None can doubt the importance of stories to children in all their stages . Stories can offer a child a wide range of imagination and a ready theatre for every idea in his deep mind . They can help children to behave well, since we use them to adjust a behavior or a bad habit . They are the solution to all of that . Moreover , I, as a teacher, prefer to stick to stories in my own ESL classes at all stages of a story and for all the previous reasons .
I might insert it in the beginning and use it as a warmer . I started my class once by telling the kids that we'd going to make up a story together . The kids got enthusiastic and I got their attention from the very beginning of the class . I remember the topic of the content was about shops and I started talking about a mum who's a big fan of shopping . Her house is next to the grocer's . Students laughed , gave me details , and revised the vocabulary I wanted them to refresh .
You, as a teacher, can use storytelling in presenting new words, but in this stage you'll have to get your flashcards and wordcards ready to let the cards complete the story with you . I used it in presenting the weather vocabulary with third grade kids who enjoyed the class and went home with a good ability to tell their mother all the new vocabulary we'd just learned . What I did was that I got all my aids ready and used some realia like an umbrella , sunglasses , gloves , a fan and a pair of goggles. That really helped.
In the rounding up stage, I used stories in various ways . When children are bored, I choose a simple story from the class library and ring the bell :" Hey it's story time ..Story time . " I read , act , and use a different tune of voice and the boredom is over . One other way of ending the class using stories is to use a make-up story . We all cooperate with each other to end the story . Here I think the best result was getting everyone participating, even the shy ones .
To sum up , more and more stories are all that you need in your class, dear teacher, and indeed, it's all that your students need to be engaged in their own process of learning . Give them the guide and they will for sure surprise you.
* The picture is taken from the British Council website
