Stories

Hello! 

I hope those of you who are on Easter break are finding time to relax in between the planning for next term. I thought this week I would share something I consider quite important to use in a languages classroom- stories.

There is a huge variety in the types of stories that can be used. For example, you could look at stories from the country you are studying. You could also look at familiar stories translated into the language being studied. These are easy enough for you to create yourself- the story I created for a Year 6 class based on The Hunger Games proved to be a big hit.

One thing to be aware of if you are going to create the story based on another authors work, including the use of images, is copyright. If you are only showing it to a class then you are fine, however if you want to upload it as I have done then you will need to acknowledge the copyright.

I have also found a good method of storytelling, if you are competent/confident in the target language, is to tell the story rather than read it. This means the story may be a lot shorter than if you were reading it, but children tend to engage a lot more. When doing this with younger years, I find using puppets and stories with repetition also works well. For example, stories like the Gruffalo are easy to remember and will already be familiar to younger children so it will be easier to retell in the target language. You can also find copies of popular children's books in the target language for the children to look over in free time:

The Gruffalo: 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gruffalo-Julia-Donaldson/dp/2070653137/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428146619&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Gruffalo+french

http://www.amazon.co.uk/El-Gruffalo-Julia-Donaldson/dp/8479422343/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428146710&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Gruffalo+spanish

The Very Hungry Caterpillar:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oruga-Muy-Hambrienta-Espanol-Spanish/dp/039923960X/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0BMZ031PHSQQTWVWHCPY

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chenille-Qui-Fait-Trous/dp/2871421749/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428146855&sr=1-1&keywords=Hungry+caterpillar+french

I find storytelling is not only a good addition to the lessons in terms of a plenary, but it can also help the children improve their vocabulary in the target language as they will gradually pick up terminology. I found a Doctor Who story on TES and adapted it to include the English translation, and this helped the class to identify vocabulary relating to colours and weather. Some higher ability students were also able to identify other vocabulary, so the use of stories can aid children no matter what their ability is.

When using stories from the target language/culture, this also helps to highlight cultural differences and similarities which in turn teaches the children about the culture in that country. This can link with Georgraphy as well as History in a cross-curricular approach.

Overall, I would highly recommend the use of stories in your langauges lessons- I try to fit one in every lesson. If you are stuck for ideas, the BBC website has some useful videos of stories in different languages as well.

French: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/zfgqxnb/resources/1

German: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/z4qs34j

Spanish: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/zqs9wmn

Mandarin: http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/topics/z7n4d2p

Enjoy!

S