Education and Inspiration through the ancient art of storytelling!
Brian "Fox" Ellis
Keynote Presentations • Workshops • Performances
Since 1980, Brian “Fox” Ellis, storyteller, author and educator, has been touring the world collecting and telling stories. He has been a keynote speaker and/or featured workshop presenter at hundreds of conferences ranging from The International Wetlands Conservation Conference to the National Association of Gifted Educators Conference. His presentations are always custom tailored with a mix of pedagogy and practice, humor and inspiration. For this reason many of the state educational conferences invite him back on a regular basis! He has also published eight books, written 20 musical theatre productions and is a frequent contributor to a wide range of magazines including trade journals, parenting, academic and general interest magazines. Know that Fox comes to your conference eager to work: willing to present break-out sessions that reinforce his keynote, to share stories at an informal late-night for storytellers, and to autograph books at your sales booth. His goal is to do whatever he can to make your conference a success!
Please scroll down to read a list of specific Keynote Addresses and Workshops for different conferences.
EDUCATIONAL CONFERENCES: National Science Teachers, National Association of Gifted Educators, Illinois Association for the Education of Young Children, National Association for the Education of Young Children, Michigan Reading Teachers, Illinois Reading Teachers, Wisconsin Reading Teachers, North Carolina Reading Teachers, Great Plains Reading Teachers, Wisconsin Science Teachers, Michigan Science Teachers, Illinois Science Teachers, Iowa Science Teachers, Midwest Environmental Education Association, Association of New Jersey Environmental Educators, Montana Environmental Educators, Indiana Environmental Educators, Ohio Conservation Education Association, Iowa Environmental Educators, Illinois Teachers of English, Great Lakes Council of Social Studies, Iowa Council of Social Studies, Illinois Council of Social Studies, Europeon Librarians Alliance, England’s YMCA Staff Training, National Storytelling Association, New England Storytelling Association, Northlands Storytelling Association, St. Louis Storytelling Festival, Corn Island Storytelling Festival, Mid-Atlantic Storytelling, Ohio Catholic Educators, National Ag in the Classroom, et al.
SCIENCE CONFERENCES: International Migratory Bird Day, International Wetlands Conservation, National Non-Point Source Pollution, Texas Project Wet: Make A Splash, Illinois Earth Stewardship Day, North American Prairie Restoration, Science and Religion: Joint Conference sponsored by the World Conference of Churches and United Nations, et al.
GENERAL CONFERENCES: International Clown Convention, National Rabbit Breeders Association, North American Plymouth Owners, Michigan Heating and Air Conditioning Association, Illinois Association of Township Officials, Great Rivers Regional Tourism, et al
Every program is developed with the goals of the host in mind. (Please scroll down for more detail on each program)
With a repertoire of 400 stories, Fox puts together a performance to fit any theme or age level. Audience participation and sing-a-long songs enliven presentations for younger audiences, while complex plots and a vivid vocabulary challenge the most astute listeners. Following is a brief list of some of his favorite themes:
The latest educational research affirms what storytellers have always known, oral language development is the key to reading and writing. Within this action packed participatory presentation you will learn at least three stories that you can tell. You will also learn techniques to improve your storytelling skills and teach storytelling to your students. Author and storyteller Brian “Fox” Ellis will highlight the research implications of oral language development as a potent tool in teaching basic literacy in the early childhood setting. Grounding the latest research in literacy education with practical classroom tested ideas, this dynamic performance is guaranteed to reinvigorate your classroom.
Storytelling Basics: Within you is a storyteller waiting for the right opportunity to tell your tale. In this participatory workshop you will learn the skills necessary to enrich your classroom with tales both tall and true. Through theater games, voice exercises, and mime you will develop your talents. Through lively discussion and hands-on activities you will learn how to teach your students how to tell stories.
Sing Along! Act It Out! Everyone Joins In!: Audience Participation Stories For Young Children - Young children love to squirm! Invite them to fidget and wiggle in a manner that adds artistry to the tale while avoiding destructive behavior. In this participatory workshop you will learn the skills necessary to enrich your day care with the best that children's literature has to offer. Through traditional folklore and audience participation stories you will develop your talents as an interactive storyteller.
A Life Long Love of Language: Storytelling is the perfect foundation for nurturing a love of language. Stories provide the bricks and mortar for building the skills for lifelong reading and writing. Going beyond simple stories and sequential picture maps, this participatory workshop will give you the strategies you need to develop pre-reading and writing skills for your students.
Brian "Fox" Ellis is an internationally renowned storyteller, author and educator. He is a dynamic performer who, in a warmly entertaining manner, captures what is most life-affirming and beautiful in the human experience. Fox has recently helped to initiate a state-wide effort with the Illinois State Board of Education to improve family literacy through family stories. Fox has authored numerous articles for a variety of magazines, produced nine CDs, and published eight books, including the new children’s picture book The Web at Dragonfly Pond, Dawn Publications 2006.
The latest educational research affirms what storytellers have always known, oral language development is the key to reading and writing, storytelling is the keystone for integrating science, math and history, storytelling is encoded in our DNA. In this mix of audience participation storytelling and academic research, listeners will walk away with a few new stories, and more importantly a solid theoretical foundation for nourishing our work.
Playing With Genre: Using Oral Language Skills to Improve Reading and Writing Improving writing scores and reading skills is really about teaching thinking. In this participatory workshop you will use oral language to initiate writing in several genres including poetry, persuasive, narrative, and expository writing. We will engage in lively persuasive debate, tell personal stories and essay important ideas.
Bird Is The Word: Journaling, Poetry, Non-Fiction Writing, and Ornithology A poet’s eye and gift for language is very similar to the detailed observation and ability to communicate complex ideas required of field ecologists. In this participatory workshop you will learn some tips for effective journaling. You will learn to use haiku to focus your eye and ear. You will learn to use poetry to help you write clearer more exciting essays and turn your field notes into publishable articles. Come to celebrate the voices of nature and find your voice in the natural world.
Content Area Reading Storytelling: His-story, Her-Story, Science and Math Stories - Improving basic literacy, reading and writing test scores, by integrating the curriculum is the aim of this participatory workshop. Stories can become the warp upon which a teacher weaves the threads of the various content areas. We listen and speak at a higher level than we can read and write, so it is only natural to use storytelling and listening to teach content. And oral language development is the cornerstone for better reading and writing.
Brian “Fox” Ellis is a former elementary school teacher and reading specialist who has worked extensively with Chapter 1 and Reading Recovery programs developing family literacy initiatives. He is the author of eight books including the critically acclaimed children’s picture book The Web at Dragonfly Pond, DAWN Publications, 2006.
Walking a path first blazed by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, Aldo Leopold and Rachel Carson, Brian “Fox” Ellis travels in the tradition of the American Naturalists. The Transcendentalists were the first truly American movement in literature that broke from European traditions. Fox follows in these footsteps. He promises to tune our ears to the quiet whispers of wildflowers, to teach us the songs of wind and wave, to share the stories of the land. (This was originally a keynote address for the Illinois State Teachers of English Conference, and has since been presented at several science teacher and environmental education conferences.)
The American Naturalists Tradition: In this participatory workshop we will learn to listen carefully to the other creatures who share our home. We will travel through geological time and enter the worlds of molecules and woolly mammoths. Learn to read natural history through hands-on science activities. A poet’s eye and gift for language is very similar to the detailed observation and ability to communicate complex ideas required of scientists. Learn to use haiku to teach entomology. Learn to use poetry to help students write clearer more exciting essays. Come to celebrate the voices of nature and find your voice as a poet. The basic question here is simply: What is my relationship within the web of life?
Mark Twain's River His-story (and Her-story, too!): Learn how to conduct oral history interviews to research local history with an emphasis on average folks. Learn library research skills and how to turn "field notes" into dynamic literature. Though we will focus on river history and the context that inspired Samuel Clemens, the skills learned are applicable to any period of history.
Prairie Tales: An Inter-Disciplinary workshop that blends social studies, language arts and science to celebrate the Prairie Ecology and Literature! American Indian folklore and pioneer history blend in this celebration of one of America's most diverse and magnificent ecosystems. In this participatory workshop we will learn creative writing strategies that integrate the curriculum in meaningful, inspiring lesson plans. Blending math and field ecology we will create poetry that explores the adventures of a seed, journeys through the four seasons with the plants and animals that call the prairie home. Trace the geological history of the oak savanna through the travels of "Rusty", a molecule of ferrous oxide. Learn of the struggles and successes to restore the prairie to America's heartland and motivate your students to write dynamic historical fiction, while making a difference in the future of our ecological well-being!
Storytelling allows you to travel through geological time and enter the worlds of molecules and woolly mammoths. Stories can bring facts to life, make abstract concepts tangible and most importantly, model that science, at it’s core, is a verb, an activity. In this inspiring performance you will hear and tell stories that inspire your students to demonstrate their knowledge of scientific facts, concepts and process skills.
You culd also invite one of history's leading scientific minds to be a featured presenter at your next conference:
River Stories: Aquatic Ecology and Folklore - In this mix of storytelling and hands-on science we will explore your local watershed and the web of life that binds us to the rivers of our region. Learn creative ways to teach the water cycle and make abstract science personal.
Turtle Island Tales: Teaching Science with Native American Storytelling - Ancient stories and modern science merge in this exploration of ecology. In this workshop, you will hear several stories, learn some basic storytelling skills and cooperative lesson plans for integrating language arts, science, and social studies.
FROG SONGS: Poetry, Non-Fiction Writing, and Insect Science - A poet’s eye and gift for language is very similar to the detailed observation and ability to communicate complex ideas required of scientists. Learn to use haiku to teach entomology. Learn to use poetry to help students write clearer more exciting essays. Come to celebrate the voices of nature and find your voice as a poet.
PRAIRIE TALES: Exploring the Prairie through Stories and Hands-on Science Activities - Plains Indian folklore and pioneer history blend in this exploration of prairie ecology. Through seed collecting, sorting, and prairie plant propagation, learn the adventures of a seed. Travel with “Rusty” a molecule of iron oxide through the geology of the prairie soils. Prairie fires and pioneer politics will blend in this epic celebration of song and story, history and ecology.
Brian "Fox" Ellis is an internationally acclaimed author, storyteller, and naturalist who has worked with The Nature Conservancy and The Field Museum. Fox has been a featured speaker at regional and international conferences including the International Wetlands Conservation Conference, National Science Teachers Conference and the North American Prairie Conservation Conference, et al. Fox is also the Artistic Director for Prairie Folklore Theatre a unique theatre company that celebrates ecology and history through original musical theatre productions. He is the author of eight books including the critically acclaimed Learning From the Land: Teaching Ecology Through Stories and Activities, (Libraries Unlimited, 1997) and the new children’s picture book, The Web at Dragonfly Pond, (Dawn Publications, 2006). Many of his stories are also available on one of nine CDs.
Author and storyteller, Brian “Fox” Ellis steps into character to bring history to life. Over the years he has developed more than a dozen monologues that allow participants to meet the movers and shakers of history. Fox has spent countless hours exploring the life story of these authors through primary source documents. The goal of this program is to explore the ideas and perspectives that have shaped our world. Often Fox speaks first person when it suits his character, but occasionally he chooses to be ‘a friend of’ because this second person voice allows him to put the life of the author into the broader perspective of his time. Many of these programs come with extensive follow-up lesson plans in creative writing, history and science. Programs include:
His-story and Her-story, too! Storytelling as a Tool in Historical Interpretation - Learn to tell historical stories and collect family stories. Learn how to write good questions, prepare for and conduct oral history interviews to research local history, with an emphasis on people often left out of the history books. Learn library research skills and how to read between the lines. Learn how to turn "field notes" into dynamic literature. And learn to perform, share, or otherwise publish this work.
A World Full of Stories: Storytelling and Multicultural Education - In this participatory workshop you will learn to use stories to build cultural awareness and teach alternatives to violence. Learn how to use stories to introduce cooperative games that help your students to develop an appreciation for cultural diversity.
Brian "Fox" Ellis is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, historian and museum consultant who works with The Field Museum, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and numerous smaller historical society museums to develop curriculum, write interpretive booklets and present staff training on storytelling as an interpretive tool. Fox has been a featured speaker at regional and international conferences including the Great Lakes Conference of Social Studies and the North American Prairie Conservation Conference, et al. Fox is also the Artistic Director for Prairie Folklore Theatre a unique theatre company that celebrates history through original musical theatre productions. He is the author of eight books including the critically acclaimed children’s picture book, The Web at Dragonfly Pond, (Dawn Publications, 2006). Many of his stories are also available on one of nine CDs.
