STORYTELLING
A dozen or so 3 and 4-year olds regularly gather together on the carpet. Some sit
entranced, quiet and still, while others wriggle with anticipation, unable to sit still. What
are they engaged in? Storytelling! Finally the question is posed, "What do you think
happened next?" Some want to end the story right then. Others are ready with new
characters and plot twists that keep the story going. It is a magic moment for storymakers
as children are transformed from listeners to participants, becoming storytellers
themselves.
This scenario exemplifies the joy and satisfaction of storytelling—the moment
when the listeners become one with the story. Storymaking is an interactive experience,
combining the story, the teller of the tale, and the audience. When used well, this
combination produces a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts—indeed
something that is as old and deep as the human race itself.
Children not only have an innate fascination with stories, they are natural story
tellers themselves. They build story frameworks to help themselves understand the world,
and incorporate story scenarios into their play. Perhaps no one has stated the importance
of children's stories as eloquently as Vivian Paley has. In The Boy Who Would Be a
Helicopter she states, "A day without storytelling is, for me, a disconnected day...I cannot
remember what is real to the children without their stories to anchor fantasy and purpose."
She maintains that children are born knowing how to put every thought and feeling into
story form. As they play-act out their plots, it is story in action, just as storytelling is plav
put into narrative form. As one of the foremost heralds for dramatic play and storytelling in
early childhood classrooms, Paley's underlying thesis is, "The classroom that does not
create its own legends (stories) has not traveled beneath the surface to where the living
takes place."
There are two equally-important aspects of classroom storymaking: individual
stories and group stories. Group stories are best to begin with because making up group
stories can provide a sense of scaffolding, or creating the supportive structures that
children need to give meaning to new information. Group story telling becomes a social
event, one in which children learn to exchange ideas and share knowledge in a joyous,
interactive context. And dramatizing their stories provides a vehicle for expression and, in
the case of shy children, an opportunity to get beyond their inhibitions in a
non-threatening environment.
Examples of group story writing:
1. There are many different ways to approach group story-telling, but the best kind to
begin with is Collaborative stories, in which you participate with a small group of
students as a group member and serve as a “filter” for your children’s early
attempts at composition. That way, you can provide whatever level of scaffolding
your children require to produce a successful story.
a) I begin with a large piece of chart paper so I can scribe their sentences as they
dictate them. We begin with a topic sentence and I ask for volunteers to contribute
what happens next. I continue to welcome their contributions asking, “Who else
has an idea?” until one of them offers one that will fit with the story so far.
b) Then we re-read the story down to that point, and I continue to ask the question
after each until the story is complete. (I may have to remind them when I’m
reaching the bottom of the paper that they need to be thinking about how the story
will end.) c) Once completed, we re-read the entire story, and I let the each
student who participated volunteer to illustrate one of the sentences which will
become a page of a class big book.
d) After completing the written version of the story, the group acts out their story for
the rest of the class. The big book then becomes a part of the class big book
collection.
2. Round-Robin, or sentence stories. Start the story in a genre familiar to your
students. Animal stories and fables usually work well for young children. Ask each
student to add a sentence to the story, or they can decide as a group on what will
happen next.
3. Theme stories. Stories, whether group or individual, are about a certain
theme-maybe all the characters are dinosaurs, or "magic stories," where
something magical must happen.
4. Descriptive stories. Emphasis is given to using descriptive words in made-up
stories. "The lady chased the dog" becomes, "The lady in the tattered dress
chased the yellow dog across the street."
5. Grab box stories. Fill a box with various objects or pictures, both familiar and
unfamiliar. Pass the box around and have everyone take an object from the box
and make up a story about it.
6. Picture stories. Children select pictures from a magazine, photographs, etc. and
use as springboards for stories. Ask children to describe what they see and what
they think is happening, or might happen, in the picture. Then have them use their
imaginations to create connections and plots.
7. "Finish the story" stories. The teacher or some adept child begins a story with as
little as a sentence or as much as a brief plot, then someone or ones contribute to
its development and ending. Also try the opposite-have some outsiders (other
teachers, parents, etc.) to present the "end of a story" in a mini-drama. Tell
students it was the final scene of a play and ask them to describe the events that
preceded it.
(These last two may be too sophisticated for younger, less-experienced children.)
After the children have become adept at creating group stories, I begin collecting
individual stories from each. Paley's books elaborate in particular on the art of individual
stories. Following her lead, I have my children dictate stories to me one-on-one every
week or so. They are written or typed and then all the students’ stories are "published" as
a volume for each child to take home and read with his/her parents.
Some tips for individual story writing are:
1. There is something magical to children when they see their words materializing
as they speak, so be sure to write their stories where they can watch you as they dictate it,
either on a tablet or computer with them seated next to you.
2. Write the child's story exactly as they tell it-bad grammar and all. They may be a
simple as "My mamma bought me a new toy" or elaborate, multi-character dramas (the
age and experience of the child usually determines this).
3. Don't be afraid to ask questions for clarification as they tell their story. Children
will learn that stories are intended to communicate ideas and if you don't understand
them, others probably won't either.
4. Always allow the children to act out the stories after they are read. Let each child
select the characters needed for their own story, and then the “cast” pantomines the
action as you read it aloud.
5. Be sure the stories are either posted or published (or both). Sending them home
as a book with volume numbers provides a great home-school connection and allows
parents to readily see their child's growth over the year.
For more ideas in the art of individual storytelling, also see Paley's books, Wallv's
Stories, Boys and Girls: Superheroes in the Doll Corner, and Mollie is Three: Growing Up
in School.
Although storytelling is an ancient art form, it is enjoying a revival today for both
children and adults. So it is that the old, old art of storytelling still has its power to charm!