Acting it out
Drama and re-enacting stories has been key to the success of
storytelling at East Community Preschool in Peterborough. Sabrina
Donnelly, practitioner and Every Child a Talker leader at the
preschool, shows why incorporating drama is so effective.
We have a large group of
seventeen children aged between
three and four, so story time has
to be very animated and
inclusive. I am a very animated
story teller and love the children
to join in as much as possible.
Drama is a great way to bring
stories to life and what better
story to re-enact than Goldilocks
and the Three Bears.
Once upon a time there were three bears
I read the story of Goldilocks to the children over a
couple of days and then other members of staff
read it at regular intervals, so the children got to
know the story really well. A member of staff set up
a colourful storyboard with pictures of three chairs,
beds and bowls in three sizes and a house. The
practitioner then used finger puppets of Goldilocks
and the three bears to tell the story again without
the book, and the children joined in with all the
voices throughout the story.
Storyboard
The children enjoy acting out the story
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Then came the really active part. All the children acted out the story in a large
group, taking on the characters and saying the lines such as "Who's been
eating my porridge?".
Being, by then, such a familiar story
and very visual, all the children were
able to join in at their own level of
development. The older children
joined in saying full sentences such
as “Who’s been sitting in my chair?”
and the younger ones enjoyed
shouting out one or two key words
with great expressiveness. The
children with English as an Additional
Language (EAL) were able to
express themselves with
This porridge is just right
gestures and actions, mimicking their
peers.
We set up the Goldilocks activity the
next day for a couple of children to reenact the story in their own words and
at their own pace. What was
interesting was how much of the story
the children told, mirrored the
practitioner’s way of telling the story.
Goldilocks fell asleep
Dramatising a story usually works
better in a small group. However, for
experienced practitioners, who feel
very comfortable story telling, acting
out a story and using puppetry can
work just as well in large groups.
Boys act the story out with puppet
theatre
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We have started another story using the nursery rhyme Five Little Ducks and
have some fun ideas in the pipe line for this. I am hoping that these activities
will encourage some of the children to make up their own stories.
Little girl uses the storyboard during “free
play” time
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