About Storytelling

Storytelling has been around since the dawn of man. The earliest stories evolved as a mixture of spoken words, gestures and facial expressions.

These stories, passed down from generation to generation, have been used to teach history, settle arguments and to share experiences with other people.

Many stories have developed as a way to teach moral values, the difference between good and bad. The beautiful swan was once an ugly duckling, the modest tortoise won the race – some of life’s best lessons are learned through the recollection of stories heard in childhood.

Good stories offer children positive role models and a place to learn more about the real world. And they stimulate the imagination, opening up a different world of hopes and dreams.

Storytelling isn’t just about reading a story out loud, word for word. And sign is as good as speech in helping children to become competent readers.

Play tip

Fun activities built around books will make storytelling even more fun, encouraging children to express themselves and increase their confidence. Try making simple laminated cards of story characters and objects, lay them face down and get your child to find pairs which match. This is great for learning basic vocabulary.

Play tips for lip readers

If your child lip-reads, have regular breaks as the high levels of concentration needed can be tiring.

Eye contact

Play games which encourage eye contact. The hearing child can concentrate on the storybook page, but deaf children need to watch the storyteller too to see lip patterns, signs and facial expressions.

"Stories entertain, inspire, instruct and heal."

(About Storytelling – an Australian website)