Age range: 5-11 years
This sheet will give tips on how to close a session, what to do after a session and maybe sometimes build on the experience beyond the session. The idea is to capitalize and reinforce the positive influence or benefits of a storytelling session. During about an hour the teacher and the children have listened to and have told stories. How do you close this special time? For example, you can use a ritual phrase.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
A storytelling session is more than just a moment to tell a story. It is important to address all the feelings or the things learnt during a storytelling session. It is also important to not end the storytelling session too abruptly. A ritual phrase at the end of the session, such as “they lived happily ever after. The End.”, will close the proper “story telling time” and the moment after that can be used as a sort of transitory moment between the freedom of the storytelling moment and the return to formal class. The idea is to capitalize on the positivity from the session in order to encourage student to communicate and use their oral skills beyond the story telling session as well.
HOW TO DO THAT?
To continue to stimulate attention and engagement, children will be encouraged to use different senses such as touch, vision, movement, hearing, the best option is to combine them and that will enrich the child’s inner world. These activities should be considered not only as educational, but also as fun and creative in order to become more attractive.
TOOLS TO ENCOURAGE MOTIVATION
Paintings, objects related to the content of the story: small figures (made of chocolate), plush toys, characters made (out of cardboard, wooden stick); suitable background music.
PREPARATION / REALIZATION
Educational sheet for each student, pencils, felt-tip pens, pastels, colored sheets, glue.
The kids will be incited to cut, color, and make applications of a literary character from a specific story told in class. Also, they will draw a décor of the story being told to render the story graphic and more tangible.
OTHER OPTIONS IN CASE THE CHILD / CHILDREN REFUSE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTIVITY:
They are offered another activity. It is good to offer activities to involve these students so that they do not feel isolated and so that they feel empathetic to the story.
- allow to be an observer of the activity of the others;
- propose them to retell the story;
- incite them to help another participant;
- propose them to model the character or an object of the story.
- discussion of the content through specific questions:
- Who are the characters?
- What are their actions?
- Which of the characters do you sympathize with the most? What do you think this story is telling us?
- activities for developing storytelling skills:
- narration (by illustration, with a character) of a certain moment
- an interview with a character from the story
- other activities:
- illustration;
- modelling.
At the end of the session, depending on its content, use common expressions and phrases such as “Today you were captivating storytellers”, “You were wonderful and very artistic!” is both a way to completely close the storytelling related session, and to motivate the pupils for other activities of this type.