Oral storytelling is a way to share stories with students without the use of a printed text. Instead, oral storytelling relies on verbal and non-verbal forms of communication (e.g., physical gestures, facial expressions) to tell the story. Compared to traditional print reading activities, oral storytelling is intended to be highly interactive and social, allowing children to help co-construct the narrative in a collaborative manner (Hibbin, 2016). Because oral storytelling is so engaging, it can be used to not only strengthen children’s language and literacy skills (Melzi et al., 2022), but also to support the development of socioemotional skills and creativity (Hibbin, 2016).
Socioemotional Development Benefits
Oral storytelling has benefits for the development of several socioemotional skills during the formative early childhood years. These include self & group identity development, collaborative & communication skills, emotional literacy, and emotional regulation, among others (Agosto, 2013; Hibbin, 2016; Mello, 2001). Oral stories often feature personal narratives, but also frequently take the form of traditional stories with cultural significance. For this reason, oral storytelling in classrooms allows children to explore the meaning of cultural values and traditions in a safe, structured environment where they are encouraged to ask questions and contribute to the story with their own personal experiences (Agosto, 2013). Importantly, oral storytelling using culturally-relevant stories supports children’s understanding of individual and group identity by building cultural and linguistic continuity between their home and school environments (Melzi et al., 2018). This may be particularly beneficial for ethno-culturally diverse children (e.g., children of Latine heritage), as teachers can readily use oral stories to build on children’s cultural funds of knowledge (Melzi et al., 2018). Thus, oral storytelling is a useful way of supporting a child’s sense of self and group identity in the classroom, with particular consideration for their cultural heritage.
Additionally, oral storytelling has been shown to support children’s communication and social competencies. In contributing to the story, children have opportunities to practice sharing their thoughts and listening to those of their peers (Hibbin, 2016). This process also prompts children to learn social rules such as attending to one speaker, waiting their turn to speak, listening actively, and using eye contact to demonstrate attention. As children are provided consistent opportunities to practice their communication skills through narrative contributions, oral storytelling also helps to create a sense of community in the classroom. Because children work together to construct a mutually agreed upon story that accounts for multiple children’s creative ideas and individual perspectives, they develop a sense of cohesion that is supported by their teacher (Philips, 2000).
Finally, oral storytelling practices in early childhood classrooms have been associated with the development of skills such as empathy, emotional literacy, and emotional regulation (Agosto, 2013; Hibbin, 2016). Oral storytelling encourages children to practice identifying with different characters and putting themselves in others’ shoes, helping them to develop a language for their emotions (Hibbin, 2016). Oral storytelling also facilitates opportunities for children to express their emotions and for teachers to draw connections between the story world and real life, instructing children about appropriate emotional responses in the process (Agosto, 2013). Because storytelling encourages children’s participation and social interaction, they then have the chance to practice these socioemotional skills.
Creativity Benefits
Oral storytelling also holds promise for bolstering young students’ creativity and imagination in addition to their socioemotional skills. As oral storytelling lacks the use of a printed text, teachers can prompt children to use their imagination to create mental images of the story in their minds (Agosto, 2013). Doing so helps support children’s abstract thinking skills, but it also allows children to create unique mental representations of a story. In this way, children use their creative thinking skills to individualize the story information presented to them. Children may then be given the opportunity to express and build off of these creative ideas by sharing with the class, exchanging and strengthening creative ideas through peer collaboration (Philips, 2000). Oral storytelling practices also present the opportunity to carry creative thinking into post-telling activities that follow the telling of the story. These opportunities may take the form of asking children to use their own imagination and experiences to construct or reconstruct the story in some way. For example, educators may ask children to name characters, decide what a character should do next, create a new ending for the story, or create a new adventure for old characters. Teachers may additionally capitalize on children’s creativity outside of the story discussion through activities like writing and drawing prompts as well as reenactments of story details. Thus, oral storytelling can uniquely facilitate discussion and activities, providing creative thinking opportunities that extend beyond the storytelling.
Implementing Oral Storytelling & Maximizing Benefits
Consistent use of oral storytelling practices in early childhood classrooms can maximize the benefits for socioemotional development and creativity. During oral storytelling, more interactive and engaging teacher telling styles may lead to greater benefits for children because children are challenged to participate more actively. Educators may engage children by eliciting information, such as character names or plot events. Another strategy for doing so includes retelling familiar stories that allow children to take on a progressively more active role in the co-construction of the narrative because children can make better connections to their own experiences after repeated exposures (Trousdale, 1994). To do so, teachers may opt to tell a culturally-familiar story or put a creative spin on a familiar narrative to engage children further. Finally, educators might choose to use props or visual aids during storytelling to draw children in and prompt connections. Many of these strategies allow children to practice socioemotional skills with peers in the classroom and, in the process, simultaneously support their creativity.
Freda Hasselbring is a senior in the Applied Psychology program at New York University.
References:
Agosto, D. E. (2013). If I had three wishes: The educational and social/emotional
benefits of oral storytelling. Storytelling, Self, Society, 9(1), 53-76.
Hibbin, R. (2016). The psychosocial benefits of oral storytelling in school: developing
identity and empathy through narrative. Pastoral Care in Education, 34(4), 218-231.
Mello, R. (2001). The Power of Storytelling: How Oral Narrative Influences Children's
Relationships in Classrooms. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 2.
Melzi, G., Schick, A. R., & Wuest, C. (2022). Stories beyond Books: Teacher
Storytelling Supports Children’s Literacy Skills. Early Education and Development, 1-21.
Melzi, G., Schick, A., & Scarola, L. (2018). Building bridges between home and school
for Latinx families of preschool children. Occasional Paper Series, 39, 119-139.
Phillips, L. (2000). Storytelling: The seeds of children's creativity. Australasian
Journal of early childhood, 25(3), 1-5.
Trousdale, A. M. (1994). Tell me that one; now let’s tell it together: Sharing stories with Tim.” In A. M. Trousdale, S. A. Woestehoff, & M. Schwartz (Eds.) Give a listen: Stories of storytelling in school. (pp. 19-27). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
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