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Life Stories
A resource for
Key Stage 2 Oracy in the Welsh National Curriculum
Six personal tales told in Swansea by
Mona, Allya, Boubacar, Mohammed, Hannah and Wahida
Introduction and activities by Keri Finlayson
Pictures by Tabitha Panter
This booklet is free to download at:
swanseabassgroup.org and: lulu.org/hafan
and: www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk
Audio and video by Swansea Digital Storytelling at:
swanseastorytelling.com
Hafan B ks
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ABOUT ‘LIFE STORIES’
ISBN: 978-0-9569473-5-2
Swansea: Hafan Books, 2012
Work on this project was funded by a grant from Communities First Trust Fund to
Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers Support Group (SBASSG), in 2011-12. The work
complemented ongoing projects by Swansea Digital Storytelling with asylum seekers
and refugees, partly funded by the Lankelly Chase Trust, with other partners including
the African Community Centre, Swansea University’s Department of Adult Continuing
Education, and Oxfam Cymru
Copyright: © the creators, 2012, under a Creative Commons License: Attribution-
NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)
This means that you can freely use, remix and build upon this work, but not
commercially, and if you publish any new creation based on this publication, you must
credit this publication and license your creation under the identical terms. See:
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Credit this book as follows: “Keri Finlayson and others, Life Stories: A resource for Key
Stage 2 Oracy in the Welsh National Curriculum, Swansea: Hafan Books, 2012”
Artwork on front and back cover, p.4, p.13 and end pages © Tabitha Panter, 2012
Hafan Books is a non-profit project associated with Swansea Bay Asylum Seekers
Support Group (SBASSG). Contact: Tom Cheesman, [email protected] or at:
Department of Languages, College of Arts and Humanities, Swansea University, SA2 8PP
Download the pages and/or buy bound copies of this book from: www.lulu.com/hafan
Download the pages also from
SBASSG: www.swanseabassgroup.org
National Grid for Learning Cymru: www.ngfl.cymru.org.uk
Audio and video by Swansea Digital Storytelling at: www.swanseastorytelling.com
Special thanks to all the storytellers!
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Contents
Introduction 5
Oracy skills and PSED in the national curriculum for Wales 6
Telling stories: tips for effective oracy sessions 7
Props 8
Gesture and expression 9
Story maps and shapes 10
Appropriate stories / Feedback 12
1. Trying Something New – ‘An Unforgettable Experience’ 14
Activities 16
Prop idea: Memory Prop Box 17
2. A Funny Story – ‘Swimming Fun’ 18
Activities 20
Prop idea: Story Plate Spiral 21
3. A Reflective Story – ‘The Heart Card’ 22
Activities 24
Prop idea: Reflecting Story Pool 25
4. A Holiday Story – ‘Rainy Day Fun’ 26
Activities 28
Prop idea: Happy Snaps Picture Album 29
5. A Story About Feelings – ‘Lost in Swansea’ 30
Activities 32
Prop idea: Colour Wash Story Board 33
6. Talking About Ourselves – ‘All About Me’ 34
Activities 36
Prop idea: Story Map of Me 37
Pictures 38-9
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A Memory Prop Box
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Introduction
A good storyteller can make us laugh and cry, wriggle with excitement, or
shake with fear. A good story can take us on adventures beyond our
everyday lives, with characters and places that only exist in our
imagination. Animals talk, brave heroes fight, and magic happens.
But great stories can also be found in ordinary events, in the everyday
happenings that make up our own life stories.
With this book, children can learn to be their own heroes. They can share
adventures taking place in their own homes and neighbourhoods. By
doing so, they can learn to make fun tales from the simplest of
experiences, tales that educate and inform, entertain and delight.
The stories in this book are told by people living in Swansea who have all
come from different countries (many of them came as asylum seekers).
These are real life tales. They are humorous, engaging and often
poignant.
Each story is followed by curriculum linked activities that enable children
to create and tell engaging stories, while developing oracy and
comprehension skills, as well as personal skills.
Personal narratives – ‘Life Stories’ – are a familiar form of storytelling.
Families tell fond stories about each other, reinforcing emotional bonds.
Adults entertain friends with humorous anecdotes. Children tell each
other stories of their experiences as they develop their understanding of
the world around them.
By telling their own stories, children learn to plan and structure orally, to
sequence ideas, to understand the importance of narrative, and to use a
range of communication and language skills. They learn to develop an
engaging vocabulary, use clear diction and an appropriate tone, pace and
style.
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Perhaps most importantly, listening to and constructing engaging
narratives from personal experience encourages a sense of self-worth and
self-esteem. Children learn to value the experiences of others, to listen
carefully to their peers, and in turn, to value and care about themselves
and the positive unfolding of their own life stories.
Oracy skills and PSED in the national curriculum for Wales
The activities in this book focus on the development of oracy skills as
outlined in the Key Stage 2 Oracy programs. They offer children and
teachers opportunities to explore, plan, develop and reflect on ideas
through speech. Children are encouraged to use language creatively, to
structure stories, and to identify and analyse what constitutes effective
spoken narrative.
Learning to construct and share personal narratives is important for
learners’ Personal, Social and Emotional Development. Children learn to
work collaboratively, developing stories together, while also developing
an awareness of what their audience needs. Listening to the differing life
experiences of others develops emotional maturity and empathy.
Structuring one’s own life experiences into a narrative encourages self-
knowledge, and develops the ability to reflect on and learn from
experience.
Some people are natural storytellers, with an instinctive gift for public
speaking. But many of us need to practise speaking for an audience.
Sharing personal narratives and anecdotes enables children to practise
storytelling and public speaking skills with familiar subject-matter and in
a form they feel comfortable with. Because the stories come from
everyday life and personal experience, children readily feel a sense of
ownership over their story, so teachers and children can focus on
structure and delivery.
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Telling stories: tips for effective oracy sessions
Be active listeners
Good storytellers need to be good listeners. An attentive listener can
encourage and support a shy or hesitant speaker. Become active,
attentive listeners and show your appreciation of the storyteller and the
story by:
• not fiddling or wriggling while listening!
• looking at the storyteller
• actively focusing on the story and following the tale
• engaging in follow-up activities
Follow-up activities help listeners recall and reinforce the story. When
follow-up activities are a regular part of oracy lessons, children develop
the habit of listening for a purpose as well as for enjoyment. Follow-up
activities can be as simple as a brief discussion and recall session after
the telling of the tale, or can be a further lesson that engages cross-
curricular themes.
Develop a sense of occasion
A story is an event. Whether told around the kitchen table, by a camp fire
or in a classroom, it is a special occasion, one that should be
distinguished from normal talk. Traditional tales often have a set starting
formula. European fairy tales start with ‘Once upon a time’. Caribbean
storytellers use the call and response of ‘cric crac!’ – ‘cric crac!’
Sometimes drums or chimes announce that something special is about to
happen. Personal narratives and anecdotes may not have such obvious
ways of creating a sense of occasion. Still, it is useful when learning to
tell tales to indicate to the audience that it is time to listen. Why not
develop some phrases of your own such as:
• I remember a time...
• Well, this once happened to me...
• Listen, listen to this!
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Create a story-rich setting
To encourage the creation of personal narrative it is important to create a
story-rich setting. This means that children should have a space where
talk is encouraged, with a certain time of the day or week set aside for
storytelling. In the Early Years classroom, Monday morning ‘news time’
and end of the day ‘story and rhyme time’ are regular occurrences. But at
the upper end of the primary school, literacy often replaces oracy, and
storytelling is replaced by reading and writing. In a busy classroom, with
many curriculum demands to fulfill, it is difficult to find time for oracy.
But by making sure your classroom is a story rich setting, you can
integrate oracy into each day. With a weekly news time, older children
can also enjoy sharing their experiences and achievements from outside
school.
Traditionally, classrooms are quiet places with teachers working hard to
create a focused atmosphere and keep children ‘on task’. Oracy, however,
requires noise. Chatter is important. Talk must be able to flow freely.
Allow time each day for structured chat where children can swap stories
about their thoughts and experiences.
Model stories on other stories
Children learn to tell stories by listening to stories. As well as listening to
the stories from this collection, try telling stories of your own, modeling
all the features of good storytelling practice as you do so. Model
autobiographical stories by sharing anecdotes and tales from your own
life. Tales from a teacher’s own childhood are always popular. Or why nor
share suitable anecdotes and experiences from your holidays, using
holiday snaps as illustrative props?
Props
Props are always useful aids to storytelling. Props can prompt recall (or
new ideas) in the teller, they visually engage the audience, and they help
give confidence to a more reticent speaker. Props can be simple items, or
they may depict scenes from the story. They certainly needn’t be perfect
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representations of anything: in fact a simple rough sketch is often much
better than an elaborate picture or photograph, because it leaves more to
the imagination.
In this book, for each story, we suggest a different kind of prop which
children can make, to help them remember and present their own stories.
Other prop ideas include: maps, photographs, paintings or drawings of
scenes or characters; real items that feature in a story; puppets, dolls or
other toys...
Gesture and expression
Storytelling is story performance. The way we use our faces and bodies
can make the difference between a tale well told and tale that falls flat.
Practise these tips to ensure that your listeners hang on every word:
• voice – Speak slowly and clearly. Take even breaths. Pause
between sentences. Lower your voice to create intimacy; raise your voice
to indicate excitement.
• eyes – Make eye contact with your listeners. If the storyteller
appears uncomfortable, then the listeners will feel uncomfortable too.
Make ‘eye sweeps’ across your audience. Imagine an invisible semi-circle
in front of you. Track the imaginary line and speak across the semi-circle,
turning your head as you do. Speak to individual faces in differing ‘hot
spots’ in your audience. Make sure you include all areas. If your audience
is sitting on the floor, don’t overlook those sitting at your feet.
• hands – In everyday speech we use our hands to communicate
all sorts of things. We throw up our hands in surprise, we wave hello or
goodbye, we point to indicate who and where. In storytelling, hand
gestures can accompany and illustrate our tale in many ways.
• face – Our face can convey lots of different emotions. Our
eyebrows shoot up in surprise, our mouth can turn to a frown or a smile.
When we use facial expressions in telling a story, listeners are engaged in
our tale and in our telling of it.
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• body – Many storytellers prefer to sit when telling a tale. Even
when sitting, you can use your body to enhance your performance. Lean
forward at exciting parts of the story, straighten your back to indicate
bravery or resolve, lean backwards to indicate surprise or anticipation…
Story maps and shapes
Get to grips with story structure by making a story map. A story map lays
out the shape of a story as a series of pictures representing a journey.
(See example on page 11.) This enables children to plan the structure of
their own tale. Maps can be drawn on paper of any size, can be written on
whiteboards, or even chalked on the playground. As a picture of a
journey, a story map should have just a few clear simple steps.
We all know stories should have a beginning, middle and end, but we can
add to that structure by offering children simple story shapes for a variety
of types of personal narrative. In this book, the structure of each of the
stories in this collection is analysed and the accompanying activities are
designed using the story map method.
There are many different ways to structure a story. The simplest
structure is that of beginning, middle and end. However, a story is like a
body and the structure can be likened to the skeleton that supports it.
There can be many ‘bones’ to the structure of a story.
Each of the activities that accompany the stories in this book is preceded
by notes for discussion on that story’s structure. The structuring words
are given in italics. They are:
beginning middle end location time
desire event feeling change consequence
problem resolution reflection opinion
Always keep your maps simple. The fewer the steps, the clearer the
story. Choose a just a few of the above when structuring your story.
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An example of a story map
Story maps, just like place maps, can be any shape or size, and just like
maps of a town or city, they can show lots of different features. The
important thing when creating a story map is to show the direction of
travel. A directed narrative keeps the audience engaged from the
beginning of the story journey to its end.
Here is an example of a simple map of story 5, ‘Lost in Swansea’. (Notice
that this map uses different structuring words from the structure given on
page 32. You can analyse any story in many different ways.)
Lost in Swansea
Beginning: Left Cardiff
Desire: Wanted to explore Swansea
Event: Went to market
Problem: Became lost
Problem: People couldn’t answer questions
Event: Taken to family centre
Resolution: Landlord came
End: Didn’t feel like exploring again!
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Appropriate stories
A classroom is not a therapeutic setting. Educators are not necessarily
counsellors. Children should not be encouraged to share personal or
emotional stories that could result in themselves or others becoming
upset. Emotional literacy is a vital part of a child’s education and
development, so care must be taken when exploring personal narrative to
ensure that children only share appropriate information.
When asking children to share stories about their own lives, and
anecdotes involving friends and family members, we must also be mindful
of issues of privacy. Children pass stories to parents, and vice versa.
Those of us who have conducted Monday morning ‘news’ sessions with
young children will be able to recall times when personal family
information was shared innocently with a whole class. This is to be
avoided for obvious reasons of confidentiality.
Children’s exploration and creation of personal narratives should never
become a channel or source of playground gossip. Keep stories short and
on topic, facilitating simple, well crafted tales confidently told.
Feedback
We’d love to hear what you think of this book. What worked in the
classroom? What didn’t work? Did you use the audio or video at
www.swanseastorytelling.com? Would you like more life stories? Different
kinds of stories? Can you suggest different activities?
You can contact the publisher of Hafan Books, Tom, on
[email protected], or Prue and Stuart from Swansea Digtal
Storytelling, on [email protected]
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A Story Plate Spiral
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Story 1: Trying Something New
“There’s a first time for everything!”
We try new things all the time, especially when we are young. We try new
foods, visit new places, learn new skills, and meet new people. Doing
something for the first time can be daunting. Meeting new people can
make us feel a little shy. But trying new things can be exciting. We can
learn new skills, discover new places and make new friends.
This storyteller tells us a tale about a time when she tried something new.
She was very nervous. But she overcame her fears, achieving something
she never thought she would. Here is her story.
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Story 1: An Unforgettable Experience
One Friday, when I was volunteering in the drop-in centre, a lady
came and told me about a dance project. She told me that we are
going to dance and that at the end of the week we’ll have to
perform in front of an audience. I said, “Ok, I can come and dance,
but I cannot perform in front of an audience.” They said to me, “It’s
ok, it’s up to you.” When I went for the first day I was so afraid. I
was scared because if you told me three years ago I was going to
dance in front of other people I’d have said, “No way, it’s
impossible!” When I went to the dancing hall and met the people, I
realised most of them were teenagers and my fears increased a lot,
because I was so scared they would make fun of me because of my
age, or because I don’t know how to dance, or because I’m
overweight. But then I found out that I was wrong; they were very
polite and very helpful and they encouraged me. Also, the ladies
who were leading this project were so nice and kind and helpful. My
daughter in the beginning didn’t want to come with me. I said to
her, “Come with me this day and if you don’t like it you don’t have
to go the next day.” When she went she liked it very much and was
waiting very early in the morning to go with me every day. At the
end of the week I felt I had to take part in the performance because
I felt that I was committed to the group and they were like my
friends and I didn’t want to let them down. I overcame my fears,
my shyness and everything, and it was really fantastic. It was a
really unforgettable experience for me.
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Story 1 Activities
Listen to or read the story ‘An Unforgettable Experience’. Discuss the
following questions:
• The storyteller was asked to try something new. She was asked to
dance in front of an audience. How did she feel about that?
• How would you feel about performing in front of an audience?
• The storyteller was worried that people would make fun of her. Did
people make fun of her?
• Have you ever felt nervous about trying something new? Do you
worry what people might think or say?
• Can you think of ways to overcome shyness and worry when trying
something new?
Explore and discuss the problem-resolution story structure
• The story starts with a location in time – ‘One Friday’ – and a
location in space – ‘the drop-in centre’. This is its beginning
• A problem comes up when she says she feels shy and scared and
doesn’t want to dance in front of people
• A resolution comes about when she finds out that people were
kind and helpful
• The end comes when she tell us that it was a very unforgettable
experience
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Make a Memory Prop Box!
Props are useful tools to illustrate a story, add interest for the audience,
and help the teller to remember and structure the story. A memory prop
box can help you tell a story about a new experience.
Tell your story with your box on your lap. Holding a box on the lap is
helpful for more reticent children who may feel more confident with a
small ‘barrier’ between them and their audience.
What you need
• a shoe box
• blank post cards
• colouring pens or crayons
What you do
• Think of a time when you tried something new. Use this for your
story
• Map your story – note the main points in the journey
• Draw images from key points in the story. These can be characters,
scenes, or single items from the story
• Decorate and personalize your memory box
• Place the images inside the memory box
• Tell story using the image cards from the memory box as props
Extension
• Make stories about new experiences a regular part of oracy work
through the year
• Keep permanent memory boxes for each child
• Encourage the children to collect and bring in items from any new
experience they may have during the term
• Encourage children to share new experiences from weekends or
holidays
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Story 2: A Funny Story
“Having a laugh!”
People sometimes like to play jokes on each other. Jokes and pranks can
turn into very funny stories. Many families have stories about times when
one family member played a trick on another.
In this story, the storyteller’s older sister plays a trick on her and her
friends, with some very embarrassing consequences.
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Story 2: Swimming Fun
When I was young there seemed to be so much time for us children
to do what we wanted to do. We had strict parents of course but
some things we longed to do – we had to do them in secret. Once
every year there used to be so much rain in the village and this
would create a seasonal river at the edge of my father’s farm. At
the same time my mother’s maize plantation would flood and this
would make it so hard for us to get through to the stream. But this
did not prevent us from fulfilling our childhood desire to learn how
to swim. No one could stop us, even my big sister who would scorn
us and say, “Those are boy-like behaviours!” One day she decided
to teach us a lesson we would never forget for the rest of our lives.
So as usual we went down to the stream to swim. We removed our
clothes and put them in a heap and we jumped in. We giggled in the
water it was so much fun. So finally we were tired and we wanted to
go home, but guess what? Our clothes were not there! Oh! The first
thought was that someone had taken them or that someone had
already seen us. But we had to go home anyway, so we ran up the
valley. It was difficult, but we finally got there to find out that my
big sister had carried the clothes with her to teach us a lesson never
to swim in the river again!
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Story 2 Activities
Listen to or read the story ‘Swimming Fun’ and discuss the following
questions:
• Why do you think the storyteller’s sister didn’t want her to swim?
• What did she do to teach her a lesson?
• Do you have brothers or sisters?
• Do you boss each other about?
• Can you think of any funny incidents that happened with your
family or friends?
Explore and discuss the funny story structure
• The story starts with a location in time – ‘When I was young’ – and
a location in space – ‘in the village’. This is the beginning
• The desire is wanting to play in the river with her friends
• When they finished swimming they found that their clothes were
gone. This is the event
• The friends had to walk home without any clothes on. This is the
consequence
• The story ends with the realization that the big sister had stolen
the clothes
Story plate spiral
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Make a Story Plate Spiral!
Make a story plate spiral that takes you on a journey from the beginning
to the end of a story. Use your plate as a prop and prompt to help you tell
the story to others.
What you need
• paper plates
• pencil
• colouring pens or pencils
What you do
• Discuss the fact that stories can be like a road or journey
• Think of a funny incident involving friends or family. Use this
experience as your story
• Map your story using the story map method – note its key points
• Make a dot in the centre of the paper plate
• From the centre, draw a wide spiral to the edge of the plate
• Starting at the edge of the plate, draw scenes from your story
• Travel in towards the centre of the plate, where your story ends
• Simple line drawings and stick figures are often most effective for
this activity
• Tell your story, using your story plate as a prop
Extension
• Look at images of famous story plates, such as willow pattern
plates. They tell the legend of two young people in love. Pictures of
willow pattern plates can be found on the internet
• Use the images on the plate to make up and tell a story yourselves
• Display your own plates on the wall of your classroom
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Story 3: A Reflective Story
“That taught me!
School is an important part of our lives. Adults often remember events
and stories from their own school days, and children recall things that
happened in earlier school years. Often these events and stories have
lasting importance. We look back and draw lessons from these
experiences. We may remember a time when a teacher spoke to us
sharply, or perhaps a time when we got into a lot of trouble. We also
remember kind teachers who inspired us and lovely days when we carried
out new and absorbing activities.
In this story the teller remembers a time when she was told off for
making a card when she should have been doing something else!
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Story 3: The Heart Card
When I was six years old in Year One at school, I made a picture on
a piece of paper with double doors which opened. On the outside of
the doors I wrote “knock knock”. Inside I made a heart, on the
heart I made an envelope and in the envelope it said, “I love you”. I
had copied it from the children next door. I was very pleased with it
and I showed it to my classmate. The teacher saw it and she was
very cross and she tore the picture up. “You are a good student,
otherwise I would have to take you to the head teacher. But instead
you must stay on one leg outside the classroom for fifteen
minutes.” I was very embarrassed but it had the right effect. All
through my schooling I made sure I was never punished again. In
the classroom we all sat in rows, the most intelligent person first
and she sat in the front. I was usually second and I sat next to her,
down to the last person who usually sat at the back. The people at
the back were always talking about boyfriends, movie stars and not
listening to the teacher. I never joined with them because I didn’t
want to be punished again.
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Story 3 Activities
Listen to or read the story ‘The Heart Card’ and discuss the following
questions:
• What is your earliest memory of school?
• Do you remember your first day?
• What have been your best days at school?
• What do you enjoy doing at school?
• Which school activities are you not so keen on?
Explore and discuss the reflective story structure
• The story starts with a location in time – ‘when I was six years old’
– and a location in space – ‘at school’. This is the beginning
• She makes a card with a heart in it. This is the event
• As a consequence she is told off by the teacher
• Later she reflects that after this event she always behaved well in
school. This is the story’s end
25
Make a Reflecting Story Pool!
Make a pool that reflects thoughts and images about a time in your past.
Follow the reflective story structure and use your pool as a prompt to
help you tell your story.
What you need
• A4 paper
• reflective paper or foil
• green paper, card or tissue paper
• scissors
• glue
• found images, drawn images, words
What you do
• Discuss school memories. Think of a school experience where you
learned something. Use this experience for your story
• Using the reflective paper or foil, cut out the shape of a pool and
glue it to A4 paper
• Surround it with reeds and leaves made from green paper
• Collect found images that illustrate your story, or draw them
yourself
• Select a few key words from your story
• Glue images and words from your reflective story in the pond
• Tell your story and show your reflecting pool
Extension
• Ask friends and family if they can recall experiences from their
childhood where they learned a life lesson
26
Story 4: A Holiday Story
“ … and then all of a sudden …!!”
Holidays provide plenty of material for stories about new experiences,
funny anecdotes, and interesting subjects. A holiday doesn’t have to be a
two-week break to somewhere sunny. A day trip somewhere new or an
afternoon at a favourite spot can give us a great story to share.
This storyteller tells us a story of a visit to Dan yr Ogof caves near
Swansea. A day that started out sunny but ended up rather wet!
27
Story 4: Rainy Day Fun
We were at the Brunswick Centre, we usually do a drop in centre
there every Friday for SBASSG, and Tom told me about having a
trip to somewhere people would like to go, and I was very excited
to do this because I like planning trips and organizing trips where I
can meet lots of people and see them happy. We decided at the end
to go to Dan yr Ogof caves, and there were four coaches. All of the
coaches were fully booked with people, and it’s about one hundred
and sixty people who came to this trip, we left at 9.15 and we
arrived at ten. It was, at the beginning, a lovely day. We arrived
safely there and it was a nice place where we found green nature,
dinosaurs, caves, lots of things. It was busy and it was complicated
at the beginning; you know, you have to find this, you have to
count the people, you have to arrange things so all people will feel
more comfortable and everything was fine at the beginning. But
suddenly the weather changed and it started to rain and some
people were sitting in the coffee shop and they couldn’t go
anywhere because of the weather. But some people did feel it was a
challenge, that “We are here, we have to go, we have to see the
place we have visited, we have to go inside the caves. If the
weather is rainy and we don’t go out, we won’t go anywhere, so
even if it’s raining we have to go, we have to do something.” They
liked it really and they enjoyed it, so they said, “We hope, Mona,
next time you will organize this trip to Dan yr Ogof and we would
like to go again.”
28
Story 4 Activities
Listen to or read the story ‘Rainy Day Fun’ and discuss the following
questions:
• Have you ever been on holiday? Where did you go?
• If you could go anywhere, where would you go on holiday?
• What would you do?
• Do you have a favourite fun place to go that is close to where you
live?
• Can you remember a fun day out you had recently?
Explore and discuss the sudden change story structure
• The story starts at the Brunswick Centre on a Friday when a trip is
proposed. This is the beginning
• The event is the trip to the Dan Yr Ogof caves
• The change happens when it starts to rain. In stories the change is
often preceded by the word ‘suddenly’
• The end comes when Mona is told that people, despite the rain,
enjoyed the trip and would like to do it again
29
Make a Happy Snaps Picture Album!
Make a picture album to help you tell a story about a favourite holiday or
trip.
What you need
• two sheets of A4 paper, cut into quarters
• A4 paper cut into eighths
• stapler
• pens and pencils
• glue
What you do
• Read or listen to the story ‘Rainy Day Fun’
• Think of a holiday or special day you enjoyed. Use this for your
story
• Make a photo album with the quartered A4 paper. Staple the sheets
together to make a book
• On the small squares of paper, draw images from your holiday story
• Stick your ‘photos’ in your album – one or two per page
• Tell your story using your photo album as a prop
Extension
• Bring in photo albums from home and share stories about the
photos
• Tell a story about a photo you’ve never seen before
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Story 5: A Story About Feelings
“Gulp!”
Have you ever got lost? It’s not a very nice feeling when you look around
and realise that you don’t know where you are.
In this story, the teller shares with us a tale about when he got lost in
Swansea, a city he didn’t know at all.
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Story 5: Lost in Swansea
It began when I was leaving Cardiff for here (Swansea) to get
myself a house and the landlord said, “Come and stay!” so I did, but
really I wanted to get out. I went to see the market, I went around,
but later I was saying, “Where am I? I want to go back to the
house.” So I was asking many people, “Where is my house?” But
my questions confused them. They didn’t know where my house
was. So they took me to a family centre, I called the place where
the landlord lived, and when I called him he said, “Mohammed! Stay
where you are. I’ll come and collect you.” I’ve forgotten the name
of that place but the owner, Barry, took me back. The family said,
“Don’t leave the house again.” They took me round to show me
where the market and other things were. Do you understand what
I’ve just said? It’s a funny story about my life. When I got back to
the house I was so relieved, and yet I was afraid that if I left, I’d
get lost again, so I stayed in the house without going out at all!
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Story 5 Activities
Listen to or read the story ‘Lost in Swansea’ and discuss the following
questions:
• Have you ever been lost? Where were you? What happened?
• How did you feel?
• How do you think the storyteller felt when he realised he was lost?
• How did his feelings change when he was found?
• How did you feel when you found your way?
• What is the best thing to do if you get lost?
Explore and discuss the feeling story structure
• The story starts with a location in time and space – ‘when I was
leaving Cardiff …’. This is the beginning of the story
• The event is the storyteller going to look around Swansea market
• The consequence of this is that he gets lost
• Getting lost is a problem that causes a strong feeling
• The resolution comes when he asks for help and people help him.
This results in a new feeling
• His final feeling is that he doesn’t want to go exploring again. That
is the end
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Make a Colour Wash Story Board!
Colour can reflect feeling and mood. Make a story board for your tale,
giving each section a colour wash that reflects the mood of the scene.
What you need
• water-based paints
• brushes
• A4 paper
What you do
• Discuss memories of a time when you felt a variety of feelings
• Think of how your emotions changed as the events unfolded. Use
this experience for your story
• Map your story using the story map method
• Divide your story into scenes. Four to six is plenty
• Divide your paper into the required number of sections to make a
story board
• Draw each scene from your story in sequence on the story board
• Discuss colours and feelings. What colour would you use for a calm
feeling? What colour for a frightened or nervous feeling? What
colour makes you think of happiness?
• Choose your colours for each scene, and using a very diluted paint,
put a thin wash over each scene
• Tell your story using your colour wash story board
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Story 6: Talking About Ourselves
“… in my opinion …”
In order to tell successful anecdotes about ourselves and our lives, first
we need to construct a short factual piece about our present situation and
feelings. Children who are starting to develop personal storytelling skills
may feel more comfortable creating a short speech about themselves.
The inclusion of a thought or opinion enables a more reticent child to
expand their story and begin to communicate with listeners.
In this story, the speaker presents an opinion about Swansea compared
with other places.
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Story 6: All About Me
I came to Swansea on the sixth of November for a four-week work
placement at the African Community Centre to improve my English.
My host family live in Birchgrove. Swansea is a good city, on the
beach it is very beautiful. The prices are very good compared to
France – we don’t have Primark in France. But it has been difficult
to speak English and it has been very cold. People have been very
friendly and I would like to work in a similar organization in the
future.
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Story 6 Activities
Listen to or read the story ‘All About Me’, then discuss the following
questions:
• Where do you live?
• Have you ever lived anywhere else?
• What do you like about the place you live?
• Is there anything that you dislike?
• Where would you like to live in the future?
• What job would you like to do?
Explore and discuss the opinion story structure
• The story starts with a location in time – ‘on the sixth of November’
– and a location in space – ‘I came to Swansea’. This is the
beginning of the story
• The storyteller then presents an opinion about Swansea
• The story’s ending expresses a hope for the future
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Make a Story Map of Me!
Draw a picture of yourself, adding speech bubbles containing words and
images. Share your story map with a partner to practice your oracy skills.
What you need
• A5 or A4 paper
• pens and pencils
• stopwatches
What you do
• Discuss and make a mind-map of facts about yourself and feelings
and opinions you may have. Use words, phrases and images
• Draw an outline of yourself. The outline should leave plenty of
space around it
• Draw large speech bubbles surrounding the outline of you
• Fill the speech bubbles with images, words and phrases from your
mind-map
• In pairs, children talk to each other about themselves
• Using the stopwatch, children should talk for two minutes only, and
should listen carefully to what the other child says
Extension
• Talk about your hopes and dreams and plans for the future.
• Describe your future house and job. What and where will it be?
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An Unforgettable Experience
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Swimming Fun