Jan. 12, 2022
The Society for Storytelling (SFS) is a UK-based society founded in 1993 to support and promote storytelling in England and Wales. Their mission is to promote the oral tradition of storytelling which was the very first way of communicating life experiences and the creative imagination. Open to anyone with an interest in the form, they coordinate National Storytelling Week, which this year runs from 29th January to 5th February.
The theme for 2022 is ‘Read a Story. Tell the Story’ and the SFS has a range of resources on their website packed full of tools to support the teaching of storytelling to children at all key stages.
You can also find a whole host of teaching and learning resources for National Storytelling Week within Purple Mash. There’s plenty to explore for use with children of all primary school ages, from writing projects, such as book reviews and retelling famous tales, to author fact files, scene descriptions and plenty of paint projects. We’ve also included links to storytelling tools such as popular storybook animation tool 2Create a Story and publishing tools 2Publish and 2Publish Plus, as well as blank comic book and chapter book templates for children to pen their own narratives from scratch.
All these tools and more are included with a Purple Mash subscription. If you’re not currently a subscriber, you can try Purple Mash free for 14 days.
Let’s take a look at a selection of our favourites:
There are a range of writing projects where pupils can retell a variety of fairy tales. Start with the story of Jack and the Beanstalk in KS1 or try our Cinderella themed resources to recount the traditional fairy tale. You could imagine you are Red Riding Hood and write a letter to the woodcutter to thank him for saving you or put yourself in the wolf’s shoes and tell the story from their perspective. You could even retell the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and work in groups to then present your story using different voices for each character.
Children could also be encouraged to tell their own story using our Blank Chapter Book and Blank Comic Book. Pick a theme, whether this be fairy tales, folk tales, Historical stories, or invasions and allow your class the chance to tell a story how they wish to. They can share this with their classmates or within school – we would also love to read them as well so please share with us either by email to marketing@2simple.com, or on Twitter or Facebook.
Here is a limited selection. Remember to explore the full range in the National Storytelling Week area.
These writing exercises are all about accessing all the senses and using the information to describe a scene in detail. From the seaside, to a creepy wood, to the park, think not only about what you can see, but what you can hear, smell, touch and taste:
In this section you’ll find a range of writing tools based on the works of famous authors from Roald Dahl to Michael Rosen and Hans Christian Andersen, conveniently organised into individual folders. There are Mash Cams, allowing you to transform yourself into your favourite characters from these iconic writers, while templates for book reviews and biographies allow children to record their learning in an engaging way while thinking about how to present their ideas on paper. Here are just some of the exercises available within the National Storytelling Week area:
These activities are a great way for younger children to engage with National Storytelling Week, express themselves and put a smile on everyone’s faces.
All these tools and more are included with a Purple Mash subscription. If you’re not currently a subscriber, you can try Purple Mash free for 14 days.
Enjoy your storytelling week and as the National Society of Storytelling states:
Remember everyone has at least one story to tell. It exists in the very air around you – Your story is the one you know best and as it is only the beginning, the stories you will tell might begin with...Once upon a time or not in my time, not in your time but in someone's time...
