What Happens When Kids Tell the Stories

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Looking back on your childhood, I am sure you can recall times when you sat in your mother or grandmother's lap and she read you a book, or perhaps you remember going to storytime at the library. Teachers throughout school read books or excerpts of a story to you. Do you ever recall a time you were asked to get in front of the class to tell your story? Aside from perhaps some public speaking jitters do you remember anything about the experience? Or is it possible you don't recall ever being asked to share a story with a group of your peers? I had never really thought about storytelling from the child or listener's viewpoint until last week when I wrote my last blog post and reflected on the importance storytelling can have for people studying science and STEM. If you didn't read that post, you can find it here. It turns out there are a lot of benefits for children to actually be the storyteller, too!

Some of the benefits to having children tell stories include increased vocabulary, reading fluency, and oral fluency. Some of the most pronounced effects can come from low performing students and English language learners. Campbell & Hlusek (2015) outlines a class who focused on those students as they had them pair up and come up with a story, practice and rehearse the telling of the story, and eventually present it to their classmates. The students were allowed to present it in whatever fashion they wished using storyboards and props to help them along the way. By the end of this year, these students had each increased from 1-3 levels in reading fluency and they all improved their comprehension and gave more thorough responses. Students were engaged throughout this whole process due to the creative aspect. Let's look at a few reasons storytelling could have this effect.

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Storytelling With English Language Learners

For English language learners, we begin by teaching them more conversational elements of the language as those are used most frequently and are easy to practice. As Matthew Friday (2014), notes storytelling transcends culture because it is a form of communication used in all countries. He even points out how complex stories can be understood through relatively few words. For an example of this just look at the old silent films. Friday taught a class of English language learners who in the beginning of the class were shy and afraid to speak out in class, but within a few weeks of listening to his storytelling were volunteering to write their own stories to be acted out. Some things that he did with his storytelling to adapt to children learning English included speaking more slowly, acting out words like sleep, run, etc., and include humor with laughing out loud. When students began volunteering to tell the stories, he did not focus on grammar or writing mistakes so as not to stifle their creativity. More shy students are always allowed to work with a partner and as even adults can attest, having peers cheering you on can be a great motivator.

What is Fluency?

To better understand how storytelling can improve reading and oral fluency, we should first define what fluency is. Merriam Webster's dictionary defines fluent as "capable of using a language easily and accurately" and "effortlessly smooth and flowing." Often the word fluent is equated with speed, but speed really has little to do with being fluent. Some people can read quickly, but do not understand anything they read. Cahill and Gregory were quoted by Campbell and Hlusek (2015) as having said, "Fluency is reading like you talk, not too fast and not too slow, with expression." In order to read in this manner, one must first understand what they are reading. In the same manner, oral fluency comes from practiced speech and listening skills. How can storytelling help students with becoming fluent?

Storytelling Preparation and Lessons

As we have learned throughout this storytelling course, storytelling is best performed with lots of practice and planning ahead. When a student sets out to give a storytelling presentation, they will have to plan the story, how they want to tell it, and prepare in the same ways we as adults would prepare. Repeatedly reading the text familiarizes the student with the words of the story and helps them to connect their understanding of it with how they intend to act it out. Re-reading has been shown to "improve oral reading fluency and reading comprehension" as well as increase word recognition. (Shanahan, 2017). When students are telling their story to a classroom of their peers, they are are often more motivated. By listening to their friends tell their stories they also become better listeners which translates into improved oral fluency, as well.

If you haven't ever included a project based assignment for students to come up with their own stories and present them, it might seem a little overwhelming to plan. There are a lot of good resources online to guide you through this, though, thankfully today. Khan Academy has a great introduction to storytelling course that would be a good start to a project of this type. You can find that lesson plan here. It starts out with a video from the creators at Pixar. Campbell and Hlusek (2015) also gives a good outline of the steps that they used for their storytelling project. Implementing storytelling assignments can be a very beneficial practice especially for lower achieving students. It also gives the student some free reign on their creativity. Helping kids set and reach higher reading goals could be the reward.

What I'm Reading This Week: Classic Literature

• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and Melanie Joyce

• Black Beauty by Anna Sewell and Melanie Joyce

• Treasure Island by Cyril Bavis

• The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

• Little Red Riding Hood by Trina Schart Hyman

• The Frog Prince by the Brothers Grimm

References:

Campbell, T. & Hlusek, M. (2015). Storytelling for fluency. The Reading Teacher, Vol. 69(2), 157-161.

Friday, M. J. (2014, November 12). How storytelling inspires children to learn English. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/storytelling-inspires-children-learn-english-matthew-friday

Khan Academy Labs. (2017, Feb 17.). Pixar in a Box: Introduction to Storytelling. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/1rMnzNZkIX0

Khan Academy. (n.d.). Introduction to storytelling (video). Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/hass-storytelling/storytelling-pixar-in-a-box/ah-piab-we-are-all-storytellers/v/storytelling-introb

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Fluent definition & meaning. Merriam-Webster. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fluent

Shanahan, T. (2017.). Everything you wanted to know about repeated reading. Reading Rockets. https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-on-literacy/everything-you-wanted-know-about-repeated-reading