Middle and High School

Let folklore teach students about varied cultures. A country’s lore reveals its geography, animals, plants, people, and values. 

They’ll be rapt by tales from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.  Ask for a tale from a country, or culture in your curriculum. 

Garbed in a cotehardie “Jonathan the Troubadour” on stage with backdrops and costume caps, your storyteller gets students to step into medieval times. 

They learn about the feudal system in an interactive story.  They practice feasting manners, knight a knight, enter a guild, catch a unicorn and sing in medieval English.  It is a 75-minute adventure Ito the Middle Ages. 

• A double period highly interactive performance program immerses students the Middle Ages with energetic storytelling, skits, vocabulary, manners, and a song. 

• Students will help solve mystery tales. They’ll  understand how the feudal system worked, learn about guilds, Knights, outlaws, feasts, nobles, serfs, franklins, marriage, pilgrims, alchemists, & how to catch a unicorn. 

• Donning quick costumes, some students help act out troubadour guided skits, to show classmates life in the Middle Ages.  

• Everyone practices feast table manners.  “Bloweth not upon thy soupe!

• Everyone learns some 13th-century words. “Forsooth” “Fobbing puttock” !!!

• All sing the chorus of that medieval hit,  “Sumer is Icumen in”   

• A four-page student activity packet is provided.  Plus, a ten-page guide for teachers!

• Everyone learns and has fun. 

Jonathan Kruk turns New York’s history into stories for students. A master storyteller, selected “Best in the Hudson Valley,” author of two History Press books he performs fifty solo shows annually for Historic Hudson Valley’s “Irving’s Legend.”   Drawing from primary sources, Jonathan’s programs enchants all with drama, skits, and voices from long ago.  Appearing in period garb, colonial to 19th century,  he tailors his work to your curriculum interests and locale.  Scroll down to see how “New York Lore” meets and exceeds state common core requirements.

What would you be a Tory or Rebel? Do you want “mob rule?”  Would you call “no taxation without representation? 

Students listen to points of view on the American Revolution. They vicariously experience what happened when the

Declaration of Independence was read in Manhattan.  Rebels “tore down King George” on the Bowling Green!  

These historic fiction tales move students to write a letter stating their take on reveling against the king! 

The fight for American Independence took more than rich white men to win.  Women took on dangers during the struggle. 

They’ll meet the New York teen who outrode Paul Revere.  We do a story skit showing how “Molly Pitchers” could fire a cannon. 

The final tale reveals the mystery of who was Deborah Sampson. 

Students retell in a letter to one of these brave revolutionary women.

Students get the stories of what George Washington did to become the “father of our country.” 

He lost his temper in Harlem, was surprised attacked on Christmas, inoculated his soldiers in a pandemic,

and made a spectacle of himself to prevent a military coup.  Remarkable tales!  

Students will write a letter sharing what they felt was Washington’s finest moment. 

Many movies your students will know came from fairy tales.  They will listen to the original story, then compare it to the movie. 

Tales may include; Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty) Snow White, The Little Mermaid, The Snow Queen (Frozen) Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, (Tangled) Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast. 
They will learn to write a review of the fairy tale and film. 

Egypt, Greek, or Norse?  Your storyteller becomes a robed visiting bard to enchant students with gripping myths. 

They’ll discover Ra the Sun god, thundering Zeus, Odin the one-eyed wise, and the pantheons Christianity superseded. 

Ask for myths you’d like students to hear.  Students will get help writing their own myths. 

Jonathan the Troubadour introduces students to the Renaissance through interactive stories and skits.  They’ll see what triggered the great revival, and get introduced to Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Galileo.  They will step into skits on inventions like the telescope, the printing press, and the flying buttress. Ask for a topic.  I’ll have a tale. 

Did the earth begin with a dream, a yawn or a battle?  Who did people first fear and worship? What is the hero’s journey?  Your students will get answers to these grand questions listening to myths performed by Jonathan Kruk, your master storyteller. 

     Garbed in a tunic, with his sage’s stick,  “Jonathan the Bard” gives students a spirited performance of a series of creation myths from the ancient civilizations; Greece, Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China and Olmec/Mayan. 

Epics tales of ancient cultures of Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, China and Central America.