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such as the language arts (reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing, and visual
representation), the five W’s (who, what, where, when, and why), and the five
literary elements of a story (setting, theme, characters, plot, and conflict; Lisenbee
& Ford, 2017; Stanley & Dillingham, 2009). As students prepare to tell a story, they
must identify and create settings, characters, dialogue, and problem and solution.
Storytelling helps students further their knowledge and understanding of the fullness
of English language arts. Students are going to read the material, write down a script,
Dr. Stacy Reeves is effectively illustrate the setting, find the conflict, and demonstrate these elements
Associate Professor in in a visual and auditory storytelling performance; this may be done in groups or
the School of Education independently (Lisenbee & Ford, 2017). Each part of what students do during a
at The University of
Southern Mississippi. A storytelling performance links back to the English language arts, the five W’s, and
member of Alpha Gamma five literary elements of a story.
Chapter in Mississippi
State Organization, she Teacher-Practice Benefits
has served in a variety Finally, there are quite a few teacher-practice benefits to incorporating storytelling
of leadership roles in into the regular curriculum. Teachers must balance many curricular needs as well as
her chapter. She serves
on various educational the instructional needs of individual students in the classroom through differentiation.
boards and has been state Children often ask, “Why do I have to learn this information?” and “What is the
president of Mississippi point of learning this topic?” When faced with the question of importance, teachers
Reading/Literacy can use the strategy of storytelling to provide students with the opportunity to make
Association as well as of connections to the real world and become deeply immersed in a topic through the
Mississippi Professional research needed to develop a subject-based storytelling event (Combs & Beach,
Educators.
1994; Lisenbee & Ford, 2018). Additionally, students’ skills in speaking to groups
stacy10.21.13@gmail.com and conveying a message to an audience are improved.
Storytelling can also provide opportunities for flexible groupings when needed
(Fox Eades, 2006). Flexible groupings can bring together various combinations of
students who will work well with each other, thereby helping students get out of their
comfort zones of independent work or working with the same students repeatedly.
Additionally, storytelling helps students bridge the gap between writing setbacks and
oral literacy skills because research shows that children who struggle with writing
their ideas on paper often have greater success when they can use storytelling to
develop their ideas. Furthermore, they may become more creative with their work
(Combs & Beach, 1994).

Integration Into the Classroom
Storytelling, like any new instructional technique implemented by a teacher,
needs to be gradually introduced and integrated into the classroom. Before beginning
the activities of storytelling, teachers need to ensure that students feel comfortable
and safe to express themselves fully without fear of ridicule by their peers. Teachers
must develop classroom norms specific to storytelling times. For instance, teachers
should remind students to be active listeners, to be respectful of each other’s ideas
and thoughts, to be considerate regarding body language as movement in storytelling
can expose students to emotions not often revealed (such as fear or anxiety), and to
be aware of the storytellers’ intensity when speaking. Another way teachers can
help students is with sentence stems for effective engagement between students,
such as, That’s a good idea or I like the way you did .... These sentence starters can
help students to grow in teamwork vocabulary and social skills such as affirmations.
These classroom norms and affirmations are skills that will help students not only in
the academic realm but also in their social and professional lives. The teacher should

18 The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin: International Journal for Professional Educators