Life Stories

A resource for

Key Stage 2 Oracy in the Welsh National Curriculum

Six personal tales told in Swansea by

Mona, Allya, Boubacar, Mohammed, Hannah and Wahida

Introduction and activities by Keri Finlayson

Pictures by Tabitha Panter

This booklet is free to download at:

swanseabassgroup.org and: lulu.org/hafan

and: www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk

Audio and video by Swansea Digital Storytelling at:

swanseastorytelling.com

Hafan B ks

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ABOUT ‘LIFE STORIES’

ISBN: 978-0-9569473-5-2

Swansea: Hafan Books, 2012

Work on this project was funded by a grant from Communities First Trust Fund to

Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers Support Group (SBASSG), in 2011-12. The work

complemented ongoing projects by Swansea Digital Storytelling with asylum seekers

and refugees, partly funded by the Lankelly Chase Trust, with other partners including

the African Community Centre, Swansea University’s Department of Adult Continuing

Education, and Oxfam Cymru

Copyright: © the creators, 2012, under a Creative Commons License: Attribution-

NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)

This means that you can freely use, remix and build upon this work, but not

commercially, and if you publish any new creation based on this publication, you must

credit this publication and license your creation under the identical terms. See:

creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

Credit this book as follows: “Keri Finlayson and others, Life Stories: A resource for Key

Stage 2 Oracy in the Welsh National Curriculum, Swansea: Hafan Books, 2012”

Artwork on front and back cover, p.4, p.13 and end pages © Tabitha Panter, 2012

Hafan Books is a non-profit project associated with Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers

Support Group (SBASSG). Contact: Tom Cheesman, t.cheesman@swansea.ac.uk or at:

Department of Languages, College of Arts and Humanities, Swansea University, SA2 8PP

Download the pages and/or buy bound copies of this book from: www.lulu.com/hafan

Download the pages also from

SBASSG: www.swanseabassgroup.org

National Grid for Learning Cymru: www.ngfl.cymru.org.uk

Audio and video by Swansea Digital Storytelling at: www.swanseastorytelling.com

Special thanks to all the storytellers!

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Contents

Introduction 5

Oracy skills and PSED in the national curriculum for Wales 6

Telling stories: tips for effective oracy sessions 7

Props 8

Gesture and expression 9

Story maps and shapes 10

Appropriate stories / Feedback 12

1. Trying Something New – ‘An Unforgettable Experience’ 14

Activities 16

Prop idea: Memory Prop Box 17

2. A Funny Story – ‘Swimming Fun’ 18

Activities 20

Prop idea: Story Plate Spiral 21

3. A Reflective Story – ‘The Heart Card’ 22

Activities 24

Prop idea: Reflecting Story Pool 25

4. A Holiday Story – ‘Rainy Day Fun’ 26

Activities 28

Prop idea: Happy Snaps Picture Album 29

5. A Story About Feelings – ‘Lost in Swansea’ 30

Activities 32

Prop idea: Colour Wash Story Board 33

6. Talking About Ourselves – ‘All About Me’ 34

Activities 36

Prop idea: Story Map of Me 37

Pictures 38-9

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A Memory Prop Box

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Introduction

A good storyteller can make us laugh and cry, wriggle with excitement, or

shake with fear. A good story can take us on adventures beyond our

everyday lives, with characters and places that only exist in our

imagination. Animals talk, brave heroes fight, and magic happens.

But great stories can also be found in ordinary events, in the everyday

happenings that make up our own life stories.

With this book, children can learn to be their own heroes. They can share

adventures taking place in their own homes and neighbourhoods. By

doing so, they can learn to make fun tales from the simplest of

experiences, tales that educate and inform, entertain and delight.

The stories in this book are told by people living in Swansea who have all

come from different countries (many of them came as asylum seekers).

These are real life tales. They are humorous, engaging and often

poignant.

Each story is followed by curriculum linked activities that enable children

to create and tell engaging stories, while developing oracy and

comprehension skills, as well as personal skills.

Personal narratives – ‘Life Stories’ – are a familiar form of storytelling.

Families tell fond stories about each other, reinforcing emotional bonds.

Adults entertain friends with humorous anecdotes. Children tell each

other stories of their experiences as they develop their understanding of

the world around them.

By telling their own stories, children learn to plan and structure orally, to

sequence ideas, to understand the importance of narrative, and to use a

range of communication and language skills. They learn to develop an

engaging vocabulary, use clear diction and an appropriate tone, pace and

style.

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Perhaps most importantly, listening to and constructing engaging

narratives from personal experience encourages a sense of self-worth and

self-esteem. Children learn to value the experiences of others, to listen

carefully to their peers, and in turn, to value and care about themselves

and the positive unfolding of their own life stories.

Oracy skills and PSED in the national curriculum for Wales

The activities in this book focus on the development of oracy skills as

outlined in the Key Stage 2 Oracy programs. They offer children and

teachers opportunities to explore, plan, develop and reflect on ideas

through speech. Children are encouraged to use language creatively, to

structure stories, and to identify and analyse what constitutes effective

spoken narrative.

Learning to construct and share personal narratives is important for

learners’ Personal, Social and Emotional Development. Children learn to

work collaboratively, developing stories together, while also developing

an awareness of what their audience needs. Listening to the differing life

experiences of others develops emotional maturity and empathy.

Structuring one’s own life experiences into a narrative encourages self-

knowledge, and develops the ability to reflect on and learn from

experience.

Some people are natural storytellers, with an instinctive gift for public

speaking. But many of us need to practise speaking for an audience.

Sharing personal narratives and anecdotes enables children to practise

storytelling and public speaking skills with familiar subject-matter and in

a form they feel comfortable with. Because the stories come from

everyday life and personal experience, children readily feel a sense of

ownership over their story, so teachers and children can focus on

structure and delivery.

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Telling stories: tips for effective oracy sessions

Be active listeners

Good storytellers need to be good listeners. An attentive listener can

encourage and support a shy or hesitant speaker. Become active,

attentive listeners and show your appreciation of the storyteller and the

story by:

• not fiddling or wriggling while listening!

• looking at the storyteller

• actively focusing on the story and following the tale

• engaging in follow-up activities

Follow-up activities help listeners recall and reinforce the story. When

follow-up activities are a regular part of oracy lessons, children develop

the habit of listening for a purpose as well as for enjoyment. Follow-up

activities can be as simple as a brief discussion and recall session after

the telling of the tale, or can be a further lesson that engages cross-

curricular themes.

Develop a sense of occasion

A story is an event. Whether told around the kitchen table, by a camp fire

or in a classroom, it is a special occasion, one that should be

distinguished from normal talk. Traditional tales often have a set starting

formula. European fairy tales start with ‘Once upon a time’. Caribbean

storytellers use the call and response of ‘cric crac!’ – ‘cric crac!’

Sometimes drums or chimes announce that something special is about to

happen. Personal narratives and anecdotes may not have such obvious

ways of creating a sense of occasion. Still, it is useful when learning to

tell tales to indicate to the audience that it is time to listen. Why not

develop some phrases of your own such as:

• I remember a time...

• Well, this once happened to me...

• Listen, listen to this!

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Create a story-rich setting

To encourage the creation of personal narrative it is important to create a

story-rich setting. This means that children should have a space where

talk is encouraged, with a certain time of the day or week set aside for

storytelling. In the Early Years classroom, Monday morning ‘news time’

and end of the day ‘story and rhyme time’ are regular occurrences. But at

the upper end of the primary school, literacy often replaces oracy, and

storytelling is replaced by reading and writing. In a busy classroom, with

many curriculum demands to fulfill, it is difficult to find time for oracy.

But by making sure your classroom is a story rich setting, you can

integrate oracy into each day. With a weekly news time, older children

can also enjoy sharing their experiences and achievements from outside

school.

Traditionally, classrooms are quiet places with teachers working hard to

create a focused atmosphere and keep children ‘on task’. Oracy, however,

requires noise. Chatter is important. Talk must be able to flow freely.

Allow time each day for structured chat where children can swap stories

about their thoughts and experiences.

Model stories on other stories

Children learn to tell stories by listening to stories. As well as listening to

the stories from this collection, try telling stories of your own, modeling

all the features of good storytelling practice as you do so. Model

autobiographical stories by sharing anecdotes and tales from your own

life. Tales from a teacher’s own childhood are always popular. Or why nor

share suitable anecdotes and experiences from your holidays, using

holiday snaps as illustrative props?

Props

Props are always useful aids to storytelling. Props can prompt recall (or

new ideas) in the teller, they visually engage the audience, and they help

give confidence to a more reticent speaker. Props can be simple items, or

they may depict scenes from the story. They certainly needn’t be perfect

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representations of anything: in fact a simple rough sketch is often much

better than an elaborate picture or photograph, because it leaves more to

the imagination.

In this book, for each story, we suggest a different kind of prop which

children can make, to help them remember and present their own stories.

Other prop ideas include: maps, photographs, paintings or drawings of

scenes or characters; real items that feature in a story; puppets, dolls or

other toys...

Gesture and expression

Storytelling is story performance. The way we use our faces and bodies

can make the difference between a tale well told and tale that falls flat.

Practise these tips to ensure that your listeners hang on every word:

• voice – Speak slowly and clearly. Take even breaths. Pause

between sentences. Lower your voice to create intimacy; raise your voice

to indicate excitement.

• eyes – Make eye contact with your listeners. If the storyteller

appears uncomfortable, then the listeners will feel uncomfortable too.

Make ‘eye sweeps’ across your audience. Imagine an invisible semi-circle

in front of you. Track the imaginary line and speak across the semi-circle,

turning your head as you do. Speak to individual faces in differing ‘hot

spots’ in your audience. Make sure you include all areas. If your audience

is sitting on the floor, don’t overlook those sitting at your feet.

• hands – In everyday speech we use our hands to communicate

all sorts of things. We throw up our hands in surprise, we wave hello or

goodbye, we point to indicate who and where. In storytelling, hand

gestures can accompany and illustrate our tale in many ways.

• face – Our face can convey lots of different emotions. Our

eyebrows shoot up in surprise, our mouth can turn to a frown or a smile.

When we use facial expressions in telling a story, listeners are engaged in

our tale and in our telling of it.

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• body – Many storytellers prefer to sit when telling a tale. Even

when sitting, you can use your body to enhance your performance. Lean

forward at exciting parts of the story, straighten your back to indicate

bravery or resolve, lean backwards to indicate surprise or anticipation…

Story maps and shapes

Get to grips with story structure by making a story map. A story map lays

out the shape of a story as a series of pictures representing a journey.

(See example on page 11.) This enables children to plan the structure of

their own tale. Maps can be drawn on paper of any size, can be written on

whiteboards, or even chalked on the playground. As a picture of a

journey, a story map should have just a few clear simple steps.

We all know stories should have a beginning, middle and end, but we can

add to that structure by offering children simple story shapes for a variety

of types of personal narrative. In this book, the structure of each of the

stories in this collection is analysed and the accompanying activities are

designed using the story map method.

There are many different ways to structure a story. The simplest

structure is that of beginning, middle and end. However, a story is like a

body and the structure can be likened to the skeleton that supports it.

There can be many ‘bones’ to the structure of a story.

Each of the activities that accompany the stories in this book is preceded

by notes for discussion on that story’s structure. The structuring words

are given in italics. They are:

beginning middle end location time

desire event feeling change consequence

problem resolution reflection opinion

Always keep your maps simple. The fewer the steps, the clearer the

story. Choose a just a few of the above when structuring your story.

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An example of a story map

Story maps, just like place maps, can be any shape or size, and just like

maps of a town or city, they can show lots of different features. The

important thing when creating a story map is to show the direction of

travel. A directed narrative keeps the audience engaged from the

beginning of the story journey to its end.

Here is an example of a simple map of story 5, ‘Lost in Swansea’. (Notice

that this map uses different structuring words from the structure given on

page 32. You can analyse any story in many different ways.)

Lost in Swansea

Beginning: Left Cardiff

Desire: Wanted to explore Swansea

Event: Went to market

Problem: Became lost

Problem: People couldn’t answer questions

Event: Taken to family centre

Resolution: Landlord came

End: Didn’t feel like exploring again!

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Appropriate stories

A classroom is not a therapeutic setting. Educators are not necessarily

counsellors. Children should not be encouraged to share personal or

emotional stories that could result in themselves or others becoming

upset. Emotional literacy is a vital part of a child’s education and

development, so care must be taken when exploring personal narrative to

ensure that children only share appropriate information.

When asking children to share stories about their own lives, and

anecdotes involving friends and family members, we must also be mindful

of issues of privacy. Children pass stories to parents, and vice versa.

Those of us who have conducted Monday morning ‘news’ sessions with

young children will be able to recall times when personal family

information was shared innocently with a whole class. This is to be

avoided for obvious reasons of confidentiality.

Children’s exploration and creation of personal narratives should never

become a channel or source of playground gossip. Keep stories short and

on topic, facilitating simple, well crafted tales confidently told.

Feedback

We’d love to hear what you think of this book. What worked in the

classroom? What didn’t work? Did you use the audio or video at

www.swanseastorytelling.com? Would you like more life stories? Different

kinds of stories? Can you suggest different activities?

You can contact the publisher of Hafan Books, Tom, on

t.cheesman@swansea.ac.uk, or Prue and Stuart from Swansea Digtal

Storytelling, on info@swanseastorytelling.com

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A Story Plate Spiral

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Story 1: Trying Something New

“There’s a first time for everything!”

We try new things all the time, especially when we are young. We try new

foods, visit new places, learn new skills, and meet new people. Doing

something for the first time can be daunting. Meeting new people can

make us feel a little shy. But trying new things can be exciting. We can

learn new skills, discover new places and make new friends.

This storyteller tells us a tale about a time when she tried something new.

She was very nervous. But she overcame her fears, achieving something

she never thought she would. Here is her story.

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Story 1: An Unforgettable Experience

One Friday, when I was volunteering in the drop-in centre, a lady

came and told me about a dance project. She told me that we are

going to dance and that at the end of the week we’ll have to

perform in front of an audience. I said, “Ok, I can come and dance,

but I cannot perform in front of an audience.” They said to me, “It’s

ok, it’s up to you.” When I went for the first day I was so afraid. I

was scared because if you told me three years ago I was going to

dance in front of other people I’d have said, “No way, it’s

impossible!” When I went to the dancing hall and met the people, I

realised most of them were teenagers and my fears increased a lot,

because I was so scared they would make fun of me because of my

age, or because I don’t know how to dance, or because I’m

overweight. But then I found out that I was wrong; they were very

polite and very helpful and they encouraged me. Also, the ladies

who were leading this project were so nice and kind and helpful. My

daughter in the beginning didn’t want to come with me. I said to

her, “Come with me this day and if you don’t like it you don’t have

to go the next day.” When she went she liked it very much and was

waiting very early in the morning to go with me every day. At the

end of the week I felt I had to take part in the performance because

I felt that I was committed to the group and they were like my

friends and I didn’t want to let them down. I overcame my fears,

my shyness and everything, and it was really fantastic. It was a

really unforgettable experience for me.

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Story 1 Activities

Listen to or read the story ‘An Unforgettable Experience’. Discuss the

following questions:

• The storyteller was asked to try something new. She was asked to

dance in front of an audience. How did she feel about that?

• How would you feel about performing in front of an audience?

• The storyteller was worried that people would make fun of her. Did

people make fun of her?

• Have you ever felt nervous about trying something new? Do you

worry what people might think or say?

• Can you think of ways to overcome shyness and worry when trying

something new?

Explore and discuss the problem-resolution story structure

• The story starts with a location in time – ‘One Friday’ – and a

location in space – ‘the drop-in centre’. This is its beginning

• A problem comes up when she says she feels shy and scared and

doesn’t want to dance in front of people

• A resolution comes about when she finds out that people were

kind and helpful

• The end comes when she tell us that it was a very unforgettable

experience

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Make a Memory Prop Box!

Props are useful tools to illustrate a story, add interest for the audience,

and help the teller to remember and structure the story. A memory prop

box can help you tell a story about a new experience.

Tell your story with your box on your lap. Holding a box on the lap is

helpful for more reticent children who may feel more confident with a

small ‘barrier’ between them and their audience.

What you need

• a shoe box

• blank post cards

• colouring pens or crayons

What you do

• Think of a time when you tried something new. Use this for your

story

• Map your story – note the main points in the journey

• Draw images from key points in the story. These can be characters,

scenes, or single items from the story

• Decorate and personalize your memory box

• Place the images inside the memory box

• Tell story using the image cards from the memory box as props

Extension

• Make stories about new experiences a regular part of oracy work

through the year

• Keep permanent memory boxes for each child

• Encourage the children to collect and bring in items from any new

experience they may have during the term

• Encourage children to share new experiences from weekends or

holidays

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Story 2: A Funny Story

“Having a laugh!”

People sometimes like to play jokes on each other. Jokes and pranks can

turn into very funny stories. Many families have stories about times when

one family member played a trick on another.

In this story, the storyteller’s older sister plays a trick on her and her

friends, with some very embarrassing consequences.

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Story 2: Swimming Fun

When I was young there seemed to be so much time for us children

to do what we wanted to do. We had strict parents of course but

some things we longed to do – we had to do them in secret. Once

every year there used to be so much rain in the village and this

would create a seasonal river at the edge of my father’s farm. At

the same time my mother’s maize plantation would flood and this

would make it so hard for us to get through to the stream. But this

did not prevent us from fulfilling our childhood desire to learn how

to swim. No one could stop us, even my big sister who would scorn

us and say, “Those are boy-like behaviours!” One day she decided

to teach us a lesson we would never forget for the rest of our lives.

So as usual we went down to the stream to swim. We removed our

clothes and put them in a heap and we jumped in. We giggled in the

water it was so much fun. So finally we were tired and we wanted to

go home, but guess what? Our clothes were not there! Oh! The first

thought was that someone had taken them or that someone had

already seen us. But we had to go home anyway, so we ran up the

valley. It was difficult, but we finally got there to find out that my

big sister had carried the clothes with her to teach us a lesson never

to swim in the river again!

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Story 2 Activities

Listen to or read the story ‘Swimming Fun’ and discuss the following

questions:

• Why do you think the storyteller’s sister didn’t want her to swim?

• What did she do to teach her a lesson?

• Do you have brothers or sisters?

• Do you boss each other about?

• Can you think of any funny incidents that happened with your

family or friends?

Explore and discuss the funny story structure

• The story starts with a location in time – ‘When I was young’ – and

a location in space – ‘in the village’. This is the beginning

• The desire is wanting to play in the river with her friends

• When they finished swimming they found that their clothes were

gone. This is the event

• The friends had to walk home without any clothes on. This is the

consequence

• The story ends with the realization that the big sister had stolen

the clothes

Story plate spiral

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Make a Story Plate Spiral!

Make a story plate spiral that takes you on a journey from the beginning

to the end of a story. Use your plate as a prop and prompt to help you tell

the story to others.

What you need

• paper plates

• pencil

• colouring pens or pencils

What you do

• Discuss the fact that stories can be like a road or journey

• Think of a funny incident involving friends or family. Use this

experience as your story

• Map your story using the story map method – note its key points

• Make a dot in the centre of the paper plate

• From the centre, draw a wide spiral to the edge of the plate

• Starting at the edge of the plate, draw scenes from your story

• Travel in towards the centre of the plate, where your story ends

• Simple line drawings and stick figures are often most effective for

this activity

• Tell your story, using your story plate as a prop

Extension

• Look at images of famous story plates, such as willow pattern

plates. They tell the legend of two young people in love. Pictures of

willow pattern plates can be found on the internet

• Use the images on the plate to make up and tell a story yourselves

• Display your own plates on the wall of your classroom

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Story 3: A Reflective Story

“That taught me!

School is an important part of our lives. Adults often remember events

and stories from their own school days, and children recall things that

happened in earlier school years. Often these events and stories have

lasting importance. We look back and draw lessons from these

experiences. We may remember a time when a teacher spoke to us

sharply, or perhaps a time when we got into a lot of trouble. We also

remember kind teachers who inspired us and lovely days when we carried

out new and absorbing activities.

In this story the teller remembers a time when she was told off for

making a card when she should have been doing something else!

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Story 3: The Heart Card

When I was six years old in Year One at school, I made a picture on

a piece of paper with double doors which opened. On the outside of

the doors I wrote “knock knock”. Inside I made a heart, on the

heart I made an envelope and in the envelope it said, “I love you”. I

had copied it from the children next door. I was very pleased with it

and I showed it to my classmate. The teacher saw it and she was

very cross and she tore the picture up. “You are a good student,

otherwise I would have to take you to the head teacher. But instead

you must stay on one leg outside the classroom for fifteen

minutes.” I was very embarrassed but it had the right effect. All

through my schooling I made sure I was never punished again. In

the classroom we all sat in rows, the most intelligent person first

and she sat in the front. I was usually second and I sat next to her,

down to the last person who usually sat at the back. The people at

the back were always talking about boyfriends, movie stars and not

listening to the teacher. I never joined with them because I didn’t

want to be punished again.

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Story 3 Activities

Listen to or read the story ‘The Heart Card’ and discuss the following

questions:

• What is your earliest memory of school?

• Do you remember your first day?

• What have been your best days at school?

• What do you enjoy doing at school?

• Which school activities are you not so keen on?

Explore and discuss the reflective story structure

• The story starts with a location in time – ‘when I was six years old’

– and a location in space – ‘at school’. This is the beginning

• She makes a card with a heart in it. This is the event

• As a consequence she is told off by the teacher

• Later she reflects that after this event she always behaved well in

school. This is the story’s end

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Make a Reflecting Story Pool!

Make a pool that reflects thoughts and images about a time in your past.

Follow the reflective story structure and use your pool as a prompt to

help you tell your story.

What you need

• A4 paper

• reflective paper or foil

• green paper, card or tissue paper

• scissors

• glue

• found images, drawn images, words

What you do

• Discuss school memories. Think of a school experience where you

learned something. Use this experience for your story

• Using the reflective paper or foil, cut out the shape of a pool and

glue it to A4 paper

• Surround it with reeds and leaves made from green paper

• Collect found images that illustrate your story, or draw them

yourself

• Select a few key words from your story

• Glue images and words from your reflective story in the pond

• Tell your story and show your reflecting pool

Extension

• Ask friends and family if they can recall experiences from their

childhood where they learned a life lesson

26

Story 4: A Holiday Story

“ … and then all of a sudden …!!”

Holidays provide plenty of material for stories about new experiences,

funny anecdotes, and interesting subjects. A holiday doesn’t have to be a

two-week break to somewhere sunny. A day trip somewhere new or an

afternoon at a favourite spot can give us a great story to share.

This storyteller tells us a story of a visit to Dan yr Ogof caves near

Swansea. A day that started out sunny but ended up rather wet!

27

Story 4: Rainy Day Fun

We were at the Brunswick Centre, we usually do a drop in centre

there every Friday for SBASSG, and Tom told me about having a

trip to somewhere people would like to go, and I was very excited

to do this because I like planning trips and organizing trips where I

can meet lots of people and see them happy. We decided at the end

to go to Dan yr Ogof caves, and there were four coaches. All of the

coaches were fully booked with people, and it’s about one hundred

and sixty people who came to this trip, we left at 9.15 and we

arrived at ten. It was, at the beginning, a lovely day. We arrived

safely there and it was a nice place where we found green nature,

dinosaurs, caves, lots of things. It was busy and it was complicated

at the beginning; you know, you have to find this, you have to

count the people, you have to arrange things so all people will feel

more comfortable and everything was fine at the beginning. But

suddenly the weather changed and it started to rain and some

people were sitting in the coffee shop and they couldn’t go

anywhere because of the weather. But some people did feel it was a

challenge, that “We are here, we have to go, we have to see the

place we have visited, we have to go inside the caves. If the

weather is rainy and we don’t go out, we won’t go anywhere, so

even if it’s raining we have to go, we have to do something.” They

liked it really and they enjoyed it, so they said, “We hope, Mona,

next time you will organize this trip to Dan yr Ogof and we would

like to go again.”

28

Story 4 Activities

Listen to or read the story ‘Rainy Day Fun’ and discuss the following

questions:

• Have you ever been on holiday? Where did you go?

• If you could go anywhere, where would you go on holiday?

• What would you do?

• Do you have a favourite fun place to go that is close to where you

live?

• Can you remember a fun day out you had recently?

Explore and discuss the sudden change story structure

• The story starts at the Brunswick Centre on a Friday when a trip is

proposed. This is the beginning

• The event is the trip to the Dan Yr Ogof caves

• The change happens when it starts to rain. In stories the change is

often preceded by the word ‘suddenly’

• The end comes when Mona is told that people, despite the rain,

enjoyed the trip and would like to do it again

29

Make a Happy Snaps Picture Album!

Make a picture album to help you tell a story about a favourite holiday or

trip.

What you need

• two sheets of A4 paper, cut into quarters

• A4 paper cut into eighths

• stapler

• pens and pencils

• glue

What you do

• Read or listen to the story ‘Rainy Day Fun’

• Think of a holiday or special day you enjoyed. Use this for your

story

• Make a photo album with the quartered A4 paper. Staple the sheets

together to make a book

• On the small squares of paper, draw images from your holiday story

• Stick your ‘photos’ in your album – one or two per page

• Tell your story using your photo album as a prop

Extension

• Bring in photo albums from home and share stories about the

photos

• Tell a story about a photo you’ve never seen before

30

Story 5: A Story About Feelings

“Gulp!”

Have you ever got lost? It’s not a very nice feeling when you look around

and realise that you don’t know where you are.

In this story, the teller shares with us a tale about when he got lost in

Swansea, a city he didn’t know at all.

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Story 5: Lost in Swansea

It began when I was leaving Cardiff for here (Swansea) to get

myself a house and the landlord said, “Come and stay!” so I did, but

really I wanted to get out. I went to see the market, I went around,

but later I was saying, “Where am I? I want to go back to the

house.” So I was asking many people, “Where is my house?” But

my questions confused them. They didn’t know where my house

was. So they took me to a family centre, I called the place where

the landlord lived, and when I called him he said, “Mohammed! Stay

where you are. I’ll come and collect you.” I’ve forgotten the name

of that place but the owner, Barry, took me back. The family said,

“Don’t leave the house again.” They took me round to show me

where the market and other things were. Do you understand what

I’ve just said? It’s a funny story about my life. When I got back to

the house I was so relieved, and yet I was afraid that if I left, I’d

get lost again, so I stayed in the house without going out at all!

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Story 5 Activities

Listen to or read the story ‘Lost in Swansea’ and discuss the following

questions:

• Have you ever been lost? Where were you? What happened?

• How did you feel?

• How do you think the storyteller felt when he realised he was lost?

• How did his feelings change when he was found?

• How did you feel when you found your way?

• What is the best thing to do if you get lost?

Explore and discuss the feeling story structure

• The story starts with a location in time and space – ‘when I was

leaving Cardiff …’. This is the beginning of the story

• The event is the storyteller going to look around Swansea market

• The consequence of this is that he gets lost

• Getting lost is a problem that causes a strong feeling

• The resolution comes when he asks for help and people help him.

This results in a new feeling

• His final feeling is that he doesn’t want to go exploring again. That

is the end

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Make a Colour Wash Story Board!

Colour can reflect feeling and mood. Make a story board for your tale,

giving each section a colour wash that reflects the mood of the scene.

What you need

• water-based paints

• brushes

• A4 paper

What you do

• Discuss memories of a time when you felt a variety of feelings

• Think of how your emotions changed as the events unfolded. Use

this experience for your story

• Map your story using the story map method

• Divide your story into scenes. Four to six is plenty

• Divide your paper into the required number of sections to make a

story board

• Draw each scene from your story in sequence on the story board

• Discuss colours and feelings. What colour would you use for a calm

feeling? What colour for a frightened or nervous feeling? What

colour makes you think of happiness?

• Choose your colours for each scene, and using a very diluted paint,

put a thin wash over each scene

• Tell your story using your colour wash story board

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Story 6: Talking About Ourselves

“… in my opinion …”

In order to tell successful anecdotes about ourselves and our lives, first

we need to construct a short factual piece about our present situation and

feelings. Children who are starting to develop personal storytelling skills

may feel more comfortable creating a short speech about themselves.

The inclusion of a thought or opinion enables a more reticent child to

expand their story and begin to communicate with listeners.

In this story, the speaker presents an opinion about Swansea compared

with other places.

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Story 6: All About Me

I came to Swansea on the sixth of November for a four-week work

placement at the African Community Centre to improve my English.

My host family live in Birchgrove. Swansea is a good city, on the

beach it is very beautiful. The prices are very good compared to

France – we don’t have Primark in France. But it has been difficult

to speak English and it has been very cold. People have been very

friendly and I would like to work in a similar organization in the

future.

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Story 6 Activities

Listen to or read the story ‘All About Me’, then discuss the following

questions:

• Where do you live?

• Have you ever lived anywhere else?

• What do you like about the place you live?

• Is there anything that you dislike?

• Where would you like to live in the future?

• What job would you like to do?

Explore and discuss the opinion story structure

• The story starts with a location in time – ‘on the sixth of November’

– and a location in space – ‘I came to Swansea’. This is the

beginning of the story

• The storyteller then presents an opinion about Swansea

• The story’s ending expresses a hope for the future

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Make a Story Map of Me!

Draw a picture of yourself, adding speech bubbles containing words and

images. Share your story map with a partner to practice your oracy skills.

What you need

• A5 or A4 paper

• pens and pencils

• stopwatches

What you do

• Discuss and make a mind-map of facts about yourself and feelings

and opinions you may have. Use words, phrases and images

• Draw an outline of yourself. The outline should leave plenty of

space around it

• Draw large speech bubbles surrounding the outline of you

• Fill the speech bubbles with images, words and phrases from your

mind-map

• In pairs, children talk to each other about themselves

• Using the stopwatch, children should talk for two minutes only, and

should listen carefully to what the other child says

Extension

• Talk about your hopes and dreams and plans for the future.

• Describe your future house and job. What and where will it be?

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An Unforgettable Experience

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Swimming Fun