Why do you think children enjoy listening to stories?
- One reason why listening to stories is an enjoyable experience for children could be because it allows them to experience the story without the pressure of having to decode the words for themselves. They are able to simply listen to the words and therefore are given more opportunity to understand and comprehend the story. This opportunity can sometimes be lost with less confident readers when they are called upon to read themselves as they have to focus on each individual word in order to read it.
What skills do you think are involved in telling a story well?
- You have to have a firm control on your own voice to tell stories well. You should make good use of expression and tone when giving 'voices' to different characters, but also when describing events you should let you voice match the tone of the story.
- Confidence is also a very important part of storytelling. This can be achieved by knowing the book that you are reading, but can also be gained through simply practising reading aloud. With confidence, you can make better use of pause and characterisations with your voice, both skills which really add to the experience of telling a story.
- Facial expression, hand gestures and simple actions can also make storytelling more dynamic for a listener and can potentially give extra support to EAL pupils who may have difficulty with the language being used. These movements are also linked closely with the confidence of the reader.
What value is there for children in listening to stories… and telling stories themselves?
- Listening to stories and telling them themselves gives children a level of enthusiasm towards reading. Being able to share a book with someone makes it more of a social experience and in turn allows a child to view reading as a positive experience.
- Listening to a story gives children the chance to hear the different tones and expressions that adults use in their reading. If the children are following the story they are listening to with a book they can also use this experience as a good model of the role of punctuation in speech, which will then go on to supporting them in their own reading.
- Note the skills of each story-teller and add any you hadn’t thought of to your list from Activity 1
The setting added a lot to the atmosphere of the story, however may have become a little bit of a distraction if the storytelling actually took place outside. A class of children could become distracted by the nature surrounding them. This could have a bad effect on the teacher's confidence and the flow of the story.
This teacher also makes good use of his voice, using pause, tone, volume and expression very effectively. It really draws you in and makes you listen to what is happening in the story. He also matches his voice to the setting in the story which further solidifies the atmosphere of the story.
It was a very good display of confidence and he really told the story well.
This storyteller makes very nice use of expression in his voice for the characters. His voice is excellent throughout and really adds to the story.
His hand signals are supportive and add to the story as well. He also makes good use of facial expressions.
- Briefly write about the video clip you preferred, highlighting the skills and characteristics of the story-teller and the impact these had on you
The second storyteller had a lovely voice. I felt that he really told the story in an expressive, interesting way. His use of accents and different voices really gave a new dimension to the characters. His storytelling was full of confidence, through the pauses and different sound effects, and I really enjoyed it.