4. using storytelling activities in the primary ml classroom

7/29/2019 4. Using Storytelling Activities in the Primary ML Classroom

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Using storytelling activities in the primary modern language classroom

There are three phases to be considered when telling stories in the modern language

classroom: the pre-reading, while reading and post-reading phases. In the pre-reading

phase, the teacher is pre-teaching the vocabulary for the story and allowing the pupils

to predict what the story may be about. In the while reading phase, the teacher is

telling the story using facial expressions, mimes etc. and the pupils may be given tasks to

do during this phase to ensure they understand what is happening. The post-reading

phase involves activities which allow pupils to consolidate the vocabulary and phrases

from the story. The following is a list of activities for the three different phases of

storytelling in the modern language classroom.

Pre-reading activities:

Predicting: Prepare a series of images that help to tell the story. Ask the pupils topredict what the story is from the series of pictures e.g. boy, wolf, duck, cat etc.

Miming key vocabulary: Teach the pupils different mimes for the differentwords that will be repeated throughout the story e.g. cat = licking paws. When

the story is being read, the pupils do the associated mime when they hear the

word cat etc.

Flashcard games: Play flashcard games with key pictures and words from thestory.

Bingo: Play bingo games using words from the chosen story.2 Describe & Draw: Project an image from the text (or related to the text) on the

screen (using a computer or overhead projector). Partner A is allowed to view

the image and describes it in the target language. Partner B has his/her back to

the image and tries to draw what is described.

Story box: As mentioned in the introduction, it is useful to have a story box orstory bag containing objects relating to the story. These can be used in the

various ways already mentioned to teach key vocabulary and help the pupils

predict what the story will be about.

Wordle: Use the Wordle application (www.wordle.net) to create a word cloud ofthe main words/sentences that are repeated in the story. Display on a

powerpoint slide for the whole class and have the pupils write down the

words/phrases they recognise from the Wordle display. Sound effects: Use objects to create sound effects for different characters in the

story e.g. a pair of gloves being waved up and down to re-create flapping wings

of a bird, two shoes being tapped quickly on a table to represent hunters chasing

after the wolf. Pupils must guess what sound effect relates to what character.


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Activities while reading:

Choral reading: The whole class chorus the story as you read it or the class canbe divided with one half taking one role and the other taking another role.

Miming key vocabulary: The pupils mime the actions of some of the charactersof the story using the mimes that you have taught in the pre-reading phase

(either all together or one child/group of children per character).

Hold up cards: Give a card to each child (a picture, a word or a phrase). Theyhave to hold up their card when their word appears in the story and maybe even

say that word or phrase.

Sequencing pictures: Put copies of the pictures of the story on thefloor/desk/board in the wrong order. As you retell the story (without showing

the pictures this time), the children either have to point to the corresponding

picture on the floor or put the pictures in the correct order.

Post-reading activities:

Sequencing sentences: Choose key sentences from the story. Type them up andcut them into single sentence strips. Divide pupils into pairs or groups and ask

them to arrange the sentences into the correct sequence. This can also be done

on the clothes line with key words and pictures from the story.

Removing pictures: Use a series of pictures that tell the story. Use the picturesto retell the story right through again. Then ask pupils to close their eyes and

remove a picture. The pupils must guess which picture has been removed by

saying the sentence associated with it. Words for characters: With the help of a dictionary in the target language pupils

explore words to describe the characters presented in the story.

Move like this character: Give examples of adjectives/verbs that you would useto describe the different characters in the story. Ask the pupils to match the

correct adjective/verb to the correct character. Then ask the pupils to move

around the room like the characters for example, when you call the name of

the character the pupils move like this character: Peter skipping happily; duck

swimming/flapping etc.; cat creeping etc.

Emotions: Read out lines from the story using different emotions e.g. happy,sad, angry and have the pupils tell it back to you using the same pitch andrhythm etc. that you used. They then have to guess the emotion.

Guessing game: Describe an animal or something else from the story in thetarget language and the children have to guess what is being described.

True or false?: Make true/false statements about the action in the story. Whistle game: Re-tell the story but instead of saying a word, whistle or use

another noise/gesture. The pupils must tell you what the missing word is.


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Retell with mistakes: Retell the story with some mistakes in it - the children haveto shout no whenever they detect a mistake and correct it.

Restoring the text: Write a short version of the story and put it on theprojector/IWB. Erase some of the words and ask the pupils to fill them in as you

re-tell the story. Gradually remove all the words so they are retelling the whole

text.

Fill in the gaps: Prepare two versions of the same text, with gaps in differentplaces. The pupils work in pairs. Each partner has the same text but with

different gaps. They help each other to complete the story.

Pass the picture: The pupils make a circle with the teacher. The teacher holds upa picture and tells the part of the story that goes with the picture. She passes it

to the next pupil in the circle who has to repeat the sentence. This carries on

around the circle. When the pupils become more confident you can have several

pictures being passed around at the same time.

Match the adjective/verb to the character: Prepare adjectives words to describethe different characters in the story. Have the pupils match the appropriate

adjective to the appropriate character.

Visualise the character: The pupils choose a character from the story and draw apicture of what they think they look like. On one side they write what the

character likes and on the other what they dont like e.g. Peter l like the duck. I

dont like the wolf.

Rebus story: Write out the story replacing key words with an image. The pupilsmust read/re-write the story replacing the image with the correct word.

Personal preferences: Pupils list/talk about their favourite words in the story.This can be used to make a display using an application like Wordle or to re-write new sentences.

Story scrabble: The teacher writes a sentence from the story on the board.Pupils write words from the story vertically using the letters in the existing

sentence.

Three key moments: Children write words or sentences for what they think arethe three key moments in the story. They compare with their peers.

Contemporary versions: Make a traditional story more contemporary bychanging certain aspects of the story.

Identity card: Pupils make identity cards for the characters in the story. Write a new story: Give pupils pictures so they can write a new story. Language awareness: Undertake language awareness activities with words and

sentences from the story (refer to the MLPSIs CPD Module 4 Language

Awareness and Integrating the Modern Language with Literacy, Oracy and

Numeracyfor sample language awareness activities).


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Complete My ELP: Record the learning in the appropriate sections ofMy ELP, i.e.My Language Biography and My Dossier. In My Language Biography, invite

pupils to self-assess in relation to the can-do statements initially identified as

goals. In My Dossier, invite pupils to document their experience of the story andthe related activities.

N.B.: It is important to use the same story for several different activities in order to

consolidate new vocabulary etc.

References:

Dunning, R. (1997) Cric Crac: Teaching and Learning French Through Storytelling,

Multilingual Matters, Pennsylvania.

Wright, A. (1995) Storytelling with children, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

4. using storytelling activities in the primary ml classroom

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