Why tell stories as well as reading them to children?

Storytelling is different than story reading with books because you have to create the whole story through your voice, actions and facial expressions letting the children form the pictures in their imaginations.

So rather than passively receiving images, children must actively engage in making images themselves.

Most adults working with children tend to read to children using a book. Although this is incredibly valuable and a vital experience it is not the same as telling a story. Sometimes the book can become a safety blanket in case we feel we might forget the story but actually the book can act as a barrier too. Reading from a book can inhibit the direct communication and contact between teller and listener in a way that storytelling does not.

Having permanent eye-contact with an audience creates a bond of togetherness and a concentration on the story itself rather than the object of the book. If you have only ever read stories to children it might be worth having a go and see if you notice a difference then try telling a story and notice the difference.

When children begin to write, sometimes those who have been exposed to oral storytelling both as tellers and listeners will have a better understanding of structuring a story and using appropriate language because having worked orally first allows them freedom from spelling and grammar where their imagination has no limits.

Here are some tips for learning, telling and adapting stories:

Firstly pick a story that you like!

Read the story through and visualise it really strongly. You need to have a mental picture of the story as though it is a film, not words on a page. Think of yourself as attempting to narrate the story not learn the script.

Find eight key words or moments that could guide you through the main points of the story you want to tell. It will help you to structure your telling.

Try telling yourself the story in one minute – just the outline of the story. Now tell it again, this time filling it out in your own words and adding your own description.

Learn any repeated phrases or rhymes from a story that are important and would exist in some form no matter who was retelling it. For instance Jack and the Beanstalk’s ‘Fe Fi Fo Fum’ or Anansi’s ‘Ticky, Picky, Boom, Boom’.

It is easier to keep children’s concentration by using stories which encourage lots of participation, especially ones involving rhyme, song and repetition.

Seek out stories which naturally have an element of participation or have the potential for it and then try adding your own ideas with songs or rhymes.

Use simple instruments to create atmosphere or to make key sounds in a story for instance the knock of a door or the crowing of the cockerel.

Use atmospheric music in the back ground when telling a story and when practicing it too, to create a particular mood or place. Try to use instrumental music and select pieces that won’t suddenly go very loud or quiet once you have started.