I don’t know about you, but I love a good story. Stories are powerful because they express human experience and emotion in a way that speaks to our very souls. They allow us to connect personally with the story we are hearing, thereby involving ourselves in a more active and powerful way.
As an educator, I am always looking for ways to help students not just understand and learn class content, but grow personally. I have found that storytelling is a powerful tool. It allows students to enter into the story, become a part of it, learn the concepts, and apply principles to their lives.
Storytelling is a type of time and place transporter. No longer are we limited to our 20x20 foot classroom in Union Grove, Wisconsin. We can be in a prison in Ancient Rome, the Nile River in Egypt, the Saini dessert, a temple in Ephesus, a dusty road in the Middle East, or a boat in the middle of a sea. It’s the next best thing to getting on an airplane and actually experiencing it, because storytelling takes one-dimensional concepts and makes them three-dimensional, helping students create life-like and realistic pictures in their minds.
Madeline L’Engle wrote, “Stories make us more alive, more human, more courageous, more loving.”
There are a number of ways to incorporate storytelling into the classroom. I most frequently use storybooks, acting/drama, and improvisation/scenarios.
There are many other ways to incorporate storytelling into the classroom. Evaluate your class content and the learning needs of your students to determine which type will best meet the learning needs of your students. Let me challenge you to give it a try. I believe that you will be greatly pleased with the way it gets your students involved with the learning process and the learning outcomes it provides!
There is an old Chinese proverb that perfectly illustrates the benefit of storytelling, narrative acting, and improvisation: “Tell me, I'll forget. Show me, I may remember. But involve me, and I'll understand.”
To read Elyse’s entire article, please click “here.”
As an educator, I am always looking for ways to help students not just understand and learn class content, but grow personally. I have found that storytelling is a powerful tool. It allows students to enter into the story, become a part of it, learn the concepts, and apply principles to their lives.
Storytelling is a type of time and place transporter. No longer are we limited to our 20x20 foot classroom in Union Grove, Wisconsin. We can be in a prison in Ancient Rome, the Nile River in Egypt, the Saini dessert, a temple in Ephesus, a dusty road in the Middle East, or a boat in the middle of a sea. It’s the next best thing to getting on an airplane and actually experiencing it, because storytelling takes one-dimensional concepts and makes them three-dimensional, helping students create life-like and realistic pictures in their minds.
Madeline L’Engle wrote, “Stories make us more alive, more human, more courageous, more loving.”
There are a number of ways to incorporate storytelling into the classroom. I most frequently use storybooks, acting/drama, and improvisation/scenarios.
There are many other ways to incorporate storytelling into the classroom. Evaluate your class content and the learning needs of your students to determine which type will best meet the learning needs of your students. Let me challenge you to give it a try. I believe that you will be greatly pleased with the way it gets your students involved with the learning process and the learning outcomes it provides!
There is an old Chinese proverb that perfectly illustrates the benefit of storytelling, narrative acting, and improvisation: “Tell me, I'll forget. Show me, I may remember. But involve me, and I'll understand.”
To read Elyse’s entire article, please click “here.”
 | Elyse Cyr |
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