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I am not certain if the topic is for storytelling with the use of different kinds of children’s books or just telling stories from the teachers’ experience but either way, I have chosen this topic because I have a special place in my heart for telling stories. I don’t remember how my love for reading has started, but ever since I have watched my professor back in college trying to tell children’s stories and teaching us how it’s done, I started to enjoy trying to show and tell them to the students. It is sad that some teachers are neglecting the importance of reading stories to students, they are definitely missing out of the benefits of what the books can do. In doing this summative test, I have done a little research again to prove that storytelling is important in every class especially for early childhood. Here are the lists of importance of storytelling for English learning: According to The Learning Lodge, storytelling improves language skills. Stories along with the pictures help activate the imagination of the students. It helps widen the range of their verbal skills and including this in every class can help the students retain one word at a time. They also tend to remember how things have been said in the story, which eventually helps with improving their grammar at a young age. Telling stories to students is just like an adult reading a book, it helps us improve our grammar and our vocabulary without even realizing it. At my current job, we always try to squeeze in some story time for the toddlers. We either have a story time during circle time at the beginning of class or before they go home. After lunch, the students have their own reading time and they can also play with toys, but we encourage them to try to read books in their own way. Having a story time for five days a week during the school year, we have received positive feedback from the parents. One student who used to talk a little and was shy to speak in class, is now one of the most active students in class. And we also had a student who can barely speak, can now speak in straight sentences. See what storytelling can do? We used to think that it was just a fun way to include in the lesson, but it really does wonders. The Learning Lodge states that telling stories also enhances cultural understanding. Story books nowadays ranges from learning about family to learning about the different cultures in the world. Through storytelling, students can grasp some ideas on how people are living on the other side of the world. This kind of knowledge helps us gain understanding and love for our own culture and differences. Students at a young age learn to “empathize” with a different culture. Telling stories help the world make it a better place little by little. Nowadays, when you scroll through your social media or any browser you would see negative comments being thrown at each other. Other people being narrow minded and don’t want to learn anything new to them. In my opinion, reading stories as a child helps us in the long run, even if we become adults. According to National Childhood Network, students benefit from exploring and thinking. Students at a young age are natural explorers, but there are times when we cannot bring them outside to play and let their imagination carry on or we are stuck in the classroom with not enough materials or resources to let them explore with, that is when we turn to our story books. We may be limited physically by the four corners of the classroom, but the students’ imagination goes beyond that. Looking and listening intently at the story being told by the teacher, they learn to be inquisitive, they learn to be problem solvers, they learn about their feelings and emotions, and that feeling them is valid because they cannot express themselves that fully yet. Storytelling is also a way to keep the attention of your students, but only if you have done this in an effective way. Not only this is useful inside the classroom, but it is also a way to connect and bond with your students. Sometimes, teachers tend to focus on a couple of students in kindergarten when it comes to playing with them, but through reading stories to them it creates a bond of the class. Sources http://www.thelearninglodgeinramsey.com/about-us/blog/entryid/3/the-benefits-of-storytelling-for-young-children https://www.ncn.ie/index.php/2-ncn/197-play-story-telling
