Introduction
The Suggested Schemes of Work for the Elective Part of the Three-year Senior Secondary English Language Curriculum (Secondary 4-6) recommends that students be given an opportunity to share stories in English in the final part of the Learning English through Short Stories elective module.
The stories students share can be ‘stories they have recently read, traditional stories, stories they have heard or learned about, or stories their families tell, etc’. This is to help students ‘learn the basic storytelling skills to prepare them for performing their own module story later in this part’. (p. 23)
The suggested activities outlined here aim to develop students’ oral presentation skills through retelling fables or other folktales in English. After students have practised telling stories, they are given an opportunity to read their collaboratively-written short story aloud and record it in the form of a radio broadcast following the guidelines from the NET Section ‘Shorts’ competition.
A suggestion for using the unedited clips from the NET Section ‘Clipit’ competition to engage students in creating a short story film is also provided here.
“There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.”
Ursula K. LeGuin
Storytelling
Storytelling involves relating a tale to an audience through voice and gesture. In the oral tradition, storytellers told stories to explain beliefs about the world, relate the great deeds of past kings and heroes, teach moral principles or simply to entertain an audience. The need to tell stories is a part of human nature.
Storytellers use a wide range of skills to tell a story well.
1. Storytellers know their stories well.
2. Storytellers organise their stories well.
• The characters are developed with thoughts, feelings and actions.
• The setting is described by appealing to the five senses.
• Dialogue is used to give voice to the characters and to move the story forward.
• The events in the plot are well structured (rising action, climax, falling action).
• The problems that the characters faced are resolved in the end.
3. Storytellers use vocal expressions to bring their stories to life.
• They speak clearly and are easy to understand.
• They vary the pace, pitch and volume of the voice and use pausing for dramatic effect.
• They use different voices for their characters.
4. Storytellers use facial expression and body language.
• They appear comfortable, relaxed and confident in front of their audience.
• They use facial expressions that match the mood of the story.
• They use gestures that complement the story.
5. Storytellers are creative and entertain their audience.
• They engage the audience by making eye contact, asking questions, telling jokes, etc.
• They use special actions or small props to make the story more entertaining.
• They get a good response from the audience.
Aesop’s Fables Moral
The Ant and the Grasshopper Prepare for the future.
The Fox and the Cheese Beware of flattery.
The Hare and the Tortoise Slow and steady wins the race.
The Lion and the Mouse One good turn deserves another.
The North Wind and the Sun Gentle persuasion is more effective than force.
Handout 3.1:
Storytelling Skills
The following handout can be used to introduce the skills of storytelling to students.
After going over the storytelling skills outlined in Handout 3.1, model telling a simple story in English, preferably one that students are familiar with.
Using one of Aesop’s fables for this purpose would work well since the stories are short and easy to remember. They also illustrate a moral, which you could have students infer and discuss. Here are a few suggestions to consider.
These fables can easily be found in print or on the Internet. Refer to Handout 1.2:
Fables and Parables for a few recommended web sites.
When demonstrating the storytelling skills outlined in Handout 3.1, it is important that you retell the story in your own words and not just read the story aloud. Keep in mind that you are demonstrating how to tell a story, which requires different skills from reading a story aloud.
To follow up, you could also show students a video clip of a storyteller telling a simple story in English online. After students have listened to the story, ask them to evaluate how well the story was told based on the storytelling skills outlined in Handout 3.1.
Retelling Folktales
To give students practice with telling stories in English, ask them to select one fable or folktale that they know well. You might want to encourage students to select one of the fables or parables from Chinese folklore that illustrate idioms commonly used in Chinese today. This will give students an opportunity to share something about Chinese culture with the Native-speaking English Teacher (NET) and other native speakers of English in the school.
Here are a few well-known Chinese fables and parables that you can suggest to your students.
Chinese Fables/Parables Meaning
The Frog in the Shallow Well Describes a person who is too proud or boastful.
The Fox Borrows the Tiger’s Terror Describes a person who takes advantage of a leader’s power to bully others.
Plucking Up a Crop to Help it Grow Describes a person who does not allow a situation to take its natural course.
A Loss May Turn Out to Be a Gain Describes a situation in which an unlucky event results in good luck or vice versa.
These Chinese folktales, and many others like them, can be found on the Internet both in Chinese and in English.
Handout 3.2:
Retelling Folktales Remembering the Story
Once students have selected a story, they will need to remember the storyline and practise retelling it. Here is one method that students can use.
1. Select a story from a folktale anthology or the Internet and read it.
2. Learn the important words and phrases for retelling the story in English.
3. Close your eyes and ‘replay’ each scene of the story in your head as a film.
4. Read the story aloud, focusing on the pronunciation of the important words.
5. Replay the film of the story in your head again.
6. Continue reading the story and replaying the story in your head until you have memorised it from beginning to end.
7. Practise retelling the plot in your own way, picturing the scenes of the story in your head as you go.
8. Ask a friend to listen to you retell the story and to give you feedback.
Handout 3.2 can be used to introduce these steps to students.
Worksheet 3.1 is a storyboard template that students can use to map out the story.
Worksheet 3.1:
Storyboard
Suggested Procedures
1. Distribute Worksheet 3.1.
2. Show students the sample storyboard of ‘The North Wind and the Sun’ in the Answer Keys folder on the Resource CD.
3. Tell students to draw pictures of the main events for the story they selected in the frames of the storyboard and to complete the text boxes for each frame.
4. Collect Worksheet 3.1 from students for assessment and feedback.
Students may find it useful to map out the story on a storyboard. This will help them visualise each scene of the story and remember the sequence of events more easily.
“No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time.”
Lewis Carroll,
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland& Through the Looking-Glass
Rehearsing the Story
In a follow-up lesson, return Worksheet 3.1 and give students time to practise retelling their stories in small groups. Students can work in their collaborative writing groups for this activity.
Set a time limit for the storytelling so that the stories do not become too long. Students should be able to retell a simple folktale in 2-3 minutes.
Students can give feedback to one another using Assessment Form 3.1.
Presenting the Story
After students have rehearsed their stories and received feedback from their group members, they should be ready to present their stories to the class and receive feedback from the teacher. This could be set up in any of the following ways:
1. Set aside two or three lessons for the story presentations.
2. Ask a few students to share their stories at the beginning of each lesson until all of the students in the class have had a chance to present.
3. Schedule each group to come and see you after school to present their stories in small groups.
Assessment Form 3.1:
Storytelling Skills (Peer Assessment)
Assessment Form 3.2 can be used to assess students and give feedback on their storytelling presentations.
It is suggested that teachers show students the assessment form and go over the criteria with the whole class before students present their stories. Understanding the criteria will help students better prepare for their presentations.
Storytelling Websites
Further information on storytelling can be found in the links provided on Handout 3.1.
Assessment Form 3.2:
Storytelling Skills