In this article, you will read about different methods of storytelling to bring stories to life and get children involved.
Telling stories is an important skill in a world where communication is essential. Storytelling goes beyond the written word, providing entertainment, education, and inspiration. Understanding the methods of storytelling can allow you to communicate more effectively and connect with people.
Humans have shared stories over time, culture, and place. It helps us understand, express, and share our thoughts, ideas and creative imagination. Storytelling captivates the readers and audience and has the power to evoke many emotions. Storytelling has progressed from ancient oral to interactive and digital. Let’s learn more.
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What is storytelling?
Storytelling is putting across your ideas, experiences, processes, methods, journey and events to other people or an audience. The purpose of telling the story can be different in every case, such as, a film-maker may make a movie to expose the true events that happened in some place while also entertaining the audience. Primarily, stories are told to inform, expose, persuade and entertain others.
For storytelling, we use a variety of tools such as our voice, acting or dramatics, digital platforms, printed material, dance, singing, etc. In pre-historic times, engraving on stone, walls of caves, stone tablets, etc. were used to convey ideas. Initially grunts and sounds were made to convey, then language developed and stories were passed on orally.
Today, we see several styles of storytelling. Corporate companies, cultures, countries, communities, and individuals have their stories. Perhaps, even animals and birds tell stories but we don’t understand their language, we can only interpret and assume what they are trying to communicate.
Methods of Storytelling you could use to tell stories to children.
Storytelling is one of the most effective teaching-learning practices at school, home and caregiving centers.
Storytelling evokes empathy, and forms a deep link to the characters, theme and take-aways.
The purpose of storytelling is to get children’s attention and get them interested in learning. As parents, teachers, caregivers or educators, you can use the special tool of storytelling to unlock the magic of stories.
Stories can be an essential part of a child’s growth years and could serve as an inspiration to read books, get knowledge, manage their emotions, and learn life skills. Read further to learn more about the types and methods of storytelling.
1. Verbal Storytelling
The best way to keep children’s attention, manage feelings, open perspectives and introduce concepts, is to tell them a story. It uses the power of the spoken word, voice inflexion, and lively movements to make a clear picture in the mind.
When using this method, storytellers should use colourful words, different tones, and stops to build tension and keep kids’ attention.
Adding sound effects, imitating the voices of the characters, and getting the kids involved through repeat or call-and-response can get them more involved and help them remember the story.
2. Written storytelling
Written stories are an old method of storytelling to share stories and thoughts with children. In this method, authors/storytellers use the power of printed words to tell their stories.
While in ancient times, people used stone carvings and primitive scrolls, over the past hundred years storytellers tell their stories through various types of books.
With diverse writing techniques, writers can describe scenes and feelings in great detail, and bring characters to life.
Reading improves children’s vocabulary and this impacts their reading and writing skills. As they learn new words, their improved reading fluency helps them learn more.
Kids turn the pages of a book to experience exciting journeys, learn about other places, and people and discover new perspectives.
Reading the written word gives readers the amazing ability to go beyond time and space. This means that written stories can be passed from one generation to the next and loved for years to come.
3. Telling a story visually
Visual storytelling is a way to convey ideas and make a story visually interesting. This is done by using pictures, props, puppets or drawings. Picture books use the visual storytelling method because their large pictures ensure that kids see what’s going on in the story while listening to the words.
The pictures are usually bright, colourful, and visually interesting. This keeps children’s attention and pulls them into the story. When combined with narration, interesting pictures can help a child observe details, understand and remember the story.
Traditionally, puppets, dance and shadow play were used in various parts of the world to put across stories and ideas visually. Adding to these, in modern times, visual stories are told through signages, billboards, and other media.
4. Interactive storytelling
In this method, children participate in interactive stories, encouraging them to think and spark their imagination. This method can be done in many different ways, such as:
• Role-playing: This entails getting kids to act out different characters. It helps them see the story from different points of view and build empathy.
• Storytelling games: giving kids games in which they have to make decisions or solve problems related to the story. This helps them think critically and keeps them interested in the story and activities.
• Crafts and activities: Adding hands-on tasks linked to the story, like making art or building things, helps kids connect more deeply with the story.
5. Digital Storytelling
In the digital age that we live in, new ways to tell stories are possible due to technology. Digital storytelling means using music, video, and interactive features to capture children’s attention.
These technological tools are e-books, animated movies, teaching apps and internet-based platforms. Using these tools may let kids experience stories in a multi-sensory way and also stimulate their intellectual capabilities. Additionally, digital tools make it easier to put across complex ideas creatively.
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These digital tools amuse the kids while using audio-visuals for storytelling, and help children better understand the story ideas. Digital storytelling could also be interactive when children have to answer questions for the story to proceed further.
What Are The Tools For Effective Storytelling?
These tools are part of methods of storytelling. Each medium of storytelling has their unique tools, for instance, in oral storytelling you can use voice modulation, tone, pitch and dramatization for evoking emotion.
In digital storytelling, you can use special effects for creating drama and engaging the audience. Other means of taking your story to the next level is creating suspense.
There are few basic elements in a story, such as, characters, setting, problem and solution. The story revolves around the characters, such as, people, animals, birds, etc. Setting is the place where the characters live or place where the story develops.
Problem is the conflict or challenge in the story, while the solution is clearly a resolution to the difficult situation. Other than these, there is a rising and falling action in a story.
Typically, a portion of the story has the drama or the problem rising and moves towards the climax while after the climax portion of the story, the drama decreases when the problem is in the process of resolving.
In cinema, several techniques are used for keeping the audience captivated. These may include background music, sound effects, dialogues, expressions, costumes, props, etc. While in printed materials, illustrations, images, diagrams are used apart from other writing techniques such as cause and effect.
The Power of Stories
Stories are entertaining, influential, communicative and informative. They have the power to simplify complex ideas, make abstract thoughts easy to comprehend, and connect us emotionally.
Narratives have the power to impact and influence the beliefs and direction of people, culture and human civilization. People, institutions and corporates tell their stories to persuade, entertain, build a community and inform others.
Telling stories are great tools for passing on information and ideas as our brains are programmed to respond to them, according to studies. Stories evoke emotions and have the power to make ideas more relatable, making them easier to understand and remember.
This is why narrative is so important in education, marketing, and personal life.
Conclusion
Storytelling is one of the best methods you can use to inspire kids to love reading and learning. Through stories, kids learn to use their past experiences, recall, evaluate, grasp and synthesise ideas, form inferences and present their thoughts.
In the above write-up, you learnt about different methods of storytelling, such as written narrative, verbal storytelling, visual tools, interactive storytelling, and digital platforms.
Also read: Types of Fiction Genres
You can make learning a fun activity, and make the experience exciting and interesting to children by using these storytelling methods.
So, you can tell a captivating story told sitting around a campfire, read out a beautifully illustrated picture book, or participate in an interactive digital adventure. The power of storytelling lies in its ability to take children to different worlds and encourage them to explore the vast realm of their creative minds.
By exploring the various methods of storytelling, you can engage children’s creative imagination and help them learn concepts.
Further reading
Digital storytelling, learning motivation and academic achievement.