Telling Your Story

Be relaxed when storytime comes. Have all preparations which need to be made in advance completed before the audience assembles. Welcome the children, using a carefully modulated voice - neither too high or too low. Set a low key atmosphere.

Sometimes brief introductory material about the story being told may be presented to the audience. Background necessary to understand the story may in some cases be required. Always give the source of your story: another storyteller; a book; etc.

You may have a set phrase to introduce or close the story. For ecample to introduce the story, the scence is set for telling by a West Indian custom:

Narrator: Cric

Audience response: Crac (We want to hear your story).

No one speaks but the narrator after this exchange (Pellowski, p. 106). Endings might be: Snic, snac, snout; my story is told out. This ends the story.

Maintain eye contact with your audience, moving your eyes around the audience rather than concentrating in one area. This is useful for holding attention. You will also be aware if the children are restless. If the story is not going well, you may have mismatched story and group. If this happens, consider trying to wrap the story up and finish quickly. You may also find a good stopping place and suggest that the children might like to find how it ended by reading the book.

For young audiences or audiences with short attention spans, more use of body movement or a little more drama in presentation may be useful in holding their attention. Don't overdo it, however.

If children are unfamiliar with certain words or ask what a word means, try to incorporate a brief definition within the story.

A child who is unruly may sometimes respond to having the story told more directly to him or her. Do not allow one child to spoil the story for everyone. Having another adult present to aid in removing unruly children is helpful. Children who do not wish to participate should be removed from the group.

If the entire group is restless, do not get angry with them. Try not to let the storytelling time disintegrate into an unpleasant experience for all. Try to anaylze the problem. Your story selections may be inappropriate to the audience or the story may be too long. Some outside factor may be interfering with the children's ability to concentrate.

A special setting, as a wishing candle with books and flowers on a table, may be employed (Baker, p. 65). [Remind the kids if you do this not to do it themselves.] A storytelling apron is fun with younger children. A carpenter's apron with pockets will do. In each pocket is placed an object which represents a story, as a stone for Stone Soup. A child selects a pocket and a story is told. A few simple props may also be used. Do not allow props to detract from the story, however.

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