Sharing oral stories in the classroom helps teachers to bridge home-school practices by incorporating a common practice in Latine/x and African heritage homes. Given that a key aspect of R-SUCCESS is capitalizing on children’s cultural heritage, including families in the oral storytelling process is a meaningful way to engage families! Teachers know that the benefits of family engagement in early childhood cannot be understated - research shows that increased family engagement has positive implications for children’s language and literacy development (Dearing et al., 2006). As such, one way that teachers can involve parents, thereby building and strengthening relationships with family members, is by encouraging parents to share stories or ideas that are most relevant to their child’s culture or lived experiences. Below are some strategies to consider when asking parents to share stories:
Collecting Stories from Parents:
If parents or children’s family members have time during drop-off or pick-up, ask them to share stories that they tell their children or that they remember being told when they were growing up, either orally or in written format. These can also be proverbs, advice, or sayings that parents know or often use at home.
Consider having story collection sheets by the drop-off or pick-up area in your classroom! Sample story collection sheets can be found in the supplemental materials section of the R-SUCCESS manual.
If parents do not have enough time to share stories during pick-up or drop-off, consider sending home a story collection sheet with their child. Parents can write their stories or sayings and/or attach pictures or photographs with background information. Encourage parents to write as much or as little as they want!
For parents whose first language is not English, the instructions or guidance on the sheet should be in both English and the parent’s home language.
Parent-teacher conferences are another great opportunity to ask caregivers to share stories. Consider having some printed story collection sheets available for parents to fill out while they wait!
Encourage parents to record their stories and send them in using email or classroom apps, such as Class Dojo or Google Classroom.
Creating Oral Stories Based on Parents’ Stories
Think about the purpose(s) of the story you would like to share, such as entertaining, teaching a life lesson, bonding with children, or introducing a new concept.
Based on the stories parents have shared, determine which story best serves the purpose(s). If the story is long, shorten it. You can also create a story using the pictures or photos on the story collection sheet. When sharing other stories (e.g., stories from the R-SUCCESS Manual), you can incorporate the sayings or proverbs shared by parents.
Plan your story. You may want to write down a brief summary of the story that captures all of the main events, the setting, and character descriptions. Also consider key vocabulary words related to the characters, setting, or plot that you may want to teach.
Think about how you will introduce the different story elements (e.g., characters, setting). Consider how each character might sound, move, and act. You can use visuals and props, such as photos, drawings, or even puppets, to help children visualize the characters and the scenes of the story.
When introducing the story with a picture, you can ask questions, such as “What do you see in the picture?” just as you normally would with the cover of a book.
Think about concepts from other lessons/subjects that can be integrated into the story. Here you can be creative! Consider how you might integrate early math, science, or social studies in your story.
Add dialogue to bring the characters in your story to life.
Write down the whole story for future reference. Don’t forget to gain familiarity with the characters and the sequence of events before telling the story!
Invite parents to your storytime! It’s a wonderful opportunity for parents to see how their stories are adapted and shared in the classroom, and to see how children react to them. If parents can’t make it during the day, consider recording your story and sharing with parents digitally.
Shiling Chen is a senior in the Applied Psychology program at New York University.
References
Dearing, E., Kreider, H., Simpkins, S., & Weiss, H. B. (2006). Family involvement in school and low-income children's literacy: Longitudinal associations between and within families. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(4), 653–664.