"Literature and Storytelling as Exploration & Discovery"

Many people's interest in Literature begins very early in life. But not so for me. Unlike many children, my early life was not in a home where good literature was listened to, read and enjoyed. I came from a disadvantaged home where there very few books. While there was much music, yarns (as Scots call stories) and discussion in our home, there were virtually no books. Literature wasn't part of home life, but storytelling was. It was mainly experienced through Scottish yarns, stories of the Old Country, and popular music; as my parents were entertainers at weekends.

Children Bring Their Lived Experience to Reading

I wanted to do this post because I know that in our schools, there are students with quite diverse backgrounds. The title of the post owes much to Louise Rosenblatt who's book "Literature as Exploration", had a big impact on me as an adult,  after I had become a teacher and later an academic. It was later in life that I discovered the wonder and magic of literature. Rosenblatt argued that readers "project their world into what they read". The "reader seeks to participate in another's vision". An I believe this is so.

But of course, the presence of literature and story varies greatly across families and even cultures. For many children, literature isn't part of home life, but they might experience stories in different ways. In fact children's first experiences of what we know as "literature", might not come for some until school or even in later life. Our backgrounds and life experiences have a significant role in how we see and respond to literature. As Louise Rosenblatt stressed, every reader brings something of themselves and their lived experience to a book.

Key Factors in Helping Children to Embrace Literature

Margaret Meek is another scholar who taught me much about reading and storytelling. Her book "Learning to Read" first published in 1982, identified three basic assumptions about learning to read. She also wrote about the responsibility of others like teachers and parents to support young readers and storytellers. She outlined a number of key assumptions:

1. First, Literature is important

Reading is not simply for acquiring knowledge and literacy competence, it is the "active encounter of one mind and imagination with another". As the reader encounters any book, they bring with them lived experiences that matter, and this helps them to engage with a story, and respond to it in unique ways. It can also change them and their view of the world.

2. Second, reading is Learned by Reading

This might seem obvious, but Meek meant more than having time to read at school and perhaps at home. While children will start by recognizing words, they will quickly see that when words are used together, they reveal many other things. Children don't simply learn through exercises and rote learning of letters and words. They learn as they actually read for purpose, joy and to discover new things.

3. Third, what the reader reads makes a difference

The things children read shape how they see reading; including its purpose, how stories are formed and the 'other worlds' they can introduce to us. And they stimulate the growth of our imaginations. Reading should also trigger deep inner reflection on what we have encountered, and a desire to share this with others.

Further to Margaret Meek's three key points, I have always added a fourth, which looks at how storytelling and reading are related. I think she would agree with addition.

4. Storytelling has an impact on how & why we read and our lives

I include this extra point because it's important to think about how children move from being readers and recipients of stories, to creators of stories. Storytelling shifts children from being consumers of words and the reading of other people's stories, to becoming storytellers themselves.

Let me share a simple anecdote. I was visiting friends in the US late last year. They have two sons (aged 2.5 and 6.5 years old at the time). We went out to dinner with the family and while we were having a great time, the boys became a little restless. I began reading a picture book to the youngest and elaborated on the story by including the boys in the story. I became a bit creative with the story line. The younger brother was enthralled and so was his older brother.

 Above: A storyteller takes the floor!

When I finished my story, the 6 year old jumped up and began to tell his own story rather creatively and dramatically. Everyone listened intently, including us and others at nearby tables.

His own story had a similar story and structure, and he also dramatized it as he shared it with us. We listened intently as he dramatically created and shared his own story. Why do I share this?

This is the type of transformational moment that demonstrates exploration and discovery. Both boys learnt a significant lesson that night. That stories aren't just things to consume or to listen to, they are also things we can create, tell and share. As Margaret Meek taught us: 

"Given encouragement, everyone is a storyteller. Any incident becomes a story in the telling of it, and the next simple step is to write it down" (Meek, 'Learning to Read', 1982).

If you'd like to explore my fourth point on Storytelling you might consider the wonderful book "Children Tell Stories - A Teaching Guide" by Martha Hamilton & Mitch Weiss. 

Summing up

Stories and storytelling are an important part of life. Humans are instinctively listeners to and makers of stories and they love to share them. Why is this so? There are at least 6 key reasons:

• Hearing stories stimulates children's imaginations

• Hearing stories improves their listening skills

• Hearing stories also helps to build a love of reading

• Hearing stories helps children to develop listening skills

• Hearing stories expands  children's vocabulary

• Hearing stories helps to grow young writers, and also helps them over time to become writers as well
  

I might well revisit the thoughts in this post and elaborate on how to encourage children as story tellers in a future post. Happy storytelling.