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Helping
Children Choose Stories
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*Preselect a
pool of stories for younger children and
students who have never told a story.
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*Tell or read
examples of different kinds of stories.
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*Each student
should consider their audience before
choosing a story.
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*Each student
should also read at least five stories
before choosing his/her story to tell.
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*Every
students should tell a different story.
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Helping
Children Learn Their Stories
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There are many
ways to learn a story. Listed below
are some suggested ways.
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*Read it over
and over again... tape it and listen to it
repeatedly.
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*Make a
pictorial outline of the story.
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*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.”
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*Encourage
students to put stories in their own words
while remaining true to the time and place
of the story.
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*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.
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*Have students
try to imagine how a character speaks and
looks and then incorporate that into the
story.
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*Students can
incorporate some similes into their
stories...”He was so tall that......”.
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*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.”
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*Sometimes
students may find that telling their story
to a mirror can be helpful.
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Voice
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*Encourage
students to use expression, reflect the
feeling and mood of the story, and emphasize
the appropriate words.
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*Sufficient
volume is also very important.
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*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.
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*Students can
use the pitch of their voices to reflect
different characters.
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Body Language
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*Practice
using facial expression to reflect different
emotions present in a story.
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*With body
movements students should do what comes
naturally and should only use body movements
that enhance the story.
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The
Performance
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*Students
should make eye contact and pause a
moment before beginning their story.
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*Stories
should be introduced before beginning.
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*Remind students that the
audience is supportive and wants them to do
well. Continue to
make eye contact during the story!
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*If students
make a mistake tell them to go on with out
calling attention to it. Do not
apologize to your audience!!!
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*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.
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*Remain
relaxed and take problems in stride you’ll
do fine