Storytelling and World Storytelling Day
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Everyone enjoys listening to a good story, especially children. Storytelling engages our imagination and gives food for thought; and it’s a powerful tool in promoting all aspects of literacy – reading, writing and oral communication. Storytelling is an experience that children will be excited and stimulated by as they listen and respond to the richness of words, and the emotions the words evoke in a well-told story. Oral storytelling passes on values and information, encourages speaking and listening skills, and can improve self-esteem. |
Less able learners, hampered by their difficulties with reading and writing, can surprise both teachers and classmates when involved in an oral activity. Gaining a love of language this way is an important step to reading and writing.
Storytelling is also a great for promoting cross-curricular activities. Every country has its own tales which highlight its history, geography and culture.
To help promote storytelling why not celebrate World Storytelling Day on March 20th. It is a global celebration of the art of oral storytelling which started in Sweden in 2003. World Storytelling Day’s goal is to get everyone, everywhere to tell and listen to stories and to share their experiences.
This now truly global celebration has over 25 participating countries from 5 different continents and the theme for this year’s World Storytelling Day is “NEIGHBOURS”.
To celebrate World Storytelling Day in your school, you can
- have a discussion on the value of storytelling. Why do we enjoy stories? What place do they have in our lives?
- have class teachers going from room to room to tell a story before moving on to the next class.
- invite seniors and grandparents to share own personal stories at the school
- have a school-wide storytelling competition
Here are some tips and activities to help you make the most of celebrating this ageless pastime on World Storytelling Day and in the classroom as well.
A well-developed and presented story can hold the interest of an entire audience so knowing and applying the few simple basics of storytelling will help strengthen your stories.
You can also explore storytelling and reading aloud with these dip-in activities. And as a a follow-up to World Storytelling Day, invite the children to express their thoughts through a piece of writing like a poem. Or students can write an original story and tell or perform it to their classmates.
