How to tell a story to primary learners

Step 1

First, think about the following questions.
When telling stories to young learners, how do you …

• raise their interest
• tell the story with feeling
• let them guess what happens next
• discuss the story afterwards
• give them praise?

Step 2

Next, you'll watch a video of a teacher in a young learner classroom. She's going to tell a story about a young fish who goes out swimming in the sea. How do you think she'll raise her learners' interest in the story?

Watch the video and notice how she gets learners interested in the story.

The teacher activates the learners' prior knowledge of animals, fish and the sea. She uses actions to explain the word 'fidgety' (an adjective to describe someone who can't stop moving).

Step 3

The teacher uses actions to tell the story. The young fish's mother tells him to go out swimming in the sea but to watch out for the big fish. What actions do you think the teacher will use?

Now, watch the next part of the video and notice the actions, tone of voice and facial expressions the teacher uses to tell the story.

The teacher uses actions, facial expressions and tone of voice to show danger and feelings like being scared. She engages her learners by inviting them to do the actions too.

Step 4

Why do you think the teacher asks the learners to predict what will happen next?

Watch the next part of the video and notice what happens when the teacher asks her learners to predict the story.

By pausing and asking the learners to predict, the teacher raises curiosity and suspense. The learners are focused and actively involved in the storytelling.

Step 5

The teacher has a short post-reading discussion with her learners. What simple questions do you think she will ask?

Watch the video and notice the questions the teacher asks.
 

First, the teacher asks learners if they liked the story. Then, she focuses on a key part of the story, clarifies what happens and asks the learners what they would do in that situation. She uses the pictures to elicit vocabulary and information.

Step 6

Why is it important to praise learners at the end of the story?

Watch the final video to see how the teacher praises the learners for listening.
 

What techniques from the videos would you like to try in your own classroom?

Think of a story you know well. How would you:

• raise learners' interest
• tell the story with feeling
• let learners guess what happens next
• discuss the story afterwards
• give learners praise?

Write a comment to share your experiences and ideas.