The importance of storytelling it seems is only growing by leaps and bounds as far as kids’ education is concerned. It has been unequivocally opined that storytelling is one of the most effective techniques of describing any topic to children – even to the youngest among them. The benefits of storytelling can at once be acknowledged if you actually go on to realize that children absolutely are in love with stories and they have the ability to create wonder among students in their most impressionable phase.
Storytelling: Its Growing Importance in the Field of Education Decoded
With story telling comes “connection”. For children it might as well be a way – not only to forge their initial equation with their teacher but also to get exposed to and appreciate variant cultures and histories.
Teachers are regularly asking students to read stories. But how often are they actually telling them stories? Educators must appreciate the fact that there are not one but multiple benefits to be derived from storytelling. Documented below are a few of them:
- Storytelling enables children to explore diverse cultures
- Allows kids to get acquainted with their own cultural roots
- Provides insights into universal life experiences
- Opens up new vistas for children that might as well help them empathize with the plight of people and their situations
- Helps them embrace new ideas
- Helps them comprehend the differences between cultures and the commonalities as well
How can storytelling benefit classroom education?
Classroom education has definite benefits to derive from storytelling. First of all it’s fun. Children have the general propensity to explore the world, ideas and views beyond their text books. Since it’s fun it’s relaxing as well. So, it can well be imagined that it has the power to promote a feeling of well-being in the classroom. Since you are encouraging students to explore the world beyond their books, it becomes easier for each and everyone to take active participation in the same – even the ones who are not typically among the class toppers.
Storytelling is a gift for kids: Don’t deprive them of the same
The technical benefits can actually be actualized when students are asked to remember and retell plots. So you can well understand that storytelling is a brilliant technique when it comes to helping students develop a memory mapping methodology. Successful retelling of the plot can be done using story skeletons in a bid to remember the key events. The children might as well be encouraged to tell the stories in their own words- which of course will add to their personal arsenal of vocabulary.
The final test is however the performance. Teachers can actually teach children to bring in variations in pitch, tempo and volume of their voice and manipulate expressions while retelling a particular story. With desirable variations in expressions, voice and gestures, students can even learn ways in which they can weave an engrossing atmosphere inside the classroom. They should be taught to pace themselves properly and channelize their focus on learning skills.
