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Personal Student Benefits
Many students have issues with developing voice—that is, with using their own
personal opinions, comments, and style in their writing and speaking. Students
can demonstrate their understanding when retelling a story in their own voice.
Furthermore, helping students develop voice is essential to many skills, including
writing, speaking, and debating—and storytelling can help students develop their
own voices (Stanley & Dillingham, 2009). During a storytelling lesson, students may
work collaboratively or independently to create scripts, props, and sequencing while Cali Reinhart is a
also developing and practicing creativity and utilizing their imaginations (Stanley & May 2025 elementary
Dillingham, 2009). To help students believe they can express themselves creatively education graduate
from The University of
and use their imaginations, the teacher must show them that it is acceptable to take Southern Mississippi in
risks; this can be done by creating an inclusive classroom community and modeling Hattiesburg, MS. A student
creativity. Creativity and socialization are not easy for all students to learn and use, in the Honors College, she
but storytelling can help students with these skills. In and of itself, storytelling is a was director of cabinet
social event where “stories are created by all those present” (Daniel, 2012, p. 10). operations for the Student
The audience is as much a part of the storytelling event as is the individual student. Government Association
and co-vice president
Storytelling helps students to be unique and create their own story, but teachers need of the Honors College
to show students that they can be creative—which in turn can help the teacher feel Leadership Council
more successful about their own teaching as students grasp subject-area content as Community Engagement
well as social skills—including nonverbal communication skills (Fox Eades, 2006). and Service Committee.
In many cases, storytelling includes levels of improvisation and audience Reinhart also held many
participation. Nonverbal communication skills are essential components to other leadership roles,
including service on the
help students learn the necessary concepts needed to create a more effective advisory committee for
and multisensory storytelling performance. Nonverbal communication skills in the National Education
storytelling are body language, use of movement, facial expressions, and the use Association Aspiring
of props (Livo & Rietz, 1986; Stanley & Dillingham, 2009). These skills can and Educators Program. She
should be used in cross-curricular ways as, by developing better communication is a member of Phi Kappa
skills, students become more successful speakers. Storytelling can help them thrive Phi and also actively
serves in her church
in all subjects and aspects of their education. community.

Educational Benefits Cali.Reinhart@usm.edu
Storytelling provides many educational benefits, especially regarding English
language arts and the Five Pillars of Literacy (National Reading Panel, 2000).
According to the National Reading Panel (2000), students need all five of the
pillars—phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension—
included in their literacy instruction to ensure they are skilled in all aspects of literacy.
Reading comprehension, reading fluency, oral fluency, and listening fluency are
improved through the correct implementation of storytelling (Campbell & Hluske,
2015; Isbell et al., 2004; Stanley & Dillingham, 2009). In their research, Campbell
and Hluske (2015) concluded, “Storytelling preparations seemed to deepen the
students’ comprehension of the stories, which they demonstrated while talking
about the stories and trying various styles of retellings, using different voices for
characters, reenacting scenes, and spontaneously using props” (p. 159). Oral fluency
and listening fluency are integral parts of storytelling that involve both the storyteller
and the audience. As students practice telling stories, they are required to improve
upon and perfect their oral language to get their point across to the audience. The
audience must actively listen and participate while the storyteller is performing to
ensure they are able to understand the story or lesson.
Storytelling is also effective in helping further emphasize and reinforce topics

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