This term, Ducklings have been diving into the wonderful world of storytelling through our 'Talk for Writing' sessions. Talk for Writing is a brilliant approach, it encourages children to develop their language, vocabulary and creativity through engaging, interactive storytelling activities.
We start each session by gathering in a circle, where we come up with ideas for our story characters. Our Ducklings have amazing imaginations and we've heard some fantastic suggestions including hamsters, jack-in-the-boxes, leprechauns, wizards, princesses, mice and cats. Today, the excitement continued with even more creative characters like a cheese robber, a superhero unicorn, the number 8 and a pirate! After a fun vote, the superhero unicorn became our story's hero for the day.
Next, it was time to think about the setting of our story. Suggestions flew thick and fast: a mansion, a castle, a cave, the woods, a cottage, a spaceship, a cheese-house and even a rainbow. Today’s unique ideas included McDonald's, a cloud, a marble, an orange and a mountain. After another enthusiastic vote, the superhero unicorn was set to have adventures in McDonald's!
With our character and setting chosen, it was time to build the story together, always beginning with the magical phrase "Once upon a time." Our stories also include a time reference, like "early one morning," or "one evening." We always add a twist with "unfortunately"—something challenging or exciting happens—but we always find a happy ending before finishing with "the end."
Once we'd built our model story together, the children eagerly went off to create their own imaginative stories. The results were truly fabulous—full of excitement, creativity and amazing vocabulary!
'Talk for Writing' sessions provide wonderful benefits for children in the Early Years. It helps to significantly boost their vocabulary, enhance their speaking and listening skills, build confidence in expressing ideas verbally and eventually in writing. The collaborative aspect of storytelling also helps develop social skills and imagination, preparing them beautifully for their ongoing literacy journey.
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