Storytelling and people are meant to be together! Content presented as narrative is easier to understand, provides richer context, and elicits emotional involvement in the topic. I’ve listed a few of the great reasons below.
Mathematics – It is proven that storytelling ability in young children also shows up later – in their ability with math. Students transfer the storytelling; beginning, middle, and end to logical solutions in math problems. I do have some math stories in the StoryWork Library, as well.
Language Arts – This can be a great place to add storytelling to your lesson plans. For many students, beginning with spoken word story idea development before writing things down brings a much more fleshed out end result. For a student with small motor skills issues, storytelling is a life saver – less drafts to write! There are many stories in the StoryWork Library that will spark the imagination of students of all ages. This will improve their plot, story line, and character development ability.
History, Geography, and Social Studies – This is a favourite area for me. I love telling stories that bring the curriculum to life for your students. In the library you will find stories from precolonial times to the 19th century. I have distant Indigenous ancestry so I have loved gathering the many legends that you will find in the library as well.
Science – All scientific theories start with a story. A scientist will see a certain animal, disease, or behaviour and they begin to formulate a story about why and how it grows or behaves in certain ways. They move forward from there. I have a great selection of stories that highlight animal behaviours and adaptations. I have even delved into geology with a story about Glacial Erratics.
Art – Storytelling is an ancient art form that is a wonderful addition to school curriculum. Expression, communication, drama, confidence, creativity, public speaking – it has it all. It is also the only art I can think of that is directly applicable to pretty well any career or relationship for the rest of your students lives. The library can be used to show examples of storytelling – at least my particular style. That’s the lovely thing about it – no two storytellers will ever tell a story the same way. Freedom! I do offer storytelling residencies as well.
Storytelling touches hearts, increasing students’ ability to understand and connect with others. Storytelling opens minds through new ideas, and old wisdom. The saying is that we need to face something three times before we understand it. Storytelling can be one of those ways. We can hear a story about how hot a stove or a candle is instead of having to touch it. What story do your students need to hear today?