The Power of Storytelling in Children's Learning

In education, one timeless tool that has continued to prove its worth is storytelling. Storytelling is not just a pastime or a form of entertainment; it is a powerful educational strategy that holds immense value in classrooms across the world that benefits both students and educators.

Storytelling is as old as human communication itself. From ancient cave paintings to the most recent blockbuster movies, stories have been a way for us to understand the world, convey emotions, and share knowledge. In the context of education, storytelling takes the form of oral narratives, written literature, and even digital media. Its role in schools is multifaceted and deeply impactful.

One of the foremost benefits of storytelling in schools is its ability to ignite and nurture the flames of imagination and creativity in young minds. As students listen to or engage in storytelling activities, they are transported to different worlds, exposed to diverse perspectives, and encouraged to think beyond the ordinary. These experiences stimulate creativity, helping students develop innovative problem-solving skills.

Storytelling naturally exposes students to rich and varied language. They encounter new vocabulary, sentence structures, and literary devices without the intimidation often associated with grammar textbooks. Storytelling encourages active listening, which in turn strengthens comprehension and verbal communication skills. Furthermore, it helps students become better writers as they learn from the styles and techniques of the stories they encounter.

Analyzing and interpreting stories requires students to think critically. They must consider plot development, character motivations, and underlying themes. These cognitive processes promote analytical thinking, helping students become more adept at problem-solving and making informed decisions.

Incorporating storytelling into schools is not just about reading stories aloud. It's about tapping into the incredible potential of this age-old art form to enhance learning, creativity, and empathy. By recognizing the importance of storytelling in education, we can empower students to become more well-rounded individuals who are not only knowledgeable but also compassionate and imaginative. In a world that continually demands innovation and adaptability, storytelling remains a timeless tool for nurturing the minds of the future.

Lost Story Reflections by Fei Dong

Pencil crayons and glitter glue. Lyrical words and orchestral music. Construction papers and safety scissors. Acrylic paints and stained fingers. Each artistic medium poses physical constraints, and possesses endless potential. In this space between liberation and limitation, an artist must view the materials before them not simply as rules or constraints, but as the starting point on a map, and all the infinite paths they can explore.

For participants of the Lost Story Project, as organized by Ottawa Children’s Storytelling Festival, the starting point is simple and specific. This year, from March 22nd to April 18th, children storytellers are invited to record narration to accompany a three-minute animation (created by Tina Le Moine) and to create a story.

The animation, as inspired by the art of Heather Bale, showcases various woodland creatures adventuring through scenes both natural and fantastical. Each shot, animated through stop motion, features various compositions of stylistically bright paper cut-outs. Though the scrapbook-like patterns featured in this video are not realistic visuals, they do give rise to a sense of whimsy and wonder that feels emotionally true. The construction paper figures and set pieces, each cut out separately before joining together to create a greater whole, speaks to the creative process of constructing a story. Each part of each scene — the animals, the waves in the waters, the stars in the night sky, the ribbon of colours on those magical eggs — are joined, layered, and slotted together in a matter that requires both deliberation and happenstance.

Just as Le Moine stitched each visual element together to create the animated tapestry, so too, must the storytellers of the Lost Story Project weave an audio component into the narrative.

Each participant is given the same visual materials to work with, but through this merger of image and sound, each can interpret the same scenes in unique ways to produce unique ends. After all, it only takes an ominous word, and some orchestral music, to turn a tranquil night under the stars into a foreboding terror. In this process of deriving meanings out of pictures and putting them into words, these storytellers are not only engaged in the deliberate craft of storytelling, but also the improvised art of discovery. Like toddlers exploring the physical worlds in their first steps, when artists first create stories, they slowly grow the capabilities of their creativity and tentatively test the boundaries of their imagination. Piece by piece, line by line, word by word, the figures takes shape, the cut-out is freed from the paper, the map is filled in with all the bright colours — and, thusly, the lost story is found.

Artists Inspiring Stories by Dean Verger

An early morning mist shrouds the field, the trees, and the garden. A woman steps out of the mist and into view directing her camera towards a delicate, dew-drenched flower. Birds are waking, their morning song and chatter celebrating the new rising of the sun. And so, another day begins gathering images of nature for the paintings of Ottawa-based fine artist, Heather Bale. These many morning hikes through Ottawa’s greenspaces demonstrates an artist at home with nature and with physical movement. 

We have a collection of Heather’s paintings hanging upon our walls, There are a few of her miniatures, a wonderous copse, a pond, birds, and a larger work that portrays a hidden woodland covered in moss. I imagine Heather, a camera in one hand, a paint brush in the other, wearing a kilt and dancing shoes. Dancing shoes? Well, Heather’s artistry extends beyond the easel to the dance floor as a member of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society. For one who walks daily into the fields in search of natural images, it is easy to imagine Heather dancing lightly into the evenings. 

Heather has displayed her visual art at many art shows, including the Glebe Art in Our Gardens event, the Three Artful Ladies seasonal showcases, and helped raise funds for the Friends of the Farm on the Experimental Farm. Her art has hung in galleries and appeared on calendars. Heather’s body of work captured the attention of the Ottawa Children’s Storytelling Festival who were in search of a new poster. Heather’s love of nature seemed a perfect fit for the designer of the 27th annual festival. When she was asked for a design, she quickly got to work. 

That first poster of children and animals listening to an elder became a centerpiece of not only posters but introduced each of the festival’s videos as well. The following year the festival reached out again. This time Heather began with last year’s image and played with it. The forest setting became a clearing with wildflowers. The elder became a younger version through whom the spirit of the elders could flow. What a beautiful visual metaphor for storytelling, for do we not channel the past in the telling of our tales? 

And then, the Ottawa Children’s Storytelling Festival got involved with this year’s World Storytelling Day project, the theme of which is Lost and Found. In Canada this project is being sponsored by the Storytellers of Canada / Conteurs du Canada. Rising to the challenge, a team from the festival gathered over several days and discussed possible ideas. Just as seeds scattered on fertile ground will sprout when given the right conditions, ideas flourished, and one in particular was harvested. Why not create a short, animated video without any words, and have children create their own stories? One wordless video, many possible storylines, as the children try to find the Lost Story.

An animator, Tina Le Moine, agreed to participate. An idea was storyboarded: let us begin with last year’s poster and end with this year’s poster? Now more images were needed for the animation. Heather was asked and she stepped up to the plate to take a swing with her paintbrush to draw the characters in a variety of positions for the animation. The result, a three-minute video  collaboration with animator Tina Le Moine that brings to life the animals, the characters, and the nature of Heather Bale. 

From out of the mist on an early morning walk, onto a canvas and easel, and into the world of animation, a creative journey from Ottawa’s Heather Bale to our 28th Ottawa Children’s Storytelling Festival and this year’s Lost Story.

The Spirals We Are In By Fei Dong

In a culmination of creativity and experience, Ottawa StoryTellers’s Mentorship Program (Youth & Children Stream) presents a showcase event, The Spirals We Are In, live-streamed from the Origin Arts & Community Centre on March 3rd, 2022.

Storytelling, a personal perspective displayed in a public performance, can strengthen a community through celebrating a myriad of diverse voices. Ottawa StoryTeller’s Mentorship Program promotes this craft annually through selecting three mentees to work under the guidance of professional storytellers. In this program, mentees will serve their community and develop their own voice through hosting workshops, crafting new storytelling pieces, and performing their works at various showcases and festivals.

One of this year’s mentors, Jacqui Du Toit, is an award-winning storyteller who hails from Kimberley, South Africa, whose performances have taken her across Canada and around the world. She serves on the Board of Directors at GCTC, Ottawa StoryTellers, and Tactics Indie Theatre Series, is a founder and director of 8th Generation Storytelling Company, and is the co-owner and creative director of The Origin Arts and Community Centre. Through these roles, Jacqui has dedicated herself to the craft of storytelling, both within the Ottawa community and beyond.

Jacqui’s mentee, Erica O’Reilly, has a long history of education in and love for the arts, public performances, and community building. As an arts educator with desire to connect deeply with people, Erica found the chance to work with Jacqui in the Ottawa StoryTellers’ Mentorship Program to be a gift. Through this 6 months program, Erica got to reunite her with her artistic roots as she honed her skills in storytelling and teaching.

In The Spiral We Are In, Jacqui and Erica blended their unique perspectives and talents together for a night of storytelling performances.

Closer to the Story... And Each Other By Fei Dong

Look to different cultures around the world for stories of dragons, and you will find countless depictions. Look to a group of children and ask them to imagine their own, and you will find numerous more.

Stories unite us because they are both individual and universal. Individual, as each person can interact with the same narrative in a different way, can hold a different mental image in their head. Universal, because shared themes and cultural touchstones bond us all.

Ottawa Children’s Storytelling Festival - November 2019

In a session at the last in-person Children’s Storytelling Festival, children in attendance were so eager to listen and participate with the story, they moved down to the floor to be closer to the storyteller — and each other. Though this year’s event, held on November 22 through 27 by the Ottawa Storytellers (OST), will be held online, children and families attending the event will find the same quality of imagination engaging and community bonding storytelling.

To listen to a story is not simply to passively process words, but to actively engage with metaphorical and figurative language, to process, learn, and acknowledge complex feelings and themes that cannot be distilled down into a few short sentences, and to construct and hold entire worlds in your mind. It gives the children an opportunity to not only engage with the literal and the obvious, but the figurative and the hidden, and, thus, gain greater skills in empathy and comprehension. It promotes creativity that is not hindered or restricted by artistic skill, physical materials, vocabulary capacity.

The imagination, unrestrained by physical limitations, can heighten the real world, expand it, and entangle people within it in a way that is both uniquely personal and wholly universal.

The Next Generation by Ruth Stewart-Verger

I grew up in a storytelling family. My parents told stories. My mother recounted tales to share knowledge, share values, and shape how we behave. My father told us stories to point out how our behaviour impacted others around us. Their stories got us coming and going. My grandparents shared stories to grow our roots. I could compare my later history lessons to the stories my grandparents had related. Their stories told me who I was in this confusing world. It was natural, expected that I would tell stories. My stories tell the world who I am and the values I hold dear.

I grew into stories. I learned that few are as fortunate as I am.

I was in the audience at a Youth Storytelling workshop led by Janet LeRoy and Elaine O’Reilly when one of the participants declared from the stage: “I saw storytelling for the first time at the Ottawa Storytelling Festival last year, and I knew: that’s what I want to be part of. I loved it. I wanted to be a storyteller, and you have shown me how.”

At the Ottawa Children’s Storytelling Festival 2021 Youth Tellers’ concert, one of the young tellers avowed: “I want to be part of anything that is storytelling! How do I sign up for more workshops?”

Every sport and art form knows that if you engage children while they are young, they will become comfortable with the art, perhaps future artists, and most assuredly, future audience.

OST has been here for 30 years, and if OST is to be here for 30 more years, we need to engage the next generation; motivate them to add their voices to the magic that is oral storytelling.

To create this magic, to draw the youth into our art form, several tellers are getting together to discuss what makes a workshop engage young folk. What works the best?

Amongst Ottawa’s storytellers, we have many skills: long-time performers who have experienced what works and does not, early childhood educators who hold knowledge of what works with children and what does not, teachers who know how to set up lesson plans, tellers with knowledge of story structure, tellers trained in theatre who can share presentation skills ranging from voice, to use of space, to building interaction with the audience. We have a diversity of cultural and linguistic backgrounds that will enable us to meet the needs of the participants in our workshops. 

On December 4, a group of diverse tellers and workshop leaders will get together to share their skills to enrich all of us. The result will create a workshop foundation that engages and enriches the experiences for children and youth who take part in OST storytelling workshops for children. If you want to learn more, email Christine Hecker, assistantdirector@ottawastorytellers.ca.

Plant the seeds when they are young…

"Making" Crafts by The Craft Committee of the Children's Storytelling Festival

A blog on crafts??

What is a blog but incoherent ramblings by someone? 

My involvement with the Ottawa Children’s Storytelling Festival began when a dear friend asked if I could come up with some craft ideas.  That is not too hard or taxing for an arts instructor who used to make visits to girl guide units.

“How do you plan which crafts to make?”   Planning which crafts to make depends on several factors – who (age-wise) will be making them?  How much money is in the budget?  Are there any leftover materials from previous festivals?  How many craft kits are needed?  What is this year’s theme?  

I love shopping for craft supplies.  In days of old, White Rose and Multi-craft stores would provide everything you needed in bulk quantities for any type of craft.  Now, it is Dollarama, The Dollar Store, and Michael’s.  Due to inflation, the quantities are smaller, but still a reasonable price.  Now that it is Covid times, safety is a big concern.  One trip was made to the chosen stores, so fewer discount coupons could be used and no bargain hunting.

I made a call to my guiding friends to help me on the craft committee.  “Want to lend a hand and come up with some ideas?”  “Sure, how many different crafts are we looking at?”  “Maybe 4-6 different ones, but bookmarks will be the traditional base.”  “Okay, will get back to you in a couple of weeks with some ideas.”  So we trade ideas and come up with some solid crafts – easy to assemble.  Just to be sure, I confirmed how many craft kits were required.  “We were thinking of 50-100 of each idea.”  “Sounds good, but could you double that number?”  “They want us to double the number, that means 100-200 of each idea.”  Jaws dropped, but we took up the challenge.

My committee and myself – we had at least two months over the summer to prepare the kits.  Deadlines – are pressure cookers.  Everyone knows that “things happen” or “things come up” which throw you off your plan of focus.  The list of supplies necessary is made.  The days to go shopping are marked on the calendar.  The time allowed for preparing the materials is set aside, so as not to interfere with meals, appointments, gardening, physical activity, and downtime.

One of the foundation crafts is bookmarks.  Every child who comes to the library takes out a book.  Personalized bookmarks help them to mark their place and keep the book in good condition.  Sometimes they are simple and plain.  Other times they are embellished with shiny stickers, fancy ribbons, or beads.  Each child creates the bookmark as desired.  That was easy – 200 bookmarks in one day – hole punched, ribbon cut, stickers sorted -- all packaged up.

Then the enormity of the project sets in.  How do you make 200 flower hangings?  A cutting mat and roller are faster to cut pieces of felt instead of using a measuring tape and scissors.  Who can help?  Trusty Patsy and her quilting friends can do it as Patsy is donating a lot of felt.   A sewing machine would be quick and useful for making the seams to insert the dowels on the hangings.  Bring out the Singer and plug it in – not so bad, 10 seams sewn in 30 minutes.  That means at least 100 in a week.  Got the first 25 sewn and the bobbin runs out.  Fill up the bobbin and resume sewing – except it keeps breaking after the foot pedal goes up and down twice.  Frustration sets in.  Panic sets in.  What to do now?  Who can I ask to help sew these banners?  Take a break.  Leave the machine alone for a couple of days.  Back at the machine – with the operating manual.  What is wrong with the bobbin?  It’s not the right bobbin for this machine.  Rewind the thread on the proper bobbin.  Eureka!!  It works.  A sigh of relief and the seams get sewn – one batch of colours at a time.  OH-OH.  Have to make the flower stencils.  It takes one minute to trace three stencils on a piece of card stock – and hand cramps by the time 30 are done.  Got to take it easy and only make 25 stencils a day to save the hands.

Other crafts are chosen to fit into the theme.  This year the theme was “Nature”, hence the paper plate owl and the nature collage for the younger age group.  Due to the large number of craft kits to assemble, it was necessary to find the means of making large quantities.  Mom’s Cri-cut machine was great to cut out all the animals needed for the collage.  Fun foam stick-on shapes for the owl were easy to find.  

Some crafts are chosen to enrich the stories being told by the storytellers.  This year, there are several Indigenous storytellers.  To make sure the crafts were appropriate, we got ideas from the source and chose crafts for the older children.  More information was added to the instruction sheet so the youth could learn the background behind the craft.   The Grandfather teaching bags were an excellent idea, but more work to adapt.  A combination of a felt bag and leather strap was used based on cost.  A levered crop-a-dile was borrowed to punch the holes.  Finding a store with enough packages of needles (all the same size) was not easy.  Good size river stones were difficult to find – so several bags were bought and sorted through by size- with the smallest stones being put into the flowerbed.  The Inuit toy was one to entertain and develop hand-eye coordination.  It was one of the easiest to put together – only three materials required.

As the crafts would be made at home, it was necessary to make sure that most homes would have scissors, white glue, markers/crayons, and paint.  Normally, the Rangers would provide all the necessary materials and the children would provide the hands to make the crafts.  The Rangers would supervise the children with the process, but now the parents or older adults in the home will be required to supervise and follow the instructions that come with the kit.

The crafts are an enrichment activity to which the children bring their creative imaginations.  A sample is provided, but it is not necessary that the finished product be an exact replica.  We hope that the children will enjoy the crafts chosen for this year. 

The Craft Committee (Pat, Suzanne, Andrea)

The Neuroscience of Storytelling by Christine Hecker

     “Storytelling is not about stories, it’s about a relationship.” These words from an Anishinaabe Elder resonate with Dr. Cathy Miyata in her research on the neuroscience of storytelling. The oral tradition of storytelling has been with us for about 100,000 years. Humans have been telling stories for about as long as they’ve been speaking. It is a truly universal experience, present across cultures and history. But what is happening to us when we listen to a story?

     Listeners may experience Narrative Transport, and momentarily forget their surroundings while engrossed in the story. They may feel an emotional response to the narrative, causing the brain to release oxytocin. This naturally occurring “care or trust drug” makes us invested in the characters and feel sympathy towards their situation. The real magic happens in a process called Neuro-Coupling. According to fMRI research, 11 different areas of the brain light up when someone is telling a story. Less than a second later, those same 11 areas light up in the listener’s brain. This phenomenon only happens during oral storytelling. The listener is connected to the teller, not to the book in their hands. Neuro-coupling can happen even when the listener cannot see the teller, a wonderful comfort in the age of virtual human connections. The second part of the neuro-coupling process is the Anticipatory Response. Different areas of the listener’s brain start firing as they react to what they think comes next. A moment later, the same areas of the teller’s brain are activated.

     Although neuroscience has only recently explored the effects of storytelling, its impact has been utilized throughout history. Oral storytelling develops community, shares history, teaches cultural norms and values, and entertains. It can be used for healing, and, most commonly in the 21st century, for persuasion. Research shows that if you care about something, you are 86% more likely to give money to that cause. Businesses use stories to engage their customers, well aware that the release of oxytocin directly impacts their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours.

     Dr. Miyata engages with storytelling not only as the subject but as the method for research as well. This qualitative approach does not hold the same formality as the scientific method which clearly delineates the researcher from the test subject. By sharing stories and analyzing them together, the relationship between the researcher and the subject becomes a part of the study, allowing for transformational, personal learning.

     Apart from travelling the world as a storyteller and lecturer, Dr. Miyata gives workshops and develops storytelling curriculum for teachers. Watch her full lecture on the neuroscience of storytelling here https://cmiyata.wordpress.com/

27th Ottawa Children's Storytelling Festival

Children’s Storytelling Festival, presented by the Ottawa Storytellers (OST) on November 22 through 27, is a free, remote event that brings together family and community to celebrate the art of oral storytelling.

Zoom classrooms. Social media. Skype meetings. Remote offices. Everywhere we turn, there is a screen. Under the pandemic, confined to our own homes, our computers and TVs became our only window to the outside world, our only connection to our greater community. Yet, it’s one thing to passively watch the world, and another to actively engage within it.

At the Children’s Storytelling Festival, expert storytellers from Indigenous, English-speaking, and French-speaking communities will gather to tell a variety of stories aimed for children aged 3 through 11, each showcasing their talent for creating and curating worlds through pure language.

Through expressive words and dynamic gestures, these oral storytellers provide a framework for the story, then invites the audience to fill in the empty space with their own mental images. In this push and pull, this world invented by the collaboration of a storyteller’s words and a story listener’s imagination, each member of the audience will have a distinctive experience, will be uniquely involved. Children who are engaged with these stories through active listening will be able to gain inspiring values, enhanced vocabularies and memory, and improved narrative and reading comprehension skills.

A story is also a bonding experience, a common cultural touchstone shared by and binding a community together. By listening to local and remote storytellers, from diverse backgrounds all across Canada, children will become more aware, connected, and empathetic with the world around them and its people.