For this blog post, I wanted to jump back to a module from earlier in the semester. In week eight, we focused on the audience as the storyteller. This topic caught my attention, immediately! As a second-grade teacher, teaching students how to tell stories is a part of what I do. I teach them to write, communicate, and listen every day. Unfortunately, it seems as if many children struggle with these skills, along with many literacy skills. I was very interested in this topic because I wanted to learn insight on how I can help my students build on these skills through storytelling.

In 1996, Susan Danoff had the goal for “…storytelling to teach literacy skills and motivate students who were not being served by more conventional teaching methods” (Greene & Negro, p.198). After reading more about Danoff, and her pursuits, it is clear that she has had a heavy influence on the ways storytelling can affect children. Through her work, it was determined that interactive techniques, such as chanting, singing, moving, and dramatization could teach literacy skills. These skills include comprehension, story structure, prediction, visualization, vocabulary, listening, retelling, and improvisation. It was recorded that the use of storytelling caused dramatic improvement in students writing pieces! (Negro, pp.199-200). All these skills are essential when children are learning to read and write in elementary school and throughout the rest of their lives. Storytelling is an important tool that should be used to engage students and help them grow in literacy and life skills.

Something else that I found interesting from this module was the social-emotional support storytelling can provide for children. For students with behavioral disorders, storytellers chose to tell stories that aligned to their lives. It gave them a chance to feel seen and give a different perspective on the situation at hand. The chapter also discussed how storytelling could affect students’ self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-expression… all important skills in adulthood. (Negro, p.199). Storytelling is so powerful, and it is wonderful that it can have this effect on children.

Fluency is one skill, however, that many of my students struggle with the most. One way I found that fluency could be supported through storytelling is through having a Readers Theatre in the classroom. Campbell & Hlusek (2015) state, “speaking fluency and reading fluency become natural partners when students are involved in learning to tell a story to an audience”. Reading about how storytelling projects such as a Readers Theatre can help students with fluency is fascinating. This project led to independent conversations about content, improved comprehension, and improved oral and reading fluency.  This is something I want to include in my classroom!

The final part of this module that stood out to me is that children need to be supported by storytelling, not only at school, but at home. Early literacy development can be supported during story times, but it also must be emphasized that the caregiver’s role in their child’s literacy development is extremely important (Albright, Delecki, & Hinkle, p. 16). I can see in my own students that there is a lack of parental involvement for numerous reasons. No matter the reason, children must be supported at home and school to develop the literacy skills they need. There is a direct connection between what instruction is happening at home and school, and with implementation of best practices, students will be able to grow.

Here is a link to a video full of storytelling activities to do with children!

I want to use all this information to help support my own students, and future students, literacy skill development. I plan to use different strategies such as the Readers Theatre and other storytelling projects to work on these skills. I also want to make sure I am communicating best practices with caregivers so that students are getting supportive instruction in all their environments. As a future librarian, I know these skills are extremely important to teach students early on. Using these strategies can have a powerful difference on so many children’s relationships with literacy!

 

References

Albright, M., Delecki, K., & Hinkle, S. (2009). The evolution of early literacy: A history of best

practices in storytimes. Children and Libraries, 7(1), 13-18.

Campbell, T. & Hlusek, M. (2015). Storytelling for fluency and flair: A performance-based

approach. The Reading Teacher, 69(2), 157–161.

Greene, E., & Negro, J. D. (2010). Storytelling: Art and technique. Libraries Unlimited.