BEAVER TOWNSHIP Visiting kids, storyteller stresses the importance of communication

The visit was part of the school's right-to-read program.
By VIRGINIA ROSS
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NORTH LIMA -- Sometimes, to get your point across, you have to make your gestures big.
So, repeating after Andy Fraenkel, dozens of pupils at South Range Elementary School stood up, gave their classmates a high five and said "It's good to be alive."
Fraenkel, a dramatic storyteller from Moundsville, W.Va., spent Friday with pupils in kindergarten through grade three. His visit to the elementary school in Beaver Township was part of the school's monthlong right-to-read program. The program, conducted every year, encourages pupils to read by engaging them in a variety of activities designed to help them learn how to communicate better.
Fraenkel, whose visit served as the grand finale for this year's program, told a few stories, recited a few poems and demonstrated to the children how they can better express themselves. His stories and the motions and gestures he used to help demonstrate the events described entertained the pupils. But his words served as a means to teach them about respect.
& quot;I try to use stories and poems that have a similar theme when I do programs like this for kids," he said between presentations. "I try to use themes based on character development. Today the theme is respect. So all of the stories and poems have common threads.
"I try to get the kids to develop their own communication skills by demonstrating, with my storytelling and acting skills, the power of the spoken word. It's important for kids to learn how to communicate."
Storyteller's background
Fraenkel, a full-time storyteller for more than 10 years, was born in Germany and moved to New York City when he was 5. He studied acting in college and has been involved in regional theater. Although he has written his own stories, his presentations typically feature multicultural stories and literature from around the world. His props include hand-held musical instruments, such as an African thumb piano, Mexican clay whistle and a pan flute used by the Incas, a South American Indian tribe.
"A little music in the background adds drama to the stories," he said. "And it introduces the kids to other cultures."
Fraenkel said he hopes to encourage kids to develop creative ways to express themselves.
"There are many ways we can express ourselves," he told the children.
"Some people write stories or songs or poems and other people draw. Some people even express themselves by the clothes they wear. Their clothes can say a lot about them.
"It's important to express yourself. It's important to be able to communicate and get your message across to people. It's a good thing to know how to do. It's good to appreciate the written and the spoken word."