Story Telling Essay

This essay sample on Story Telling Essay provides all necessary basic info on this matter, including the most common “for and against” arguments. Below are the introduction, body and conclusion parts of this essay.

To understand and learn from different textual materials is the real essence of reading.  This is the very reason why it is perceived that kindergarten learners need to continuously increase their reading comprehension skills as they move forward with their grade or school levels (Williams, 1998).  Based on reports, teachers are worrying that as time goes by, more and more learners go to school without the expected knowledge and skills in reading and comprehending textual materials given to them (Snow, 2002).

Needless to say, the children-learners’ literacy level tend to go down which is brought by many different factors.Indeed, there have been recent studies conducted which reveal that increasing the literacy level of the kindergarten learners is becoming a challenging tasks for the teachers.  Students who are in the in their middle age of learning are already being taught for proper reading and comprehension.

  However, there are reports that show that there are increasing number of students who have gone to higher levels but “are still not fully equipped with the right reading and comprehension perspectives,” thus a big task to teachers and other educational facilitators nowadays is how to increase the reading comprehension of students in the middle school (Snow, 2002). For this reason alone, different teaching methods and approaches have been tried to eliminate the continuing problem on low literacy level.

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With all the information stated above, it should be realized that to increase the literacy skills of the young learners, teachers need to provide extra time to their students. This ‘extra time’ can be consumed by reading to the students. And this is where story telling comes in really handy.Storytelling is an ancient art, as old as oral communication itself. To be human is to be a storyteller; we use stories to define ourselves, to make sense of our world, and to create community. Unfortunately, educators – including teacher-librarians- have often neglected storytelling as a teaching tool and as a useful skill for students.The oral tradition of telling stories goes back to the beginning of spoken language. Long before historical events were written down, storytellers relayed stories to preserve culture and heritage (Vansina, 1985). The earliest recorded stories, such as the tales of Gilgamesh, Beowulf, and the Greek and Norse myths, were first communicated as oral tales (Thompson, 1946).There are a number of benefits that can be derived in storytelling to children-learners.  One of the most important aspect that story telling brings to learners is its ability to stimulate interest in reading. If a teacher is orally sharing a story that is based on a book, it is important to let the students know that the book is available to be checked out of the school library. Most students love to hear stories, and that the story can often be transferred to the printed word.Storytelling teaches and reinforces both oral and listening skills (Groce, 2001) – two basic life skills that usually do not receive the same attention in schools as reading and writing. The pleasure that children can receive by listening to stories helps them associate listening with enjoyment. They also learn how to be respectful listeners. Storytelling enhances vocabulary and language development, assisting students in discovering both the beauty and the power of words. Many adults in today’s society are afraid of speaking in front of an audience. When children and youth are involved in oral presentations, they become more comfortable with public speaking as they grow older. Thus, storytelling can help foster self-confidence and poise (Caulfield, 2000).A well-told story can nurture the imagination of students and assist them in mental visualization (Baker ; Greene, 1977). Too often the youths are bombarded with audio and visual stimulation and are rarely provided opportunities to mentally see characters, settings, and actions. When students tell stories, they are offered outlets for their own creative expression. The storyteller can change a story, adding ideas or details that make it one’s own creation. This is often referred to as “making a story your own.”Storytelling through the ages has been used as a teaching tool, whether for imparting the values contained in many of the folktales or for simply passing along information. Facts embedded in a story are generally much easier to learn and recall than when presented in an informational format (Wagner & Smith, 1969).Each culture has its own folktales and stories; thus, participation in storytelling can convey an awareness and appreciation of other cultures. It is a way of respecting the heritage of a particular culture, reinforcing societal values, and keeping traditions and folk heroes alive.Most important, storytelling is fun. Stories can be funny, suspenseful, exciting, and thought provoking. Having times in our school day to laugh and be entertained provides opportunities for students to relax and adds variety to classroom routines.The Best Approaches to StorytellingOn Selecting a StoryOne of the most important steps in storytelling is the selection of a story that will be shared aloud. Not every book can be used to tell a story. The selected story should have a definite beginning, middle, and end. Folktales, myths, legends, hero tales, humorous stories, and realistic stories are especially suitable for storytelling. Consider the age of the audience when choosing a story. Young children love stories with repetition and pleasing word sounds, whereas older children prefer stories that have action, humor, and suspense. The teachers should always choose a story that he/she enjoys him/herself (Wagner & Smith, 1969).On Preparing a StoryBefore attempting to tell a story, the teacher should read it through several times and try to picture the events and hear the voices of the characters. Although the teacher may want to memorize repetitive, interesting, and beautiful phrasing that will help retain the flavor of the original story, avoid memorizing an entire story. Develop a clear outline of the story plot in mind, and then simply tell it. It is particularly important to be familiar with the beginning and the end of a story. Once the teacher feels comfortable that he/she knows the story thoroughly, try to imagine the audience and then practice telling the story aloud numerous times (Wagner & Smith, 1969).On Telling the StoryThe following are several tips that can help both the teachers and the kindergarten learners and become successful storytellers (Baker & Greene, 1977):· Use natural voice, speaking simply in an unaffected way.· Speak loudly enough to be easily heard.· Articulate clearly.· Use pauses and changes of pace and pitch to create moods.· Use gestures when appropriate, but avoid movement that is unrelated to the story.· Keep face alive and expressive.· Maintain eye contact with the listeners.· Subordinate oneself to the story.Remember, the teachers are the instrument while the story is the main feature.Some Extension Activities for StorytellingAlthough the teachers’ ultimate goal is to have kindergarten students begin to tell their own stories, the teacher may want to begin getting students involved in storytelling by having them participate in some extension activities of stories that another adult storyteller shares. The following are some activities that can be used to involve students in storytelling (Baker & Greene, 1977):· Discuss possible other endings for a story.· Tell something that could have happened to one of the characters in a story before or after the story.· Using a microphone, interview the characters in a story, with one student being a television news reporter and other students being the characters in a story.· Write a different ending for a story.· Write a journal entry as one of the characters in a story.· Write a poem about a story.· Make up a song or jingle for the story.· Write a newspaper article about what happened in a story.· Research one of the characters in a story.· Draw a picture of a favorite scene in a story.· Make a comic strip of a story.· Make a story quilt, with each student drawing a different part of a story and then piecing drawings together.· Make props that can be used to retell a story.· Act out a story using sound effects, movements, and gestures.· Take turns retelling a story by passing along a magic wand or other object and have each student tell a portion of the story.· Retell a story from another point of view.· Retell a story, sharing it with a different audience.ConclusionIndeed, increasing the literacy skills of the young learners is not an easy task. There are varied factors that both the teachers and the learners need to consider before they can fully succeed in their goal.  One of the foremost factors that teachers should really take into consideration is the ways in which they could provide more time to read to the students and at the same time stimulate them to read. And it was found out that storytelling can achieve such objectives.Storytelling is still very much a part of the work of youth services librarians in school and public libraries. Whether stories are told with props, costumes, puppets, or flannel boards or whether a storyteller stands alone at the front of the room, stories can stimulate children to read, to listen, and to use their creative skills. Most important, listening to and telling stories helps children connect with and understand themselves and other people, a valuable asset in an increasingly complex and diverse world and the most dominating criteria to increasing the literacy skills.Pedagogical ApplicationsAs a teacher, I would like to enhance my storytelling skills so that I can use this as part of my everyday learning programs for the young learners that I am handling. Based on the ideas presented above, story telling to the kindergarten students will truly augment, not only their literacy skills but also some aspect of their own mental, psychological and/or overall personality, with which I, as the teacher needs to provide due consideration also. By this alone, I am most confident that by giving some time – everyday, or maybe twice a day – for storytelling (such as in the mat time), educational achievement of my young learners will become on a high level.