“ The wonderful thing about stories is that they marry ideas and feelings in a sequence of events.
Feelings of fear, anger, joy or jealousy are wrapped up in characters and beings that we can understand. We follow them on their journey through disasters and triumphs and we figure out who they…and ultimately who we are – nothing else does this! “
Michael Rosen, former children’s laureate
In all the school music projects I deliver, the combination of music with stories is essential.
In the modern world this is the way that most children experience story-telling – through film, TV and computer games. Music adds another layer of meaning in these multi-media forms, allowing the viewer/listener to understand and empathise with characters and situations in much more visceral way…because of the emotional dimension supplied by the music.
Since children are exposed to TV, film and video from a very young age, they develop an intuitive understanding of how music “feels” and what it is communicating in a particular scene…and they love to talk about it and share their knowledge!
In the classroom we often use a story as inspiration to create music…utilising the school instruments to underscore a short story that may require happy, sad, scary, exciting, sleepy, angry, old or modern sounds as we follow the narrative.
Music and Stories together can be a very powerful tool to inspire and engage with learning.
So first let’s get into some story telling!
Sometimes, adults can feel anxious about reading stories aloud to their child, thinking that it is a special skill that they have yet to acquire.
- What if I do it wrongly?
- What if they realise I’m not a confident reader?
This can especially happen if sharing storybooks was not a feature of a parent’s own childhood experience.
BUT DON’T PANIC !
A storybook is just a great play activity you can share with your child in your own way. You can read the story together if you like, or make up your own story using the pictures, or act the story out in the garden…it’s the focused, shared time together that your child will love!
Stories help children to understand how things work.
Following the steps of a story helps children to understand how information is organized to make sense of the world.
A desire to know “what happens next” encourages the process of sequencing – another important part of learning to read.
Stories give children the opportunity to discover how characters feel and why, contributing greatly to their emotional development and empathy.
Stories often give valuable guidance by describing causes and effects, actions and consequences…if a character does something silly, something bad might happen.
Stories help to unlock a child’s Imagination!
Over the years, I have worked with professional Storytellers, Book Bug and the wonderful Family Liaison Officer Maureen Black, when I’ve picked up some Top tips for storytelling which I hope you will find useful too!
Don’t panic if you don’t feel confident reading the story – tell it through looking at the pictures together.
When children find a story they like, they often want you to repeat it over and over. We know that connections between parts of the brain grow stronger with repetition. Repetition also helps children understand and remember language.
Reading is for the whole family, so get everyone involved! Encourage others to read to your child – grandparents, babysitters, older brothers and sisters.
• Don’t just save books for bedtime – read in the bath, on a bus or even at the supermarket. Words are everywhere!
• Lead by example – you are the most important person in your child’s life, so show your child that you enjoy reading too…books, newspapers, magazines …have plenty of things to read about your house!
• Join the library – even babies can join! There are “Book Bug” sessions you can enjoy together. (and it doesn’t even matter if books are returned damaged – modern librarians understand!)
• Find a time when you can have a few quiet minutes together without distractions…Turn off the TV!
• Take your time: children need longer than adults to take in all the information.
• Look at the pictures together on every page…and talk about them.
• Babies love stories too…even if they are too young to understand the words they love hearing your voice and spending focused time with you.
• Start off with short stories and rhymes – as children grow older they’ll enjoy listening to and joining in with longer stories.
engagewithmusic 