Photo by Eric Muhr on Unsplash

Reflection: reflect on why teaching with stories can catch the attention of learners and make it easier for them to recall information embedded in story.

I would like to preface my reflection on this topic with some background information on me, which will help to situate myself and my thinking. I am Ts’msyen and Haida, my people are story telling people. I come from an ancestral line where our histories, our lessons, our laws are all passed down orally through oral tradition. This requires a lot of story work, a lot of story telling and a lot of active listening. Storytelling is woven into my DNA, its ancestral and it’s powerful. I can tell stories that my ancestors 10+ generations back told. Stories will always hold a special place in my heart, as I’m sure they do many other people. Stories are something that every culture has, it’s likely that every person can retell a story they’ve heard and love and can access it quickly in their minds.

When I think of story work within the scope of being a teacher, I know that stories are a wonderful way to transfer knowledge in an accessible and entertaining way. Stories are a powerful teaching tool. As I reflect back on my recent practicum experience, my fondest memories are when I was telling stories in my lessons. The times that my students were paying the most attention without distracting behaviours was when I was telling stories. The biggest breakthroughs with students who were resistant to connecting with me were through stories. One day I did oral story telling with my students and I told them the story of Raven Steals the Light. In Ts’msyen culture we call Raven Txamsm so that is the name I used in the story I told. One of my ELL students who most days couldn’t remember my name, was able to retell me the whole story including using Raven’s name, Txamsm. It was such a beautiful moment of connection and an opportunity for this student to be successful in the classroom learning.

I think one reason teaching with stories captures attention is because stories are interesting, our brains really like hearing them. Most children have positive associations with stories, whether it be reading bed time stories with parents, or getting lost in a book or sharing stories with friends, most children can recall a happy memory that involves a story. This positive association allows children’s brains to relax and take in the information being presented and remember it better. Stories can help remember things because it gives us a sequence to follow and makes the material meaningful. Remember the beginning, middle and end of a story is usually easier than remembering 10 random facts that don’t have a prescribed meaning.

Here is a youtube video that I think goes nicely with my reflection on stories. It’s a retelling of a version of Raven Steals the Light.