Category: Goldilocks anD the three bears

Posted in Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, Fairy Tales, Goldilocks anD the three bears, Still image, Storytelling, Storytelling in the Early years, teacher in role

Goldilocks and the Three Bears Drama Workshop

Posted on by Drama Start Books

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Goldilocks and the Three Bears Drama Workshop

Materials: A copy of the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Bear masks and props (optional). Chairs or stools to represent the three bears’ chairs.

Warm-up: Lead the children in a warm-up activity such as stretching, dancing, or singing. Tell the children that they will be using their imagination to bring the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears to life.

Main Focus: Talking Objects – ask the children to choose an object from the story, such as the porridge, chairs, or beds. Ask the children to imagine what the object might say or feel if it could talk. Encourage the children to use their creativity and imagination to come up with interesting ideas. Ask the children to take turns speaking for their object and improvising a short scene where it interacts with the other objects in the story.

Here are some examples of what the objects might say:

Porridge: “I’m too hot! I’m too cold! Why can’t anyone get me just right?”

Chairs: “I’m so big and uncomfortable. Why can’t someone make a chair that fits me just right?”

Beds: “I’m too hard! I’m too soft! Why can’t someone make a bed that’s just right for me?”

Spoon: “I’m so lonely. Nobody ever pays attention to me!”

Bowl: “I’m so empty! Fill me up, someone!”

Door: “Who’s there? Why are you coming into the bears’ house without asking?”

Window: “I’m so curious. I wonder what’s happening inside the bears’ house?”

House: “I’m just a house, but I’ve seen so much excitement since those bears moved in!”

Mime – ask the children to imagine they are Mama, Papa, or Baby Bear. Ask the children to use occupational mime to show what their bear character might do during a typical day, such as making porridge, reading a book, or going for a walk in the woods. Encourage the children to use their bodies to express different emotions, such as happiness, frustration, or tiredness.

Hot Seating -choose one child to play the role of Goldilocks. Ask the other children to take turns asking Goldilocks questions about her behaviour in the story, such as why she went into the bears’ house, why she tried their porridge, and what she would do differently if she could go back in time. Encourage the children to use their listening and communication skills to ask thoughtful questions and respond to Goldilocks’ answers. Here are some examples of questions to ask Goldilocks in the hot seat.

  • Why did you go into the bears’ house without permission?
  • How did you feel when you saw the bears’ chairs, porridge, and beds?
  • Why did you eat the bears’ porridge even though you knew it wasn’t yours?
  • How did you feel when you broke Baby Bear’s chair?
  • What would you do differently if you could go back in time?
  • How did you feel when the bears came home and discovered that you were in their house?
  • What would you say to the bears if you could apologize for your behaviour?
  • How did you feel when you ran away from the bears and the house?
  • What did you learn from your experience with the bears?
  • If you could have any wish, what would you wish for?

Teacher in Role – ask the other children to take turns acting out different scenes from the story, such as Goldilocks entering the bears’ house or the bears discovering that someone has been in their home. Encourage the teacher to play different characters in the story and interact with the children to help guide and shape the scenes.

Still Image – ask the children to work in pairs or small groups. Assign each group a scene from the story.  Ask the children to create a still image that represents the key moment in the scene. Encourage the children to use their bodies and facial expressions to convey the emotions and actions of the characters in the scene. Here are some examples of scenes from the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears:

  • Goldilocks walking through the forest and coming across the bears’ house for the first time.
  • Goldilocks entering the bears’ house and discovering the three bowls of porridge on the table.
  • Goldilocks trying the porridge and exclaiming, “This porridge is too hot! This porridge is too cold! This porridge is just right!”
  • Goldilocks trying out the three chairs and breaking Baby Bear’s chair.
  • Goldilocks exploring the bears’ house and eventually falling asleep in Baby Bear’s bed.
  • The bears coming home and discovering that someone has been in their house.
  • Mama Bear exclaiming, “Someone’s been eating my porridge!”
  • Papa Bear exclaiming, “Someone’s been sitting in my chair!”
  • Baby Bear exclaiming, “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed, and she’s still there!”
  • The bears discovering Goldilocks in Baby Bear’s bed and confronting her.

Closure: Have the participants sit in a circle. Explain that you are going to play a storytelling game inspired by the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Begin the story by saying “Once upon a time, there were three bears who lived in a cosy cottage in the woods.” Ask the person to your left to continue the story by adding a sentence. For example, “One day, while the bears were out for a walk, a little girl named Goldilocks stumbled upon their cottage.” Continue around the circle, with each person adding a sentence to the story. Encourage participants to use their imagination and come up with creative twists and turns in the story. Continue the story until it reaches a satisfying conclusion or until everyone has had a chance to contribute multiple times.

Click on the links below for more drama workshops based on children’s fairytales.

Posted in Action Poems, Animal Stories, Drama techniques, Drama workshops for children, Fairy Tales, Goldilocks anD the three bears

A drama workshop for young children – Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Posted on by Drama Start Books

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This Goldilocks and the Three Bears workshop is from “Drama Workshops for Young Children” by Julie Meighan. This book contains 10 drama workshops for young children. These fun-to-use and easy-to-follow workshops are designed for children between the ages of 3 and 7. The workshops are based on children’s stories. Each story is introduced at the beginning of each workshop through a movement story or a play. The definition and aim of each drama strategy used are outlined in the drama strategy glossary at the beginning of the book. The aims of these drama workshops are to

Promote children’s self-regulation

Develop children’s language and communication skills

Teach children conflict resolution

Relieve children’s emotional tension

Allow children to develop a sense of ownership.

Promote children’s social interaction skills

Empower children

 Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Each child finds a space and sits down. Each child or a group of children are assigned a specific word and a corresponding action. The narrator/teacher reads the story aloud, and when the children hear their word, they must jump up and do their actions. The words are in bold to assist the teacher/narrator.

Movement: Action/sound.

Goldilocks: Skip around the space.

Bear/Bears: Walk slowly and growl.

Bowl/Bowls: Clasp fingers together and stick out arms to make a round shape.

Porridge: Wiggle body up and down.

Chair/s: Squat down and stick out arms.

Bed/s: Lie straight on the floor.

First: Hold up one finger.

Second: Hold up two fingers.

Third: Hold up three fingers.

Narrator: Once upon a time, there was a girl called Goldilocks. One day, she decided to go for a walk in the woods. Soon, she became tired. She saw a little cottage in the woods. She knocked, but there was no answer, so she decided to go inside and rest.

At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.

“This porridge is too hot!” she exclaimed.

So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.

“This porridge is too cold,” she said.

So, she tasted the third bowl of porridge.

“Ahhh, this porridge is just right,” she said happily, and she ate it all up.

After she’d eaten the three bears’ breakfasts, she decided she was feeling a little tired. So, she walked into the living room, where she saw three chairs. Goldilocks sat in the first chair to rest her feet.

“This chair is too big!” she exclaimed.

So, she sat in the second chair.

“This chair is too big, too!” she whined.

So, she tried the third and smallest chair.

“Ahhh, this chair is just right,” she sighed. But just as she settled down into the chair to rest, it broke into pieces!

Goldilocks was very tired by this time, so she went upstairs to the bedroom. She lay down in the first bed, but it was too hard. Then she lay in the second bed, but it was too soft. Then she lay down in the third bed, and it was just right. Goldilocks fell asleep.

As she was sleeping, the three bears came home.

“Someone’s been eating my porridge,” growled Papa bear.

“Someone’s been eating my porridge,” said Mama bear.

“Someone’s been eating my porridge, and they ate it all up!” cried Baby bear.

“Someone’s been sitting in my chair,” growled Papa bear.

“Someone’s been sitting in my chair,” said Mama bear.

“Someone’s been sitting in my chair, and they’ve broken it all to pieces,” cried Baby bear.

They decided to look around some more, and when they got upstairs to the bedroom, Papa bear growled, “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed,”

“Someone’s been sleeping in my bed, too,” said Mama bear

“Someone’s been sleeping in my bed, and she’s still there!” exclaimed Baby bear.

Just then, Goldilocks woke up and saw the three bears. She screamed, “Help!” And she jumped up and ran out of the room. Goldilocks ran down the stairs, opened the door, and ran away into the woods. And Goldilocks never returned to the home of the three bears.

More movement stories can be found here and here.

Introduction: Show the children pictures. Tell them there are 8 different types of bears. There are eight species in the bear family: Asiatic Black Bear, Brown Bear, North American Black Bear, Panda Bear, Polar Bear, Sloth Bear, Spectacled Bear, and the Sun Bear.

Warm-up: The warm-up is a movement activity called “Does a Bear Live in the Woods?”

A clear space is needed. The teacher explains to the class that they must lie down on the ground when they come across a bear in the woods and keep very still. One child volunteers to be the bear. The bear goes to one end of the clear space and turns his/her back on the rest of the class. All the other children try to sneak up behind the bear. When the bear turns around, all the children must lie very still on the ground. If the bear sees you moving, s/he pulls you away to join him/her. Then there are two bears. Eventually, all the children are caught moving and become bears.

Voice production: Tell the children that they are going to explore different voices. We need to change our voices to show different emotions or to become different characters.

Get the group to repeat the following lines together in their normal voices:

Who has been sitting in my chair?

Who has eating my porridge?

Who has been sleeping in my bed?

Now, get the children to say the lines in the following ways:

Loud

Quiet

Fast

Slow

Sad

Happy

Angry

Excited

Surprised

Frightened

Annoyed

Role-play: “Now we are going to warm up our bodies. Everyone find a space and walk around the room as yourself. When I say freeze, I will call out different ways of walking….

Walk as

Papa bear

Mama bear

Baby bear

Goldilocks

Grumpy Papa bear

Kind Mama bear

Happy Baby bear

Surprised Goldilocks

Sculpting: Divide the class into pairs: one person is the sculptor the other is the clay. Get the sculptor to mould the clay into…

How did Goldilocks feel when the bears found her?

How did Baby bear feel when he saw that his porridge had been eaten?

How did Mama bear feel when she saw that someone had been sleeping in her bed?

How did Papa bear feel when he saw Goldilocks sleeping in the bed?

It can be abstract. The teacher/children look at each sculpture and guess how the characters are feeling.

Movement poem: Teach the children the following poem and actions.

When Goldilocks Went to the House of the Bears

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears (the children walk on the spot), oh, what did her blue eyes see? (The children point to their eyes.)

A bowl that was huge and a bowl that was small and a bowl that was tiny and that was all. (Children make increasingly smaller shapes with their arms to represent each bowl.) And she counted them – one, two, three! (They use one finger to point as if counting each bowl.)

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears (walk on the spot), oh, what did her blue eyes see? (Point to their eyes.)

A chair that was huge and a chair that was small, and a chair that was tiny and that was all. (Use hands to show the different heights and the size of each chair, getting smaller all the time.) And she counted them – one, two, three! (Use their fingers to point, as if counting each chair.)

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears (walk on the spot), oh, what did her blue eyes see? (Point to their eyes.)

A bed that was huge and a bed that was small and a bed that was tiny and that was all. (Use their hands to show the increasingly smaller length and size of each bed.) And she counted them – one, two, three! (Use their fingers to point, as if counting each bed.)

When Goldilocks went to the house of the bears (walk on the spot), oh, what did her blue eyes see? (Point to their eyes.)

A bear that was huge and a bear that was small and a bear that was tiny and that was all. (Use hands to show the increasingly smaller height and size of each bear.)

Closure/the bears are coming: The teacher tells the children, “Before we had the internet, cars, computers, trains, planes, washing machines, and hoovers, people had to chop wood. Talk about the type of jobs people did in the olden days.” All the children must find some physical action, based on an old-fashioned job like wood chopping, hunting, or washing clothes, and begin doing this action somewhere in the room. The teacher/volunteer leaves the room momentarily and returns as the bear. Once the bear arrives, the children must freeze where they are, and the bear must try to make the other children laugh. If a child laughs, they become a bear, and the bears work together until they have made everyone laugh. The bears cannot touch the frozen children!

 

 

 

Posted in Aesop's fabes, Animal Stories, Bear Hunt, Drama, Drama for children, drama for kids, Drama games for 3 year olds, Drama games for 4 year olds, English as a second language, English teaching games, Esl, Esl Drama, fables, Fairy Tales, Goldilocks anD the three bears, Hans Christian Andersen, Panchatantra plays, Plays, Plays for Children, Snow White, Storytelling, The Emperor's New Clothes, The Enormous Turnip, The Little Mermaid, The three billy goats gruff

Goldilocks and the Three Bears – A simple five minute play script for young children

Posted on by Drama Start Books

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Characters: Three storytellers, Goldilocks, three bears, three bowls, three chairs, three beds.
Storyteller 1: Once upon a time, there were three bears who lived in a little house in the woods.
Storyteller 2: There was Daddy Bear, there was Mummy Bear and there was Baby Bear.
Storyteller 3: One fine day, they decided to go for a walk.
Daddy Bear: What a lovely sunny day it is today. Let’s all go to the woods.
Baby Bear: I’m hungry. I want to eat my porridge.
Mummy Bear: The porridge is still hot; it will be cool enough by the time we come back from our walk.
Storyteller 1: So, off they went on their walk.
Storyteller 2: Just then, a little girl called Goldilocks was walking in the woods.
Storyteller 3: She was picking flowers for her grandma.
Storyteller 1: She stopped suddenly and saw a pretty little house.
Goldilocks: Oh, what a pretty little house. I am feeling a little tired and hungry. I wonder if whoever lives here will let me rest for a few moments and give me something to eat (She knocks on the door.) There is no answer…. (She opens the door slowly and goes inside.)
Goldilocks: Oh look, three bowls of porridge.
Bowl 1: Eat me! I have lots of salt on me. (Goldilocks eats some but spits it out.)
Goldilocks: Yuck! You are too salty.
Bowl 2: I have lots of sugar on me. (Goldilocks eats some but spits it out.)
Goldilocks: Yuck! You are too sugary.
Bowl 3: Eat me! I’m just right. (Goldilocks eats some and likes it and continues eating it until all the porridge is gone.)
Goldilocks: Mmmmmm, that was just right. Oh look, three chairs. I think I’ll sit down for a moment.
Chair 1: Sit on me. I’m very hard. (Goldilocks goes to sit down and jumps up straight away.)
Goldilocks: This chair is too hard.
Chair 2: Sit on me. I’m very soft. (Goldilocks goes to sit down and jumps up straight away.)
Goldilocks: This chair is too soft.
Chair 3: Sit on me. I’m just right. (Goldilocks goes to sit down and makes herself comfortable.)
Goldilocks: This chair is just right. Oh dear, I’ve broken the chair.
Storyteller 2: Goldilocks decided to walk upstairs.
Storyteller 3: She saw three beds.
Bed 1: Lie on me. I’m very hard. (Goldilocks lies down on the bed and suddenly jumps up.)
Goldilocks: This bed is too hard.
Bed 2: Lie on me. I’m very soft. (Goldilocks lies down on the bed and suddenly jumps up.)
Goldilocks: This bed is too soft.
Bed 3: Lie on me. I’m just right. (Goldilocks lies down on the bed and stays there.)
Goldilocks: This bed is just right.
Storyteller 1: Goldilocks fell fast asleep.
Storyteller 2: After a while, the three bears came back from their walk.
Storyteller 3: They walked in to the house and Daddy Bear said…
Daddy Bear: Who has been eating my porridge?
Storyteller 1: Mummy Bear said…
Mummy Bear: Who has been eating my porridge?
Storyteller 2: Baby Bear said…
Baby Bear: Who has been eating my porridge? Look, it is all gone!
Storyteller 3: They saw the chairs and Daddy Bear said…
Daddy Bear: Who has been sitting on my chair?
Storyteller 2: Mummy Bear said…
Mummy Bear: Who has been sitting on my chair?
Storyteller 2: Baby Bear said…
Baby Bear: Who has been sitting on my chair? Look, it’s broken!
Storyteller 3: They walked upstairs and Daddy Bear said…
Daddy Bear: Who has been sleeping in my bed?
Storyteller 1: Mummy Bear said…
Mummy Bear: Who has been sleeping in my bed?
Storyteller 2: Baby Bear said…
Baby Bear: Who has been sleeping in my bed? And look, she is still there!
Storyteller 3: Goldilocks woke and screamed.
Storyteller 1: She jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs and out of the house.
Storyteller 2: The three bears never saw her again
Storytellers: The end.

For more play scripts based on Fairytales, click on the link below.

Posted in Action Poems, Drama for children, drama for kids, English teaching games, Esl Drama, Goldilocks anD the three bears, Movement activities, Movement stories for children, Plays, Plays for Children, Role playing stories, Storytelling, Storytelling in the Early years, Storytelling techniques

Goldilocks and the Three Bears Movement Story for children.

Posted on by Drama Start Books

All the children sit in a circle. When the children hear the following words in the story they must jump up and do the following actions. The words are in bold to assist the teacher.

Goldilocks: Skip around the space.
Bear/Bears: Walk slowly and growl.
Bowl/Bowls: Clasp fingers together and stick out arms to make a round shape.
Porridge: Wiggle body up and down.
Chair/s: Squat down and stick out arms.
Bed/s: Lies straight on the floor.
First: Holds up one finger.
Second: Holds up two fingers.
Third: Holds up three fingers.

Once upon a time, there was a girl called Goldilocks. One day she decided to go for a walk in the woods. Soon she became tired. She saw a little cottage in the woods. came upon a house. She knocked, there was no answer so she decided to go inside and rest.

At the table in the kitchen, there were three bowls of porridge. Goldilocks was hungry. She tasted the porridge from the first bowl.
“This porridge is too hot!” she exclaimed.
So, she tasted the porridge from the second bowl.
“This porridge is too cold,” she said
So, she tasted the third bowl of porridge.
“Ahhh, this porridge is just right,” she said happily and she ate it all up.
After she’d eaten the three bears’ breakfasts she decided she was feeling a little tired. So, she walked into the living room where she saw three chairs. Goldilocks sat in the first chair to rest her feet.
“This chair is too big!” she exclaimed.
So she sat in the second chair.
“This chair is too big, too!” she whined.
So she tried the third and smallest chair.
“Ahhh, this chair is just right,” she sighed. But just as she settled down into the chair to rest, it broke into pieces!
Goldilocks was very tired by this time, so she went upstairs to the bedroom. She lay down in the first bed, but it was too hard. Then she lay in the second bed, but it was too soft. Then she lay down in the third bed and it was just right. Goldilocks fell asleep.

As she was sleeping, the three bears came home.
“Someone’s been eating my porridge,” growled the Papa bear.
“Someone’s been eating my porridge,” said the Mama bear.
“Someone’s been eating my porridge and they ate it all up!” cried the Baby bear.
“Someone’s been sitting in my chair,” growled the Papa bear.
“Someone’s been sitting in my chair,” said the Mama bear.
“Someone’s been sitting in my chair and they’ve broken it all to pieces,” cried the Baby bear.

They decided to look around some more and when they got upstairs to the bedroom, Papa bear growled, “Someone’s been sleeping in my bed,”
“Someone’s been sleeping in my bed, too” said the Mama bear
“Someone’s been sleeping in my bed and she’s still there!” exclaimed Baby bear.

Just then, Goldilocks woke up and saw the three bears. She screamed, “Help!” And she jumped up and ran out of the room. Goldilocks ran down the stairs, opened the door, and ran away into the woods. And Goldilocks never returned to the home of the three bears.

Posted in Drama, Drama Activities for children, Drama for children, drama for kids, Drama strategies, Goldilocks anD the three bears, Hans Christian Andersen, Role playing stories, Story sacks, Storytelling, Storytelling in the Early years, Storytelling techniques, Therapeutic Story

Storytelling in the Early Years

Posted on by Drama Start Books

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Benefits of Storytelling in the Early Years:

 Promote a feeling of well-being and relaxation
Increase children’s willingness to communicate thoughts and feelings
Encourage active participation
Increase verbal proficiency
Encourage use of imagination and creativity
Encourage cooperation between students
Enhance listening skills

Identify the children’s interest
• Animals
• Superhero stories
• Stories about thing children like to do – getting dirt, playing with friends, first experiences.
Where do you find good stories?
• Made up stories
• Picture books
• Family stories.

Key elements of a successful story time
• Know and like your story
• Know and like your audience
• Make sure they match each other
• Be flexible.

The secret to making stories exciting and fun
• Vocal production
• Body Language.

Vocal Production
The following three core elements of vocal production need to be understood for anyone wishing to be an effective speaker:
• Volume – to be heard.
• Clarity – to be understood.
• Variety – to add interest.

Volume
This is not a question of treating the voice like the volume control on the TV remote. Some people have naturally soft voices and physically cannot bellow. Additionally, if the voice is raised too much, tonal quality is lost. Instead of raising the voice it should be ‘projected out’. Support the voice with lots of breath – the further you want to project the voice out, the more breath you need.
When talking to a group or meeting, it is important to never aim your talk to the front row or just to the people nearest you, but to consciously project what you have to say to those furthest away. By developing a strong voice, as opposed to a loud voice, you will be seen as someone positive.

Clarity
Some people tend to speak through clenched teeth and with little movement of their lips. It is this inability to open mouths and failure to make speech sounds with precision that is the root cause of inaudibility. The sound is locked into the mouth and not let out. To have good articulation it is important to unclench the jaw, open the mouth and give full benefit to each sound you make, paying particular attention to the ends of words. This will also help your audience as a certain amount of lip-reading will be possible.

Variety
To make speech effective and interesting, certain techniques can be applied. However, it is important not to sound false or as if you are giving a performance. Whilst words convey meaning, how they are said reflects feelings and emotions. Vocal variety can be achieved by variations in:
• Pace: This is the speed at which you talk. If speech is too fast then the listeners will not have time to assimilate what is being said. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to vary the pace – quickening up at times and then slowing down – this will help to maintain interest.
• Volume: By raising or lowering volume occasionally, you can create emphasis. If you drop your voice to almost a whisper (as long as it is projected) for a sentence or two, it will make your audience suddenly alert, be careful not to overuse this technique.
• Pitch – Inflection – Emphasis: When speaking in public, try to convey the information with as much vocal energy and enthusiasm as possible. This does not mean your voice has to swoop and dive all over the place in an uncontrolled manner. Try to make the talk interesting and remember that when you are nervous or even excited, vocal chords tense and shorten causing the voice to get higher. Emphasise certain words and phrases within the talk to convey their importance and help to add variety.
• Pause: Pauses are powerful. They can be used for effect to highlight the preceding statement or to gain attention before an important message. Pauses mean silence for a few seconds. Listeners interpret meaning during pauses so have the courage to stay silent for up to five seconds – dramatic pauses like this convey authority and confidence.

BodyLanguage
Remember that you can convey so many feelings, attitudes and actions with your body. Apart from expressing emotion, you can use your body to act out character’s descriptions or episodes within the story.Bring your whole body into the story and you are onto a winning storytelling technique.For example, how would you act out a cowboy galloping along on his horse? This would probably involve your legs, your arms and moving your whole body in imitation of the rider.Bring your pirate to life by closing one eye to illustrate his patched eye, clench your fist and stick out a hooked finger for his ‘hook’ hand, and limp along for his peg leg. How would you act out a Ninja? You might do karate chops and raise your leg into the air as well as jerky head movements.

Ways to practice your storytelling technique
• Record on your phone
• A mirror will let you observe your face and body
• Going over it in your head while driving, walking or on a bus. This will bring out the imaginative sparks.
• Relax and taking it too seriously will lead to a lack of enthusiasm and fun.

Participation stories
Children love to move, to see things develop in front of them and they love to talk, laugh and make themselves part of the story.
• Refairns -Breathing – take a deep breath just before you want to join them. “And the the giant said …..”
• Hand gestures
• Conduct the children with a sweeping motion
• Children will begin repeating when repetition become obvious, if you let them know what you want.
Actions
How to make sure the children are focused during story time
Play a game of Magic Glue. Get everybody to stand up. Tell them to pick up their right leg with your hands. Now stick it to the floor with the magic glue. Push it down really hard in to the ground. Ask them “Is it stuck? Everybody stuck? Good, Now your left leg. Can you move your feet off the floor? You can show all sort of movements as you show them your feet is stuck to the floor. Have fun with it. Say things like “let’s run with our feet stuck to the floor, let jump with our feet stuck to floor, let’s skip with our feet stuck to the floor.
Sounds
• Insert sounds for words such as bell – ringing sound, giant – stomping sound.
Individual parts
If you are going to do this choose a very repetitive story such as Goldilocks and the three bears.

Game: Pop-up Story Book
Age: 3 years+
Minimum number of participants: 2
Resources needed: Clear space, a story book.
Other Benefits: This is an excellent listening game that can be played with any number of children. It helps them to engage in the storytelling process.
Instructions: The teacher chooses a story to read that the children are familiar with. Each child is given a word. For example if the teacher was reading ‘Goldilocks and the Three Bears’, child A is given the word Goldilocks, child B, baby, child C, porridge, child D, bed and so on. When each child has been given a word the game can begin. All the children lie on the floor. When the child hears his/her word s/he must jump up. If they miss their turn they are out and can’t pop-up anymore.

Movement Story

The-Hare-And-The-Tortoise-001

Read the following movement story to the children. When they hear any of words underlined they must do the corresponding action. The teacher should go through each action at the beginning.
Boast/boastful/boasting – stand up straight and puff out chest
Woods – children make themselves into trees.
Animals – each child choose a different animal found in the woods and move like that animal.
Hare – make bunny ears with your hands.
Fast – children move as fast as they can
Run/ran – run on the spot
Tortoise – children bend over as if they have something heavy on their back.
Slow/slowly – children move in slow motion around the room.
Once upon a time there was a very boastful hare who lived in a woods with lots of other animals. He was always boasting about how fast he could run. He boasted “I’m the fastest animal in the woods. No one can run as fast as me.” The other animals were tired of listening to him. One day the tortoise said to the hare “Hare, you are so boastful. I challenge you to race.” Hare laughed and said “Tortoise, you will never beat me. You are too slow and steady.” They decided whoever got to the other side of the woods the fastest was the winner. All the other animals in the woods came to watch the race. The hare ran as fast as he could through the woods. After a while he thought to himself “I’m so fast that slow tortoise will never beat me. I think I will take a quick nap.” Soon, he fell asleep. The tortoise walked slowly through the woods. He passed the sleeping hare. The animals watched the tortoise near the finishing line. The animals cheered loudly. The hare woke up and ran as fast as he could through the woods to the finishing line but it was too late. The slow tortoise had won the race. All the animals in the wood congratulated the tortoise. The hare had to remind himself that he shouldn’t boast about his fast pace because slow and steady won the race.

More Movement Stories and Activities can be found in Movememt Start. Click below.

Other Storytelling Techniques

IMG_0284Story Stones

This is an excellent storytelling technique. Collect stones and put little pictures on them. Each child chooses a stone and the group can make a collective story.

The pictures on the stones influence the direction of the story. Once the children get use to idea of telling stories, you can get them to share their own stories. The story stones can be used to explore tell individual stories.

 

Story Path

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This story telling technique is known as a story path. It is fun and inexpensive. The children take it in turns to travel along a path which is a long sheet of paper with a hand drawn path and various images in order to tell a story. The story can be focused or they can make up the story as they go, The children can help create the path. The teacher can discuss the important elements of the story and deciding on appropriate images or cues can be a group decision.

Storytelling Jar

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To keep storytelling fun and exciting you can use a storytelling Jar. Fill the jar with coloured notes and on each not put a word or a picture. Everyone selects a note and the story can be decisive from the note. This can be a collective story or children can individually tell a story.

Story Cubes

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Just like the story stones and storytelling prompts jar, the DIY stone cubes can be used to provide some inspiration on how to start your story. Follow the instructions over at the “grey luster girl” website to create your own story cubes. Once done, you can toss the cubes around and see what object they land on. Whatever you land on, that’s the object you can include in your storytelling! You can also use multiple story cubes to structure your story. For example your story cubes can be used decide on the hero in your story, the setting, the villain and any other extra props to include.
http://greylustergirl.com/diy-story-cubes-travel-game/
You can also buy story cubes at https://www.storycubes.com

Story Sacks

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What is a Story Sack?
A story sack is a teaching and learning resource. Typically it is a large cloth bag containing a favourite children’s books along with supporting materials to help make sharing the book more engaging and interesting.

Why make a Story Sack?
Story sacks are fun way for educators and children to share stories together, They were developed by Neil Griffiths as a popular, no threatening way to encourage educators and parents to start to share stories with children in a way that is positive, expressive, interactive and fun.

Who uses Story Sacks?
Originally, it was mainly schools and preschools that used story sacks however they are increasingly used by other groups such as childminders, libraries health visitors, speech therapists, play specialists, social workers, children’s hospitals, family centres and adult learned.

How do you make a Story Sack?
Start with a cloth bag or you can use a pillow case, a basket or a box, you just need something to contain your resources, Then you need to choose your story. You need to fill the sack with items. Here are some if things that are often included:
• Soft toys/ puppets of the main characters
• Costumes/props/scenery/photos to support the story
• An audio recording/video of the story
• A language based game
• A non related non fiction book
• Craft and activity ideas
Things to remember when choosing Story Sack items
Read and re-read your story. Ask yourself what are the main themes, who are the main characters, settings, colours, numbers, letters, sounds, communication/ listening skills. Can you incorporate first experience, new vocabulary and other topic based activities? What other activities can you link to the book that you have chosen.

Here are some ideas for story sacks based on famous stories
The hungry caterpillar by Eric Carle
• Soft toy caterpillar/butterfly
• Lifecycle of a butterfly
• Days of the weeks/number sequencing cards
• Play food props
• Non fiction books about butterflies/caterpillars
• Activity ideas – fruit printing, painting butterflies.

Little red riding hood
• A little red riding hood doll
• Puppets for wolf/grandma/woodcutter
• A basket full of flowers
• A red cloak
• Pictures of forest
• Non fiction book about the forest/wolves
• Activity ideas – recipe for making cakes for grandma.

Include some learning targets and a short guide of questions to ask/discussion points to consider and other ideas to extend the activity. Finally, it is worth laminating the activity idea cards to protect them and including a list of what is in the bag so nothing gets lost.
For more information and ideas on Story Sacks
http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/assets/0000/3210/Story_sack_guide.pdf
http://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/story-sack-resource-pac