Storytelling Skills

Luokka-asteet: 1.-2., 1.-3.

Oppiaineet: draama, katsomusaineet, kuvataide, äidinkieli ja kirjallisuus

Tuotetyyppi: Tehtävät

Objectives

To practise expressing personal views by various means.
To identify skills related to reading and storytelling.
To practise identifying the basic structures of a story through reading, listening and storytelling.

Instructions

1. Read or watch a story called The Last Dragon in the World in small groups. The short story can be found in the attachments to the exercise, and the animation can be viewed on YLE Areena.

Identify the beginning, the middle or a twist in the story and the end through a discussion. Additionally, discuss briefly: What do you think the story is about? For example, friendship, longing, envy, compassion or something else?

2. Divide the pupils into small groups. Each small group presents or tells the rest of the group the story you have just read or listened to by using one of the methods listed below.

You can use whatever storytelling methods you want. Every small group should use a different method to retell the story.

When telling the story again in different ways and in your own words, you can change the characters and places from the original.

Select the storytelling methods from the list that are the most suitable for your small groups. Agree on the length of time for work in the small groups, depending on the chosen storytelling methods.

Before group work, remind yourselves that the Convention on the Rights of the Child includes the right of every child to express their opinion, as long as it does not violate the rights of others (Article 13).

Storytelling methods for small groups:

By using GIF animations (at the bottom of the page after the exercise instructions)
By using pictures (at the bottom of the page after the exercise instructions)
By drawing a short comic strip
Through puppet theatre with toys
By photographing the group members or, for example, toys
By writing or telling the story orally in your own words
As a pantomime
As a news video
You can also invent your own storytelling methods.

3. Watch and listen to all the story versions performed by the small groups. After the performances, discuss the following:

What similarities did the stories have?
What differences did you notice? What caused them?
How did it feel to perform the story differently?
What was it like to watch and listen to the stories told by the others?
What skills did you need to tell the story in the way that you chose to do it? Compare the different storytelling methods.
What skills do you need for all of these?
Where can you learn these skills? Which skills can you learn at school? What about at home or through hobbies?
How can the skills that you have identified help express opinions?