Revisit Singing and Story-Telling

Singing and storytelling used to be very much a part of school activities. Curriculum changes and pressure on teachers have almost assigned these activities to history. Yet they can fill an important place in our classrooms.

Children love singing. When it comes to a personal vocalising adventure, it is also something many teachers decline because of self-consciousness. Unfortunately, many teachers are reluctant to sing with children at the classroom level. In many schools, singing is left to the music teacher. The activity is one in which classroom teachers, even those responsible for early childhood children, rarely engage.

Singing is an activity I enjoy with children in many different school settings, in all grades and all kinds of schools.

I’m no expert in musical terms, but enjoyment should be the key to singing. Holding a tune helps, but if that does not come naturally, it can be cultivated.

Singing is confidence building for children. I believe that singing can also build teacher confidence. The exercise promotes vocal projection, facial expression, and correct word usage. Listening skills are enhanced because singers have to listen out for each other.

Memory building

Learning the lyrics and music that go with singing helps with memory building. Songs learned to stay with people for years, sometimes a lifetime. The stimulation of memory is necessary because the ability to memorise, one of the characteristics with which we have been blessed, is enhanced by practice.

Part of the appeal to memory is challenging children to learn the words and tune of the song as quickly as possible. Make singing exciting.

When I was a primary school student back in the 1950s, we used to have singing lessons in our schools broadcast over the radio. Lessons were weekly for 30 or 45 minutes. Once the song we were learning was introduced, the singing teacher would drag the learning out over several weeks. We, poor children, would back up phrase by phrase, line by line and verse by verse for what seemed an eternity. The enjoyment of singing became entangled within this torturous learning process. When teaching singing, be thoughtful about methodology.

Linking

Singing can be linked with other curriculum elements, especially Social and Cultural Education. ‘Linking’ similarly applies when it comes to musical appreciation. Music and instrumental appreciation are helpful when studying countries, cultures and people. Musical appreciation is a strategy that helps us better understand and appreciate Indigenous Australians.

Creative appeal

Children are asked to use their imaginations to create stories, write poems, manufacture art/craft pieces and carry out scientific experiments. This may extend to electives studies, speech preparation and other activities. There is no reason why children, even very young children, can’t be encouraged to create and teach (under guidance) their songs.

Telling stories is an enriching teaching and listening experience.

At the risk of sounding old-fashioned, I extol the virtues of storytelling. With the advent and use of smart boards and connecting devices, teachers often use audio-visual technology for story reading and storytelling. The possible reluctance that teachers may feel about telling stories to children is not new. When I was a primary school student, we used to have ‘Junior Listener’ reports broadcast to us by radio. For half an hour or so, we would sit at our desks in rural Western Australia and listen to the story of the week being read to us by a presenter in Perth. Memory fades with time, but I cannot remember our teachers being much into storytelling. We were read to from time to time. However, in those days, books were not attractively presented or full of colourful illustrations to be shared with children.

Teachers should not feel reluctant about telling or reading stories to children. Sadly, the skill of storytelling is becoming a lost art. I always gained great satisfaction from being able to share stories with students from Transition to Year Seven. I believe that teachers of older students can fashion their delivery of material in a way that transmits it to students in story form. The story provides a ‘setting’ and helps place the context of the message into a feasible environment. It helps students understand the application of theoretical contexts.

To tell stories with and to children is to engage with them in an immediate conversational context. Stories told with animation and conviction, with supporting gestures and eye contact, engage children and switch them on in a way that draws them close to the message being conveyed.

Advantages

Storytelling offers many educational positives.

* The quality, meaning and context of language, word usage and meaning can be followed up by discussion during ‘conversational pauses’ within the story or at its end when it is being reviewed.

* Questioning to test listening helps to build the notions of concentration and listening. Having ‘mini quizzes’ where some contestation produces within the group (for instance, girls versus boys, the contest between class groups and so on) adds to student focus and engagement. This strategy discourages students from ‘switching off’ and mentally wandering off into the distance.

* Having students work on ‘prediction and ‘forecast’ by sharing their thoughts about where the story will head and how it will conclude can be an exciting testing strategy. This approach helps develop the skills of logic and reasoning within thinking.

* Language study is enhanced. Asking children the meanings of words and words within context is an example. Similes and antonyms can be developed as a part of word study.

* Some texts which share stories are written in the ‘language of yesteryear’. Two volumes come to mind, ‘Grimm’s Fairy Tales and stories by Hans Christian Anderson. These stories not only introduce children to a vast array of very colourful old-fashioned words that the idiom of modern language has superseded. They are also set in social situations of the past, primarily replaced by the social attitudes and dispositions of today. These stories lend to a beautiful exploration of word development and compare historical and contemporary social mores. They help with developing an understanding of what has changed and why once acceptable behaviours have been replaced.

* The appeal of stories to the imagination and ‘the mind’s eye’ is such that art growing or flowing from story presentation can be colourful and creative. If the account is drawn from history, asking children to think of clothing, transport, buildings and other artefacts from the past can help with differentiation and clarify understanding.

* A great way of treating longer stories is to serialise (or mini-series) them, with ‘to be continued’ as part of the understanding. That is an excellent way of helping children anticipate what may happen. A good story being well told can also be a motivator. The continuation can be applied as a reward for effort and endeavour.

Qualities

* Make sure when telling stories that you use clear, expressive language. Take the part with language variations of the characters you are describing.

* Engage children by asking them to respond by being characters in the story. Have them think about and describe the feelings, moods and attitudes of those around whom the story is centred.

* Have children act or visit the story or parts thereof through dramatic expression. Drama is a subject very rarely considered these days.

* As a storyteller, make eye contact with the group. Vocal expression is essential, including pitch, rhythm and other elements of speech.

End Point

I could go on about storytelling. A good story, well told, will be remembered for a long time. I still have people, now in their late teens and adult years, tell me they remember my storytelling and how much they enjoyed the stories I told.

It is a sad fact of life that adults tend to lose their imaginative capacities. To engage in storytelling is to keep the imagination of the storyteller alive and flourishing. As a school principal, I used to talk with children about the importance of creativity and imaginative thought. To tell stories has helped keep me in touch with this advice.

Singing and storytelling are enjoyable activities. I recommend both.

Henry Gray

Researched and prepared for ACEL by Henry Gray (FACEL). My primary focus on and belief in education is that it develops children and students holistically, preparing them for life. I have a blog site at henrygrayblog.wordpress.com and invite you to access it anytime, should you wish