How to Be a Better Story Teller

Reading to children is a fun activity to do. And it’s also an important one! Story tellers have the ability to inspire children to think critically and to use their imaginations. Make the most of your story telling next time with these reading aloud tips.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• book
• props

1. Read the story ahead of time. If time is short, then at least skim through the book to get the gist of the storyline and tone. The more familiar you are with the text, the more relaxed you’ll be. A relaxed story teller gets to focus more on entertaining the listeners—which is the best part about reading aloud!

2. Use props. Puppets, costume clothing, and photo collages are some of the props that can be incorporated in your story telling. Props help generate excitement and interest from young listeners.

3. Use gestures. Being animated as you read the story will also work to peak a child’s interest. Don’t be afraid to flail around or act silly if the story calls for it; gesturing makes a story come alive for children of all ages.

4. Vary your voice. A monotone voice may end up putting your audience to sleep (yikes!). Avoid that embarrassment by varying the pitch and tone of your voice as needed to make the story more of an attention grabber for your listeners.

Resources

• How to Be Involved at Your Child’s School

[giantsteps]

on 6/9/2009 Great tips. I consider myself to be an expert storyteller and you included all my tricks.

[FranticMommy]

on 6/9/2009 Great tips and a refreshing , unique topic . Good job!