Welcome to The Apple Seed! We are a storytelling podcast, and our main goal is to inspire our listeners to tell their own stories, and consider the stories of the people around them and how they interact. Our podcast has been around for 10 years now, and during that time, we have collected many stories we love from world class storytellers. We have also collected stories that are built for educational purposes for a myriad of purposes. By partnering with ArtsExpress, we are bringing these stories and storytelling to the classroom with integrated lesson plans to enhance the engagement of students and creating purpose behind words.
Storytelling itself is not only a fun thing to do with friends, but it is an art form that challenges the effectiveness of communication. With students developing communication skills throughout their time in school, storytelling naturally allows for students to grow and improve at their own pace. Since every lesson plan starts by listening to an Apple Seed story, we hope your classes will take a break from talking and learn how to listen intently, too.
Ultimately, storytelling gives students opportunities to learn more about their place in the world and what makes their presence important. The history of oral language has been a foundational tool in teaching literacy and reading comprehension. When considering what stories to use for the curriculum, we considered the age and abilities of the students, as well as core concepts and standards. While the lesson plans are to help you as the teacher create new learning opportunities for your students connected to learning standards, our main priority is furthering the students’ knowledge and understanding of how they impact the world around them, be it through storytelling, literacy, or discussion.
Telling stories is a two-way street. While a teller does not need an audience to tell stories, it is the audience that creates purpose. A person can listen to any story, but it is the teller that connects to the individuals that make up the audience. Storytelling creates intentional and curious learners as they learn the inherit value in every classmate’s voice. We welcome you to the Apple Seed, a storytelling podcast for people, including your students and you.
