Bob Sander
About the artist
Bob Sander, based in Indianapolis, specializes in the art of storytelling. A practitioner since the early 1980s, he has been been working with students through Arts For Learning for more than 20 years. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English from Indiana University, where he studied under the writer Scott Sanders. When working with students, Bob tells folktales, personal and family stories, literary and historical tales, and presents workshops and residencies on a variety of story-related topics. Bob has been the recipient of the Frank Basile Emerging Stories Grant and the Arts Council of Indianapolis Creative Renewal Grant, and he spent 13 years as the resident storyteller for the Indianapolis Museum of Art. “I think regular exposure to storytelling is a powerful way to open up and understand many other areas of curriculum,” Bob said. “It’s a tool to deepen students’ appreciation for other cultures, and it is a means to broaden students’ understanding of themselves.” To learn more about Bob, visit his website.
Programs
Getting Personal: Life Stories from the Great Outdoors
Residency
This workshop provides an opportunity to remember, focus, assemble, then present with clarity and force a personal narrative about our own outdoor experience(s). Using modeling by the presenter, student stories will join the genre of Nature writers that includes Aldo Leopold, John Muir, Rachel Carson, and Henry David Thoreau. The students will work in pairs in the creation process and present individually in front of the class and gather feedback from peers.
- Grades: 3-5
- Length: 45 min
- Audience Limit: 30
5-day: Call for pricing.
Planting Hope – Storytelling and the Environment
Performance
What happens when you take a moment and think about the world around you? In this performance a storyteller remembers a trip he took, an unforgettable character he met, and a story he heard — all of whom open his eyes to the intricate web of the natural world.
- Grades: 3-56-89-12
- Length: 60 min
- Audience Limit: 300
When Worlds Collide: William Henry Harrison & Tecumseh
Performance
Students will discover the radically different perspectives of Native Peoples and pioneer settlers who collided in the early years of American history. The cultures of William Henry Harrison and Tecumseh are displayed through folklore, games, and music. A study guide is available.
- Grades: 3-56-89-12
- Length: 90 min
- Audience Limit: 300
Tell it Write
Residency
Five visits with a storyteller. Students create stories from their own life experiences to complete both a written and spoken presentation.
- Grades: 3-56-8
- Length: 45 min
- Audience Limit: 30
5-day: $488
Hero Journey: Re-scripting Life Experiences Through Hero Stories
Residency
Five visits with a storyteller combining students’ personal stories and hero folktales. Emphasis on the elements of stories and partner exercises.
- Grades: 3-56-89-12
- Length: 45 min
- Audience Limit: 300
5-day: $688
Lifting Together: Building Strong Writers Through Storytelling Collaborations
Teacher Training
Good writing is built on strong storytelling skills. Teachers of grades 3-7 learn a collaborative approach that enables their students to be confident writers. By experiencing both the roles of student/storyteller and teacher/facilitator, they gain a new insight on how their students can “lift together” to turn basic story elements into new creations.
*Developed in collaboration with the Kennedy Centers Partners in Education Program at Clowes Memorial Hall of Butler University.
- Grades: 3-56-8Educators
- Length: 45 min
- Audience Limit: 300
Three-hour workshop: $576
Tell Your Own Story
Workshop
After learning about the elements of story, students will practice telling their personal and family stories with a partner. A companion workshop to the performance “Tell Your Own Story”.
- Grades: K-23-56-89-12
- Length: 45 min
- Audience Limit: 30
World Folktales
Performance
Students will be engaged in an interactive program of folktales from around the world. Guitar music is woven into these attention-capturing tales. Bob can tailor the stories to the countries your students are studying.
- Grades: K-23-56-89-12
- Length: 45 min
- Audience Limit: 300
Tell Your Own Story
Performance
Students will hear engaging family and personal stories meant to inspire students to research and collect their own stories. This performance is a companion to the workshop “Tell Your Story.”
- Grades: K-23-56-8
- Length: 45 min
- Audience Limit: 30