Storytelling tips for Teachers

Helping Children Choose Stories

*Preselect a pool of stories for younger children and students who have never told a story.

*Tell or read examples of different kinds of stories.

*Each student should consider their audience before choosing a story. *Each student should also read at least five stories before choosing his/her story to tell.

*Every students should tell a different story.

Helping Children Learn Their Stories

There are many ways to learn a story. Listed below are some suggested ways.

*Read it over and over again... tape it and listen to it repeatedly.

*Make a pictorial outline of the story.

*List the major events of the story...categorize them as beginning, middle, or ending. Then look for recurring lines such as “Over the sunny hills and the cool valleys.”

*Encourage students to put stories in their own words while remaining true to the time and place of the story.

*Stories should not be memorized but a student should consider memorizing the first and last lines of a story so that a student can begin and end a story with confidence.

*Have students try to imagine how a character speaks and looks and then incorporate that into the story.

*Students can incorporate some similes into their stories...”He was so tall that......”.

*Is there a part where the audience can join in, such as in, “I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house down.”

*Sometimes students may find that telling their story to a mirror can be helpful.

Voice

*Encourage students to use expression, reflect the feeling and mood of the story, and emphasize the appropriate words.

*Sufficient volume is also very important.

*Make sure you are not speaking to slowly or too fast. Tempo should be varied within the story and should reflect the mood of the story.

*Students can use the pitch of their voices to reflect different characters.

Body Language

*Practice using facial expression to reflect different emotions present in a story.

*With body movements students should do what comes naturally and should only use body movements that enhance the story.

The Performance

*Students should make eye contact and pause a moment before beginning their story.

*Stories should be introduced before beginning.

*Remind students that the audience is supportive and wants them to do well. Continue to make eye contact during the story!

*If students make a mistake tell them to go on with out calling attention to it. Do not apologize to your audience!!!

*If distractions occur, such as a baby crying, or a bell ringing, ....pause till the noise is over then continue. Do not comment on the problem or get flustered.

*Remain relaxed and take problems in stride you’ll do fine.

Fiona Indage is the author for FSurvey which is a primary resource for all your survey requirements on the Internet. Be sure to visit her complete archive of articles here: http://www.fsurvey.com

Click here to return to the index of Articles