Area students perform in artsFUSION Storytelling Festival
By Tracy Solimeno
Last week, approximately 350 students from Iron Springs, Enoch, Three Peaks, and North Elementary participated in the artsFUSION Storytelling Festival at Southern Utah University.
The Storytelling Festival was a culmination of a year-long project. In the fall, Donald Davis and Eliot Wilcox from Timpanogos Storytelling Institute held a workshop at SUU for elementary teachers and SUU students. A group of six SUU education students worked with classroom teachers over the school year to prepare for this festival.
“Storytelling plays a tremendous role in education because it plays such an important role in our brains,” said Marilee Cook, education director at Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. “For most of the history of humanity, facts and information were passed from generation to generation through oral storytelling. Our brains are programmed for story. That means if we want students to remember content knowledge and facts, or have empathy for their classmates, or understand social norms, or even create positive, successful narratives for their lives, we can do that seamlessly through story. Stories capture attention, build emotion, and fix information in our minds. I tell students and teachers alike that if you want to have influence to help others think what you think and feel what you feel, there is no better brain hack than a compelling story.”
SUU education majors used their own interests and experience to develop and explore storytelling through a variety of projects. The elements of plot, character, and emotion were integrated into the classroom through puppetry, visual arts, vocal performance, theater, and dance.
“Working with Ms. Orton’s fourth grade class was amazing! I got to watch the kids tell their own stories through art,” said Stacie Heiner, an SUU art education major. “The best part was watching them practice their parts for the performance. The emotion in one sentence can tell a story all its own.”
“Sometimes being a teacher feels impossible, but when I get into a really successful project with students it takes the focus off of myself and my worries, and I remember that everything is for them,” said Emma Coombs Cole, an SUU education major. “These students were amazing to work with, and I couldn’t be more proud of the work they did.”
“The SUU students have learned so much from working in elementary classes this year, and their elementary students have had a great time preparing,” said Alisa Petersen, Beverley Taylor Sorenson endowed chair of elementary arts education. “I am happy that we could have this culminating event. I am so excited that we were able to celebrate the creative work of so many elementary students and their teachers.”
ArtsFUSION was created in SUU’s college of education and human development. ArtsFUSION offers arts professional development opportunities for elementary teachers and administrators in Millard, Sevier, Wayne, Beaver, Iron, Piute, and Garfield Counties. For more information, please visit suu.edu/artsfusion.
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