For storytelling lesson plans, go to my lesson plans tips and ideas page.
Workshops (1-3 hours)
1. Stepping outside the story: let’s make our storytelling activities relevant, creative and non-limiting. All levels and ages.
What kind of activities do we usually plan around stories or course book readings and listenings? Are we limiting our students by only asking them unnatural questions and having them do unnatural activities? Let’s rethink and ask ourselves: how can we tap into and encourage our students’ innate human love for telling and listening to stories? What effects can these activities have on presentations, pronunciation, writing, critical thinking, classroom management and much more?
This session presents practical ideas and activities around stories for all ages, which can also be adapted to listenings and readings in class. Come ready to talk and improvise!
2. Listen; listen to my story – meaningful listening.
This workshop explores how to improve listening skills through stories and non-recorded live audio: live listening. Teacher talk, which is often considered a flaw in teaching, can become a powerful tool for improving fluency in listening as well as providing a meaningful context for listening activities. Rebecca introduces listening activities and exercises that move away from True and False and testing. These activities give a meaning to listening in class and can be adapted to text book listening audio.
3. Storytelling for creative writing.
As teacher’s we often ask our students to be much more creative than we could ever be. Writing creatively from scratch is difficult without ideas, a framework and guidance. The activities presented in this workshop create an environment in which creative writing happens almost effortlessly as a response to stories and narratives presented by the teacher as stepping stones. Storytelling activities also help students structure their ideas and this can be done from very low levels with the correct guidance.
4. Roald Dahl for teachers of teenagers and adults.
Introduce your students to Roald Dahl’s twisted, funny and dark world through oral storytelling. Get them listening, get them talking, get them waiting for the twist, and get them reading!
Longer Courses
Communication in English from the beginning! Teachers and students as storytellers (without a book or text)
( 30 hour course).
In these workshops, we explore:
1. How teachers can develop their storytelling skills.
2. How these skills can be taught to our students in an ESL context.
3. How storytelling by teachers and students may be exploited in the ESL classroom.
For more information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Where to find good stories and storytelling activities online:
lesson plans, tips and ideas or download a list of websites. You can also listen to many storytellers on my Youtube channel: Rebecca Lemaire and Facebook live @storiesandtefl