How To Tell A Great Story

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Storytelling tips for Teachers

Helping Children Choose Stories
*Preselect a pool of stories for younger children and students who have never told a story.
*Tell or read examples of different kinds of stories.
*Each student should consider their audience before choosing a story.
*Each student should also read at least five stories before choosing his/her story to tell.
*Every students should tell a different story.

Helping Children Learn Their Stories
There are many ways to learn a story. Listed below are some suggested ways.
*Read it over and over again... tape it and listen to it repeatedly.
*Make a pictorial outline of the story.
*List the major events of the story...categorize them as beginning, middle, or ending. Then look for recurring lines such as “Over the sunny hills and the cool valleys.”
*Encourage students to put stories in their own words while remaining true to the time and place of the story.
*Stories should not be memorized but a student should consider memorizing the first and last lines of a story so that a student can begin and end a story with confidence.
*Have students try to imagine how a character speaks and looks and then incorporate that into the story.
*Students can incorporate some similes into their stories...”He was so tall that......”.
*Is there a part where the audience can join in, such as in, “I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house down.”
*Sometimes students may find that telling their story to a mirror can be helpful.

Voice
*Encourage students to use expression, reflect the feeling and mood of the story, and emphasize the appropriate words.
*Sufficient volume is also very important.
*Make sure you are not speaking to slowly or too fast. Tempo should be varied within the story and should reflect the mood of the story.
*Students can use the pitch of their voices to reflect different characters.

Body Language
*Practice using facial expression to reflect different emotions present in a story.
*With body movements students should do what comes naturally and should only use body movements that enhance the story.

The Performance
*Students should make eye contact and pause a moment before beginning their story.
*Stories should be introduced before beginning.
*Remind students that the audience is supportive and wants them to do well. Continue to make eye contact during the story!
*If students make a mistake tell them to go on with out calling attention to it. Do not apologize to your audience!!!
*If distractions occur, such as a baby crying, or a bell ringing, ....pause till the noise is over then continue. Do not comment on the problem or get flustered.
*Remain relaxed and take problems in stride you’ll do fine

Fiona Indage is the author for FSurvey which is a primary resource for all your survey requirements on the the Internet. Be sure to visit her complete archive of articles here: http://www.fsurvey.com/

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