One way to build confidence as a new storyteller is to use the Dramatised Read-Aloud method. It works like this:
1. Pick a story from a book you really want to tell. A collection of myths, legends, folktales and fables works wells as the stories are short and self-contained.
2. You 'read aloud' the story to the class, reading directly from the book just as you would with any other read-aloud text. You would want to use as much expression as you can BUT you don't have to 'memorise' anything.
3. The children dress up as the characters and act out the story as you read it.
4. You will need to pause a lot, directing the students, encouraging them to repeat the lines of dialogue and move around your classroom to entertain the audience. However, you always have the book to return to.
5. As you get more confident, you will be able to move away from the text more and more, inventing your own additions.
6. Have fun! Here is Anu doing it for the first time. The students LOVED it!
1. Pick a story from a book you really want to tell. A collection of myths, legends, folktales and fables works wells as the stories are short and self-contained.
2. You 'read aloud' the story to the class, reading directly from the book just as you would with any other read-aloud text. You would want to use as much expression as you can BUT you don't have to 'memorise' anything.
3. The children dress up as the characters and act out the story as you read it.
4. You will need to pause a lot, directing the students, encouraging them to repeat the lines of dialogue and move around your classroom to entertain the audience. However, you always have the book to return to.
5. As you get more confident, you will be able to move away from the text more and more, inventing your own additions.
6. Have fun! Here is Anu doing it for the first time. The students LOVED it!