While planning for a Read Aloud or a Storytelling session, there is a need to think of ways that can bring the children closer to the story by allowing them to experience it in an interesting manner. Some of the things that worked during my sessions at Bookworm’s Mobile Outreach Program community library at Chimbel, were using costumes, roleplay by the children, props for the children to use during the Read Aloud and a post story craft activity by making a story character.
Costumes
In a storytelling performance of ‘The Good King Who Became a Bad King’, a book by A. Ramachandran, the children loved the costume of the King worn by me while telling the story. Wearing the costume encouraged the children to imagine that they were conversing with the main character of the story. It made the storytelling more interactive and the story more understandable for them. Here it was the visual effect of seeing a character dressed in costume, that brought the story closer to the children.
Roleplay
‘Catch that Crocodile’ written by Anushka Ravishankar and illustrated by Pulak Biswas, was acted out by the children taking part in the storytelling. The children loved becoming part of the story by playing roles of different characters themselves, alongside a life sized crocodile soft toy. They excitedly volunteered to take roles that they wanted to play and cheered for the characters who tried to catch the crocodile. They could hold a doctor’s stethoscope and an injection which brought to life something they would only see in the picture. Being able to take on the role of one of the story characters and act out the story made the children feel a part of the story. The wearing of costumes and use of props for the roleplay made children own the story, enhancing their story experience.
Props
In ‘The Way Back Home’ by Oliver Jeffers, the children got a chance to be characters from the story by wearing crafted headgear of the boy or the alien. The story characters on the cover page were introduced.They were happy to wear it before the story started and chose which character they would be. They could identify with the characters, as they appeared in the book. Looking at the headgear, they asked why a person flying a plane would need goggles and how aliens are different from humans. This allowed for an exploratory discussion on the story. The use of props from the story aroused curiosity about the characters and being able to wear the headgear allowed the children to feel like the characters from the story.
Craft
A Read Aloud of ‘The Tiger Skin Rug’ by Gerald Rose, was followed by an activity where the children got busy making little crafted tigers from paper cups. They eagerly waited to put on colours, stripes, eyes and tail for the tiger as they identified what parts need to be added to make it into a tiger. Making the main character of the story allowed the children to observe the animal character more closely.
From these examples it was the visual element of costumes, the roleplay, props and craft that seemed to hold the children attention and get them involved with the story. Highlighting a particular aspect of the story through the use of such activities helped get the children’s involvement in the session and allowed for an interesting story experience.