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1986-03-13
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STORYTELLING
RESEARCH FINDING:
Telling young children stories can motivate them to read. Story-
telling also introduces them to cultural values and literary
traditions before they can read, write, and talk about stories by
themselves.
COMMENT:
Elementary school teachers can introduce young students to the
study of literature by telling them fairy tales such as the Three
Billy Goats Gruff or Beauty and the Beast and myths such as The
Iliad. Even students with low motivation and weak academic
skills are more likely to listen, read, write, and work hard in
the context of storytelling.
Stories from the oral tradition celebrate heroes who struggle to
overcome great obstacles that threaten to defeat them. Children
are neither bored nor alienated by learning literature through
storytelling; they enjoy, understand, and sympathize naturally
with the goats on the bridge, Beauty in a lonely castle, and
Hector and Achilles outside the walls of Troy. With the help of
skillful questioning, they can also learn to reflect on the
deeper meanings of these stories.
Children also benefit from reading stories aloud and from acting
out dramatic narrations, whether at home or at school. Parents
can begin reading to their children as infants and continue for
years to come.
Storytelling can ignite the imaginations of children, giving them
a taste of where books can take them. The excitement of story-
telling can make reading and learning fun and can instill in
children a sense of wonder about life and learning.
Applebee, A. N. (l978). The Child's Concept of Story: Ages Two
to Seventeen. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Baker, A., and Greene, E. (l977). Storytelling: Art and Tech-
nique. New York: R. R. Bowker Co.
Bettelheim, B. (l975). The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and
Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Cook, E. (l969). The Ordinary and the Fabulous: An Introduction
to Myths, Legends and Fairy Tales for Teachers and Storytellers.
Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sawyer, R. (l962, Revised Edition). The Way of the Storyteller.
New York: The Viking Press.
Thach, E. (June l980). "Storytelling: Classics of the Oral
Tradition." Report to the National Endowment of the Humanities,
Washington, D.C.