Wit & Wisdom
Roger Jenkins
storyteller
storyteller
© Roger Jenkins 2011 Made With Serif WebPlus.
CHOOSING ACTIVITIES
As a teacher, perhaps you feel you can only justify telling a story in the classroom if you put it to some purpose, as if the pleasure derived from listening attentively to the spoken word, of focusing solely on a narrative sequence, was not enough.
Therefore I am providing these suggestion for things today before, during and after you tell a story but with the proviso that you never make so much of them that your class responds to news of ‘It’s Story Time” with painful cries of ‘Oh no - not another comprehension!’
As a teacher, perhaps you feel you can only justify telling a story in the classroom if you put it to some purpose, as if the pleasure derived from listening attentively to the spoken word, of focusing solely on a narrative sequence, was not enough.
Therefore I am providing these suggestion for things today before, during and after you tell a story but with the proviso that you never make so much of them that your class responds to news of ‘It’s Story Time” with painful cries of ‘Oh no - not another comprehension!’
It is important that you consider : what do you want the activity for?
a) To help the children understand the story?
b) To practise new aspects of language (vocabulary or grammar)
c) To express their feelings about the story?
ACTIVITIES BEFORE STARTING:
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talk with the class about their experience of what is a central topic of the story. Eg Gulliver has an adventure and he travels overseas and he meets some people different from his friends at home.
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Show a cover of book or title: what do you think this story about? (PREDICTING)
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Show pictures from the book: What do class know about this topic (e.g. giants
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Muddled Pictures (ie cartoon strip in wrong order) Class rearranges them in the order they think will be correct.
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Pairs either draw a Key Moment from the story (ask for pix large enough to see!) or a Key character (don’t include any background in the picture.) Display the pictures. Kids try to predict the story.
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What words do you think will appear in (eg) story of Red Riding Hood? Ask kids to list. (eg Mother, wolf, basket)
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Wrap up an object connected to the story. Children guess what object is. Tell them the object is in the story - can they guess the story (ask you questions?)
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begin with an explicit intro: I'm going to tell a story about a
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begin without any preparation at all, directly with the first line of the story; or with Once Upon A Time; however note the following
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DON'T BEGIN
without some kind of preparation for that special moment in your class when you cross the magic bridge and enter .... storytelling time! Having your audience in the right frame of mind makes a big difference.
until you have everyone's attention and total silence - unless you're confident the sheer power of your voice will grab them!