Secrets to Successful Storytelling

www.childrensministrytraining.org

Stories = Communication

• Law of Communication

• Stories provide wonderful bridges on which information can travel to students

• Jesus told stories (parables)

• Neural system fatigue

Related Concepts

• Story Reading

• Storying

• Storytelling

Read-aloud stories

• Powerful learning tool

• “Text Talk”– Builds comprehension of the story.– Questions prompt greater language

development.– Teaching and encouraging use of new words

after the story has been read.

Instructional Strategies Used During Storybook Reading(1) Eliciting (seeking to obtain known information from the

students)(2) Inviting (extending an open-ended invitation to share

ideas)(3) Informing (telling students information) (4) Reviewing (reexamining the story in its entirety or from

its beginning up to the point where reading was stopped)

(5) Recapitulating (restating textual information that was read in the segment of the text immediately prior to the point at which the teacher stopped reading)

(6) Eliciting reading (attempting to induce the students to read part of the text)

(7) Reacting to text (sharing an affective response to the story with the students.”

Storying

• Constructing stories in the mind

Storytelling

• Definition– “The art of bringing a story to life through the

inflection in one’s voice, rhythm, facial expressions, and hand movements.”

Storytelling – Retelling

Practical Storytelling Ideas• Life stories of family members through interviews• Rewrites in a different form• Point of view stories• Drama or dress as a character• Puppets• Locate on a world map the location of a story• Tape stories and add to listening library• Make a story quilt• Music and dance• Write stories and make class books• Parallel reading• Make posters, book covers, and ads from a story• Retell stories and put them on the computer• Write poems related to the story• Invite parents, grandparents, or church members to class to tell

stories

Choosing Stories• Regarding the story

– Do you like the story and have a strong desire to communicate it?

– Do you agree with its content?– Do you appreciate the style of writing?– Is it within your scope of ability to tell?

Choosing Stories• Regarding the audience

– Will the story develop a companionship between you and your audience?

– Will it interest the age group present?– Is it suitable for the sex or sexes present? (A

rule of thumb: if the boys like it, the girls will also)

– Does it move with enough action, dialogue, and suspense to maintain interest?

– Does it tell its own message?– Will it have a lingering impact?

Choosing Stories

• Regarding the occasion– Does the story fit the season of the year, or

can it be adapted to do so?– Does it lend itself to the environment of the

occasion?– Can the length be adjusted to meet your

needs?– Does it fulfill your aim?– Can it be given to the glory of God?

Early Childhood Language Development• Encode and maintain a phonological representation of the

novel word• Extract clues from the semantic, syntactic, and pictorial

contexts to constrain memory search for potential meanings in the case of learning synonyms for known referents and to facilitate the inferential process

• Select or construct a potentially appropriate meaning; • Associate the inferred meaning with the phonological

representation of the novel word; • Integrate and store the new knowledge with the existing

knowledge base.

Storytelling for Preschoolers1 – Involve the children actively in each

story.

2 – Appeal to the children’s five senses

3 – Use the children’s names in the story

4 – Focus on events of high interest to

preschoolers.

5 – Emphasize God’s part of the story

6 – Use the time just before and just after the story to focus children’s attention on the story.

Overview of Storytelling Techniques

• Rector, D. E. (1996). The Art of Storytelling (2nd ed.)– Email: dan.rector@northcentral.edu

Storytelling...You are the Key!

• Your appearance

• Your movements

• Your poise

• Your voice

• Your face

• Your emotions

Story Elements

• Introductory setting

• Action

• Climax

• Conclusion

Don’ts of Storytelling

• Don’t read to your audience. Give them your attention. Make it your story and tell it.

• Don’t memorize only the general ideas. Vital details can slip away when you are under the stress of facing your audience.

• Don’t memorize verbatim. You will be wooden, chained to your material, restricted and inhibited.

• Avoid the use of flashbacks; have little time change in the story.

Don’ts of Storytelling (cont)• Avoid interrupting your story to make corrections; this is

very confusing to your audience.• Never “talk down” to the children, treat them as equals• Don’t keep talking when you have reached the end. Don’t

add explanations, apologies, or afterthoughts after you have reached your conclusion.

Do’s of Storytelling

• Write down the complete story with all the extras and become so familiar with it that it is a part of you.

• Then live the story! Tell it from your heart, with expression!

Finer Points of Delivery• Story length

• Important words and phrases

• Repetition

• Changing voice volume

• The pause

• Variety in your voice

• Pacing

• Throw-away lines

• The quick cue

Where to Find Stories• Your personal experience

• Books

• On T.V.

• Movies

• In the Bible

• In the newspaper

• Other people

• Internet

• Email

Visual Ideas

• Puppet

• Costume

• Objects

• Slides or overhead transparencies

• Broom puppets

• Children as actors

Go ahead and start telling stories!

• If you have further questions, feel free to contact me at: 715.887.3565 or at: jason@jasonrhode.com

Storytelling Websites

• Eldrbarry: The Art of Storytelling– http://www.eldrbarry.net/roos/art.htm

• Storytelling: Passport to the 21st Century– http://www.creatingthe21stcentury.org/

• Storytelling in the Classroom– http://www.storyarts.org/classroom/

ReferencesBeck, I. L., & McKeown, M. G. (2001). Text Talk:  Capturing the benefits of read-aloud

experiences for young children. The Reading Teacher, 55(1), 10-20.

Cameron, S. (1998). Telling A Great Story. Camping Magazine, 71(4), 16-18.

Champion, T. B., Katz, L., Muldrow, R., & Rochelle, D. (1999). Storytelling and Storymaking in an Urban Preshool Classroom:  Building Bridges from Home to School Culture. Topics in Language Disorders, 19(3), 52-67.

Clark, R. E., Brubaker, J., & Zuck, R. B. (1986). Childhood Education in the Church. Chicago, IL: Moody Press. (Original work published 1975)

Colon-Vila, L. (1997). Storytelling in an ESL Classroom. Teaching PreK-8, 27(5), 58-59.

Denner, P. R., McGinley, W. J., & Brown, E.. Effects of Story Impressions as a Prereading/Writing Activity on Story Comprehension. Journal of Educational Research, 82(6), 320-326.

Ellard, S.. Focus on Early Childhood:  A Handbook for Teachers. Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing House.

Ellyatt, W. (2002). Learning More About the Power of Narrative and Storytelling. Paths of Learning, 3-5.

References (cont.)Gruber, D. (1993). Focus on Children:  A Handbook for Teachers. Springfield, MO:

Gospel Publishing House.

Hendricks, H. G. (1987). Teaching to Change Lives. Portland, OR: Multomath Press.

Kalfus, J., & Van Der Schyff, L. (1996). Storytelling:  Sharing our lives through storytelling in a multiage classroom setting. Teaching PreK-8, 27(1), 72-74.

LeFever, M. D. (1996). Creative Teaching Methods. Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Ministry Resources.

Martinez, M. G., & Teale, W. H.. Classroom Storybook Reading:  The Creation of Text and Learning Opportunities. Theory Into Practice, 18(2), 126-135.

Perry, B. (1999). How the Brain Learns Best. Instructor, 110(4), 34-35.

Rector, D. E. (1996). The Art of Storytelling (2nd ed.)

Reed, B. (1987). Storytelling:  What it Can Teach. School Library Journal, 34(2), 35-39.

References (cont.)Connection Between Oral Language and Early Reading. Journal of Educational Research,

95(5), 259-272.

Senechal, M., Thomas, E., & Monker, J.-A. (1987). Individual Divverences in 4-Year-Old Children's. Journal of Educational Psychology, 87(2), 218-229.

Sook-Yi, K. (1999). The Effects of Storytelling and Pretend Play on Cognitive Processes, Short-Term and Long-Term Narrative Recall. Child Study Journal, 29(3), 175-189.

Wells, Gordon, (1986). The Meaning Makers: Children Learning Language and Using Language to Learn. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Woodard, J. (2002). Reading Skills Enhanced via Storytelling. Library Talk, 15(4), 16-17.

Zabel, M. (1991). Storytelling, Myths, and Folk Tales:  Strategies for Multicultural Inclusion. Preventing School Failure, 36(1), 32-34.