Story Power

Talk is King

There is a slew of professional literature out there about the power of oral language in building students' ability to tell stories, to see themselves as conveyors of important messages, etc. I'm here for it! I think back to me as a young storyteller and how important it was to me that my verbal free flow poured into my writing of stories and little books.  I also just believe it makes sense.  If we can think it, we can say it, and if we can say it, we can write it...and then of course, if we can write it, we can read it!  The reciprocity among listening, speaking, reading and writing is amazing.  

What I didn't realize...

until recently is that there are toys out there that facilitate the development of these skills.  One day I happened upon this toy at my local Once Upon a Child, so I picked it up. 

The Thinkativity Little Storyteller

My son had been telling stories at nighttime with Daddy, complete with "Once upon a time...", transitional words and "the end." I was impressed that something as simple as introducing him to story structure would stick in his little mind.  I started to tell stories with him as well, and when I saw this toy, it just made sense to kind of ride the wave he was on.  (My daughter was taking it on, as well.) That was about 6 months ago, and they liked the toy.  Fast forward to yesterday, when I could see them begin to not just enjoy the toy, but understand it more. 

The way it works is...

each of those rollers has different story components on them that can be interchanged:  different beginnings, with characters and scenarios.  Whatever story is picked, the toy reads straight across a line, left to right, and picks up on the next line to continue.  The last line concludes the story. The story changes as the child turns the rollers to change elements. It even has a bit of drama in the reading, as well--sound effects of wind, music to dramatize a particular sentence...so it sounds like a dramatic interpretation of a real story.  Yesterday I watched my kids play with this game in a new way, taking time to dramatize each piece themselves.  So, when the story read, "...exhausted, he settled down for a nap," they would act it out.  This level of participatory storytelling play has lots of benefits, as I see it...not only for their general communication skills, but their knowledge of story in particular. 

Do you see the potential for this kind of toy?  If we can get our pre-schoolers really comfortable with oral storytelling, ala writing workshop, augmented by play experiences like this, how powerfully ready to write would they be in kindergarten!?  There is great opportunity there.  This particular toy is not easy to find, even on the resale market, but it's out there.    

There are other toys that I think can foster some of this same creative story awareness.  I am listing some of them below. 

Thinkativity Soar & Explore Storyteller

This, too, appears to be largely unavailable, though I did find it on eBay.  It works like the toy above, but lets kids play with scenarios involving different cultures and languages.  Haven't experienced this one, but about to order one.

Animal Storytelling Finger Puppets

These look cool for keeping setting and overall story meaning in mind as kids take on roles of different characters.  Again, haven't tried these--just doing some research on more toys that serve as storytelling aids.

Storyteller Writing Box

This would be great for not only younger kids, but older ones, as well.  They could take part in storytelling together, or older ones could model for younger.  This can ignite the centuries-old but lost tradition of storytelling in families! (Before our iPads and TVs, intergenerational storytelling kept families connected, entertained and engaged, all while boosting children's vocabulary and knowledge of the world outside of home!)

Truly, the power of story can't be overestimated...

Whether 9 months or 99, if we are human, story has a pull that can power us forward.  Teaching our children to love and flow in storytelling has the potential to do at least 10 things I can think of:

• overpower the influence of their tech tools--who can replace human interaction?
• teach our children to see the "story" in everyday life
• make writing a story down feel like the next natural progression
• attune our kids to the decisions and strategies of authors whose stories they hear or read
• prepare our students to be compelling in conversation--even as youngsters
• set them up for success in other creative areas--songwriting and coding, to name a few
• give them confidence in using transitional language that makes their communication clear
• take away the fear factor speaking in front of people & attune them to the importance of audience
• prepare them to answer comprehension questions in school about sequence, theme and main idea
• give them a leg up for leadership influence in corporate, educational and other settings as adults (See book Tell to Win by Peter Guber.)

Let's give our children this amazing gift, early!
Yours in the telling,