''Storylords'' is a 1984 low-budget live-action

instructional television Instructional television (ITV) is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. Educational television programs on instructional television may be less than one half hour long (generally 15 minutes in length) to help their i ...

series shown on educational and

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

member stations in the United States, often during instructional television blocks. It was produced at the

University of Wisconsin–Stout The University of Wisconsin–Stout (UW–Stout or Stout) is a public university in Menomonie, Wisconsin. A member of the University of Wisconsin System, it enrolls more than 9,600 students. The school was founded in 1891 and named in honor of it ...

for the

Wisconsin Educational Communications Board The Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (ECB) is a Wisconsin state agency that plans, develops, constructs and operates statewide public radio, public television, public safety, and educational telecommunication systems and programs,

General summary

''Storylords'' consists of twelve 15-minute programs which focus on building reading comprehension strategies through the use of fantasy. The storyline consists of a young boy named Norbert who has been apprenticed by Lexor – an old Storylord from the land of Mojuste – to defend Mojuste's citizens against the wicked Storylord, Thorzuul. Thorzuul seeks to turn all of those who can't understand what they read into stone statues for his collection. The first few episodes follow a basic formula: first, Norbert is summoned by Lexor through a magic ring to enter the land of Mojuste and help a certain citizen solve a riddle or word puzzle given by Thorzuul. He then travels to Mojuste via the "Bike-o-Tron" (a magical stationary exercise bike in his garage), while chanting: In Mojuste, Norbert meets with Thorzuul's potential victim. By recalling a recent lesson from his teacher, Mrs. Framish, he helps the citizen solve the riddle just in time before Thorzuul arrives on his motorcycle (driven by his chauffeur, Milkbreath) and discovers that his plans have been thwarted. About halfway through the series, Norbert's sister, Mandy, becomes curious about her brother's secret life and decides to follow him to the garage. She touches him, just as he is traveling to Mojuste on the Bike-o-Tron and is transported to the land with him, later to become his assistant. In the last four episodes, Thorzuul decides to stop targeting Mojuste's citizens and instead uses his schemes against Norbert and Mandy themselves. There is an exhibit features original costumes, props and photographs, as well as interactive experiences. This exhibit is at th
Rassbach Museum
in Menomonie, WI. Check out a 1980's classroom, and hop on the Bike-O-Tron to be transported to the magical land of Mojuste. Learn about the making of the show, and all of the magical places in Dunn County that were featured in the show
Rassbach Museum Storylords exhibit

Main cast

* Colm O'Reilly—Norbert * Tanya Tiffany—Mandy * Mike Nelms—Jason * Karin Worthley—Mrs Framish * Alexis Lauren—Lexor * Larry Laird—Thorzuul * Dennis Fenichel—Milkbreath

Production Credits

* Producer/Director - Ed Jakober * Writer -

Jed MacKay Jed MacKay is a Canadian children's TV producer/writer/composer. He began his career writing for TVOntario's long-running success ''Polka Dot Door'', for which he was honoured with a Masterworks Award by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television ...

* Program Development - Tom DeRose * Production Manager - Tim Fuhrmann * Music Written and performed by: Dave Roll * Art Director - Annette Proehl * Audio - Larry Roeming, Jim Guenther * Production Engineers - Ron Heinecke, Pat Allickson * Studio Manager - Louis Rivard * Production Assistants - Bill Moran, Paul Hed

Episodes

# Activating Prior Knowledge Before Reading # Connecting What You Know With What's On The Page # Knowing When You Don't Know (In Your Head) # Knowing When You Don't Know (On The Page) # Directed Reading-Thinking Activity # Question-Answer Relationships # Decoding Words in Context # Inferring Word Meaning in Context # Story Mapping # Pronoun Anaphora # Identifying Main Idea and Details # Integrating Comprehension Strategies

Criticism

''Storylords'' has been criticized by a conservative educator for its emphasis on the

whole language Whole language is a philosophy of reading and a discredited educational method originally developed for teaching literacy in English to young children. The method became a major model for education in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and ...

method of learning reading skills, rather than through the use of

phonics Phonics is a method for teaching people how to Reading, read and write an alphabetic language (such as English alphabet, English, Arabic alphabet, Arabic or Russian alphabet, Russian). It is done by demonstrating the relationship between the so ...

Phyllis Schlafly Phyllis Stewart Schlafly (; born Phyllis McAlpin Stewart; August 15, 1924 – September 5, 2016) was an American attorney, conservative activist, author, and anti-feminist spokesperson for the national conservative movement. She held paleocons ...

commented on her political activism website, the

Eagle Forum Eagle Forum is a conservative interest group in the United States founded by Phyllis Schlafly in 1972 and is the parent organization that also includes the Eagle Forum Education and Legal Defense Fund and the Eagle Forum PAC. The Eagle Forum has ...

, that the series tells kids to "skip over" words they can't pronounce, and instead try to figure out their meanings through pictures or context clues. She concluded that, "With these mischievous instructions, children will never be able to read books unless there are pictures on every page."{{citation needed, date=August 2012 American children's education television series American children's fantasy television series Reading and literacy television series 1980s American children's television series 1984 American television series debuts 1984 American television series endings