Oral Storytelling with Props
To develop oral narrative skills and story structure understanding through prop-supported storytelling.
- Framework: EYFS
- Unit: EYFS Literacy
- Learning area: Literacy
- Level: EYFS 3-4
Objectives
- Creates a three-event oral narrative
- Uses story language
- Introduces characters and settings
- Sequences events logically
Materials
- Story prop bag
- Characters (small world people, animals)
- Setting cards
- Problem cards to prompt narrative
Instructions
Create a 'story bag' containing three types of card: character (a knight, a dragon, a little girl, an old man, a witch), setting (a forest, a castle, a city, a beach, a cave), and problem (something is lost, someone is scared, it's very cold, there's a mystery to solve).
Demonstrate drawing one card from each pile: 'I've got... a little girl... in a forest... and her problem is... something is lost! Let me make up a story.' Tell a simple three-event story spontaneously.
Invite a child to draw cards and begin their story. Support them with questions: 'So there's a dragon in a castle. What's the dragon's name? What does he want? What happens to him?' Your questions scaffold without dictating.
Introduce story language: 'Good storytellers often start with 'Once upon a time' or 'One day...' and they end with 'and they all lived happily ever after' or 'and that's the end of the story'. Would you like to try?'
Record children's oral stories and play them back. 'That was YOUR story! Let's listen to you telling it.' Hearing themselves as a storyteller is enormously powerful and often spurs children to storytell more.
Build a culture of storytelling — create dedicated storytelling sessions where children share stories and others listen respectfully. Introduce a 'talking stick' or special 'storytelling chair' to mark the storyteller as special.