STORYTELLING IS INNOVATIVE AND CREATIVE

Storytelling is an innovative and creative communication strategy. Through practice, the skill of storytelling can be learned and refined.

Familiarity with stories and the frequency in using storytelling techniques will help to increase confidence and competence in the person who is telling the story.

Storytelling

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As young as two or three-years-old, children begin to tell stories. During their interaction with parents/teachers who provide guidance, children continue to develop storytelling skills.

Capture the Imagination

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When we are reading or telling stories to children, there is a dual role to be played - the person who tells the story - and the child/children who listen. It is necessary to determine whether the teacher/ parent or the child will be the teller or the listener or, in a shared story, each may have a turn at both roles.

Dual Role in Storytelling

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Storytelling Strategies

• Capturing a story on paper or on videotape as told by a child or group of children.
• Telling a yarn story with two or more children; a long piece of yarn with knots tied at varied intervals is slid loosely through the hands of the teller until a knot is felt, at which time the yarn is passed to the next person, who continues the story.
• Sentence completion, either verbal or written, with topics like "If I had duck feet I would ....." "The cat in the hat is ....." When I get home I will ....." "My family ....."
• Reading stories with a theme related to issues children are facing. The children's section in the local library is an excellent resource to collect theme-stories.

Interaction during Storytelling

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Communicating with children can be greatly facilitated through the use of storytelling. Storytelling/reading should be an everyday part of children's lives and it can be used by them as a method to communicate. They will be less inhibited when participating in reading interactions. Children may express thoughts and feelings through participating in reading and storytelling, that they may have been unable to verbalize.

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