is to get them inspired to write by looking at writing as a delivery system for STORY and that we all love STORY. In essence, story becomes the motivator to write because too often we just tell them to write without giving them a clear enough motivation," said Brouwer.

Brouwer had the school principal, Allan Perry dance to "Staying Alive" and help lead Dobie Gray's song, "Drift Away" to receive free books.

"You notice the engagement of the kids - they are right into it. Anybody who can keep kids focused for an hour, including kindergarten - and get them focused on telling stories, reading and writing and literacy - got my vote," said the principal after the presentation.

"I think everybody thoroughly enjoyed everything and I think they're going to rock right into literacy!" said Lynn Heibein, Learning Commons Informationist - or as the author called her, "the STORY Diva."

She said the students are supportive of authors and illustrators and the presentation would provide excellent material for lessons. "The teachers take these ideas and they bring them right into the classroom as well."

One story the author told which had the crowd howling with laughter while grimacing was about a young hockey player who came onto the ice and frantically stripped off his equipment. The player had hung his equipment in an area of the change room which was infested with cockroaches - which found their way into his equipment and were running all over his body under his jersey and hockey pants. After he stripped off his equipment, cockroaches were all over the ice and players began shooting the bugs at the goaltender.

He also told stories about scientists who studied how much "cow gas" a bovine could produce per day, of a person picking his nose so hard that, "He's pushing out his eyeball" - and about wanting to look away but being hooked.

He taught the lesson, "The worse the problem is - the better the story" through illustration. He told of a giant slingshot made from two fence posts in a field with a bike tube as the elastic. The projectile was aimed at the pond - but the rock continued past the water and went into a field toward some cows. The good news is the cow did get up and start eating grass again after it was hit. He explained that if the rock missed the cow it would have been good for the cow - but bad for the story. He built the story up in children's minds by suggesting, "What if it was a bull...?" -

He also taught the students to consider who is reading the story.

"When you want to mess with your Mom or Dad or teacher through story you have to first go, "What can get to them?" He told the students to write who, where, when and what is happening and to use the why and how to hook the reader.

Brouwer included a brief lesson about Rock & Roll music - he used songs to signify feelings - and stated that people get lost in music.

"We can get lost in a great song - we can also get lost in great story! Everyone of you was born to tell story. Humans are the only creatures in the world to tell story. To tell story is what makes us human and to be human is to tell story."




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