Creating Interactive School Storytimes with Music, Play, and More

Facilitating storytimes in school settings comes with a different set of challenges than storytimes in a public library. While most educators, school librarians, and outreach specialists already know the benefits of music, movement, and play in early learning, it can be daunting to lead a large group of young children in these kinds of activities without many adults present to curb chaos.

This webinar will cover how to create and implement interactive storytimes for children ages 3 to 7 in a school or classroom setting. Children’s library specialist Alyssa Jewell will explore the most effective interactive storytime designs for school settings. She’ll also discuss how to select the best materials for interactive storytimes as well as how to present books, stories, and action songs effectively. Classroom management strategies will also be explored.

This event is offered as part of ALA Learning's Summer of School Library Learning.

Participants will leave with:

A new toolkit of interactive storytime techniques that spark student engagement.
Go-to resource lists of books, songs, and movement activities for common themes and units and how they tie into educational standards.
Tips for classroom management when facilitating interactive storytime in a school setting.

Alyssa Jewell, MLIS, is a musician and children’s library specialist from Birmingham, Alabama. Her favorite part of the job is storytime. Before entering the library world, Jewell graduated from Emerson College with a degree in theatre education and a minor in psychology. She is certified to teach grades K–12 and has taught theater, music, and movement in a variety of educational settings. She is passionate about creating next-level storytimes infused with these practices and loves bringing stories to life for children and families. She has also cowritten three musicals for young audiences and four indie rock albums.

This event will be hosted in Zoom. Automatic captions will be enabled for this event. This event will be recorded, and registrants will receive access to the recording within a day after the event ends.

If you have questions or requests regarding accessibility, contact us at ce@ala.org or at 312-280-5100.