Sarah_4_1

The idea of gesture was encouraged to tell a good story. The concept of drawing a cartoon was the example.
I'm not sure if anyone else ever did this in elementary school, but I remember in 1st or 2nd grade during Halloween and Christmas, our teacher would tell us an "interactive" story. For example, at Halloween, it was a "spooky" story about a witch. She lived in a little tiny house. (fold a piece of paper in half) When you looked at it from the side, it was even smaller. (fold paper again) She wore a very pointy hat. (cut out a triangle). She flew on a very crooked broom. (cut squiggly line) (continue the story for a while while continually folding & cutting)
At the end of the story: and the very spooky jack'o'lantern on her front porch looked just.... like.... THIS! (as you unfold the paper to reveal a jack'o'lantern)
This form of "interactive" storytelling was my favorite thing this teacher would do. The book mentioned that you can't force an audience to listen and pay attention. Obviously this method worked for me fifteen or so years later.