STORYTELLING COURSE

               FOR TEACHERS

CREATIVITY IN THE CLASSROOM -

STORYTELLING AS A TEACHING TOOL

   Teachers are expected to join in, but not necessarily to tell stories, unless they feel comfortable  
   doing so.

                                            Communication and Confidence.

    For Storytelling to be of greatest value, we must create a classroom culture which encourages and develops   
    creativity, a supportive positive environment in which children can flourish and reach their true potential and, 
    most of all, TAKE RISKS!

    Jack Zipes, Professor of German at Michigan University and one of the world’s leading storytellers, has said   
    “Storytellers can improve and strengthen the literacy of children, can animate them so they feel a desire to  
    read, write, act and draw, so they want to express themselves critically and imaginatively with techniques they 
    learn from the storyteller and teacher”

                         Teachers as Storytellers – Finding and Adapting stories

What are our story sources?

Books, magazines, newspapers. Personal experiences, Family and friends, Television and Radio, Cinema, Plays, Songs, Imagination, Dreams

Why does the written story need adapting?   Compare Hans Andersen and Grimm

                                      Teachers as Storytellers – Telling a Story

First - Self-belief.   You CAN tell stories.   You do it all the time!

Learning a story, atmosphere building, establishing character, dialogue, tone of voice, (emphasis,

facial expressions, gestures, body language), different voices, speaking in character (Pace, 
pauses, emphases, tempo) Using puppets - being a ventriloquist.

Preparing to tell a story ambience, controlling environment, distractions, backup material,      

artefacts, music, eye contact, defining area, preparing audience, communicate rather than

recite or perform.

                                             Using Stories in the Classroom

Use stories in all the subjects.   We remember stories, and we remember what makes us

laugh, so tell stories with laughter, and the children will remember.

Working with stories, playing with stories.   Role play. Turn story into a play (props, backdrops, costume, stage management, sound effects).  Examine characters (influences, motivations, reactions, feelings), discuss dialogue, work on changes, look at plot, letters from characters, use collection of story motifs to create a story, start with a picture, prediction, mapping, visualisation.

                                          Teaching Children to be Storytellers

Inspiring confidence, believing in the ability of children.   Visualisation, re-telling, role play,

devising dialogue.    Stretch the imagination, think laterally, mind maps, brainstorming.   
Practice, make storytelling a regular activity.

                                                Selected Classroom Activities

Lots and lots!!!

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     To discuss your requirements, please contact