National Storytelling Week takes place every year (30th Jan-5th Feb 2023) and is a celebration of the power of sharing stories. Stories teach us about the world, they allow us to step into someone else’s shoes and feel empathy, they help us to relax and escape and they can help develop literacy skills.
The three videos below have been created to help celebrate National Storytelling week, with Years 3-4 pupils in mind. We hope you enjoy using them in your classroom.
Why Stories are important? (8mins)
This video sets the scene for National Storytelling Week and unpacks why stories are important looking at how stories provide entertainment, help teach empathy, convey moral messages and are an important part in helping us to understand who we are.
Storytelling of The Feather by Cao Wenxuan with discussion prompts (14mins)
A feather is blown across the sky, meeting various birds along the way, and asking each one, "Do I belong to you?"
This video is a retelling of Cao Wenxuan story of a single feather which is swept away on a journey of discovery and belonging. Encountering a variety of birds, from a kingfisher to a magpie, Feather is hopeful of meeting the bird she belongs to. Again and again, she is dismissed or ignored. Only when she sees that there is also beauty in being close to the earth does fate offer a reunion.
Storytelling Top Tips Video (6:30mins)
This video covers 5 top tips for confident storytelling and encourages pupils to tell their own stories.