Guest Post: Courtesy of: The Library Fairy ®
The Six Secrets of Storytelling to Skyrocket Literacy by The Library Fairy ®
We’ve all been there.
It’s that moment before you start a story and you see a restless group of children all looking at you.
You say to yourself, “How am I going to engage them? Should I stand on my head? Make animal noises? Break out in song?”
As a seasoned children’s storyteller performing live and podcast programs, I’ve honed some secrets to truly engage children in the ancient art of folklore. Remember, storytelling is a powerful catalyst of cognitive, literacy and language skills. The better the telling of the story, the better children will remember it, and want to retell it. This directly promotes their narrative voice, one of the strongest keys to literacy skills.
The beauty of telling a story in the oral tradition, is it gives us a moment—a moment in time to experience another realm, culture or world. This also develops empathy and understanding in children of diverse cultures and people.
You just might find that the group of children looking at you are excited, because they are waiting— waiting for you to take them on a journey they won’t soon forget.
Secret One: The Lasting Imprint
What do you think children remember the most after hearing a tale? In my experience, the most immediate thing they remember is a silly section or fun, repetitive phrase in the story. But what do you think they will remember the next day and beyond… the true lasting imprint?
The emotional connection you make with them.
All of the fun secrets of storytelling are ways to help children connect with the story you are telling. But the secrets will not work as brilliantly if the children are not connected to you, the teller.
Connecting with children—really connecting with them– takes an instant. There is much children experience on a daily basis that is one-sided: either technological or pure entertainment. As fun or worthwhile as these are at times, there is no replacement for a person standing in front of them, and looking them in the eye while giving something from the heart.
This is where you, the storyteller, can really make a difference. Nothing can take the place of your humanness and emotion you give a story and its characters. If you are sincere, children will feel it. It might take them a few minutes for them to settle into your story, because they may be used to entertainment with a faster pace.
Not to worry. Keep your pace… and slowly but surely, they’ll follow. You are giving them a present and unwrapping it layer by layer. This takes time but is well worth the effort. Because if you connect with children sincerely and from the heart, they will learn to connect with themselves and others in the same way. This also helps increase their attention span and retention.
Secret Two: Be Yourself
Everyone brings something unique to the storytelling table… that means you!
Of course, not everyone is Viola Davis or Meryl Streep, but even great actors are keen to the fact that it’s their innate persona people come to see.
This is where storytelling becomes truly innovative and fun: the storyteller is the essential ingredient… so bring YOU in all your glory!
The holidays are a great time to practice informal storytelling around your family and friends. Like anything, stories and storytellers become better with practice. This also hones your storytelling voice in a friendly setting, and will most likely delight any little ones around!
As the grand dame of storytelling Margaret Read MacDonald says, “Stories can be told simply, sitting with your hands folded and speaking the tale quietly. Or, they can be danced and drummed while surrounded by leaping children.”
Find your own storytelling voice and distinctive personality – be it reflective, dynamic or silly. Children revel in authenticity and they can smell it a mile away. They also tend to mimic and model behavior, so shouldn’t they get the real you?
Secret Three: Bring the Senses Alive!
A wonderful element about a good story is how it transports children into another world by bringing the senses alive.
As a storyteller, I often integrate three main learning modalities to enliven children’s senses during a tale. This can be accomplished in fun and simple ways:
1. Visual Modality: Paint the Picture With Your Words
When telling a tale, focus on the most detailed description of the characters you can muster. Instead of just saying an “old cat” relay a super specific detail such as, “The dust from age had gathered in her fur for so long, her once porcelain-white fur was now the grey of a dark, looming cloud in a storm …” Painting the picture with your words aids children in constructing the story’s rich characters with their rich imagination. Children who use their imagination in this way are also developing their cognitive and symbolic-thinking capacity— directly aiding their literacy and language skills.
2. Auditory Modality: Word-weave Your Heart Out
One of the fantastic benefits of storytelling is that it creates an oral-rich environment. Children are absorbing many vital skills in hearing a good story, such as advanced vocabulary, the rhythm and pace of language and story structure.
Children crave the kind of sharing communication storytelling provides; distinctly different from the directive language they may experience throughout the day. Storytelling is an ancient, familiar language immediately recognized in one’s DNA. Children are also more relaxed and open to learning lessons during this time.
Remember to also speak in rich, varied voices as the characters. It’s fun and helps children remember them. You’ll be amazed when they repeat the tale word for word… imitating YOU!
3. Kinesthetic Modality: Use Gestures
Children are natural actors and respond to physical activity. That’s why it’s a great idea to create character gestures they can repeat along with you in a story. This also helps focus their attention on an activity, and recall and retain the tale even more.
Secret Four: Pause
When I tell a story live, I face an audience of children and look into their eyes. They slowly quiet down, curious by my silence. I smile as if I have surprise for them. They wait. So do I. I relish in this pause at the beginning of a story. It’s the poignant pause that prepares them for the journey… and helps them cross the bridge into the magical world of story.
Sometimes we forget how powerful silence can be. We live in a world filled with horns, beeps, buzzers and ring tones.
So where does silence fit in?
When you use thoughtful pauses in the midst of a story, it gives children a space of silence to let the images and words sink in. Mister Rogers was a master at pauses, letting them weave their way in and out his conversation with young viewers. He felt this silence was crucial in allowing children to absorb, interact and respond in their mind (or aloud) to what he was presenting.
Practice pausing in the telling of tales or the reading of stories. Fill the room with silence. If you listen closely, you’ll find it’s not quiet at all, but bursting with the thoughts of children wondering … what … you … will … say … next!
Secret Five: Repetitive Phrases Work Wonders
Children love predictability. This includes in storytelling adventures, too.
Try to tell tales that have fun, repetitive phrases you can use in call and response with children. It’s an effective method storytellers have used since the beginning of time to involve audiences. One of my favorite call and response phrases is from a fabulous folktale from Panama called “El Conejito.” I tell a revised version based on one in Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald’s book Shake It Up Tales! This book is a great resource to find tellable tales. Conejito (‘little bunny’ in Spanish) goes to visit his Tia Monica (Auntie Monica) and sings the same song all the way up the mountain. When performing this tale, I sing the first portion of the song, and have the kids sing the last portion:
Me: “I have a lovely Auntie, my Tia Monica, and when we go out dancing, we all say …” Kids: “OOOH-LA-LA!!”
Each time the kids sing “OOOH-LA-LA!!” they get a little louder and sillier. I’ve never seen a kid who couldn’t say “OOOH-LA-LA!!” without smiling. The repetition creates a rhythm in the tale the children recognize, and they really enjoy playing along.
A phrase that repeats itself in a children’s folktale or book is the invisible thread that weaves the story together, creating an irresistible tempo to the tale. Use it grandly in call and response and you will find the children are more captivated because they feel they are actually a part of the journey, instead of just listening to a story.
And that bears repeating.
Secret Six: Humor and Invention Keep Children’s Attention
Humor is the magic wand in storytelling.
Telling a story is a lot like leading children down the garden path of an exciting journey. Once in awhile, you want throw in something completely unexpected that keeps the journey interesting — such as a silly face, dance or sound. You’ll find it keeps their attention because it makes it fun!
Try something amusing that brings a character or the story alive — and commit to it completely. Children live in the silly and they love it when you join them.
Sometimes you have to experiment with different ideas to see what works, but once you’ve found it, it’s yours. Try it on a child you know first, since chances are if it makes one kid laugh, it will make kids around the same age laugh too.
I’ve heard that one of the keys to humor is doing the unexpected. I can’t tell you how many times I have found it to be true.
Remember, YOU are the link to the story you are sharing. Yes, YOU! Children want to experience the story and characters completely through you! So don’t be shy! Take them on the journey of the story as much as possible.
That means investing your energy, enthusiasm and humor into the story and giving it to them directly… like a gift.
The Library Fairy® is a children’s storyteller specializing in folktales that promote diversity, multiculturalism, literacy and language skills. Join teachers, educators, parents and children around the world who enjoy her weekly, free podcast: The Library Fairy – Kids’ Stories and Folktales!
Check out the Podcast here:
https://thelibraryfairy.buzzsprout.com
Copyright © 2021, The Library Fairy®
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Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
