Stories play a powerful role in our lives. Learn how stories can be an important tool to support child development.
| Key Messages: |
|---|
| Stories are an important part of early learning and development. |
| Children need to hear, read, and tell stories to become successful readers and writers. |
| Stories play a powerful role in our lives. They help to shape who we are and what we bring to any given situation. |
Preparing Yourself
- Think back over your career. What stories inspired you?
- As a mentor, what stories could you share with teachers that might support them in their work?
Linking with the Caregiver
- Invite teachers to share with you.
- What stories would they would like children to remember about spending their early years with them?
- Listen for ways that teachers
- share stories and build positive stories with children.
- demonstrate their ability to listen to children’s spoken and unspoken stories.
Acknowledge Strengths & Areas for Support
- Reflect back what you heard (content and feeling) and reach for clarity. Ask teachers what more they would like to learn about in using and building stories with young children.
- Highlight strengths. Observe aloud how you have seen teachers share stories with children and listen to their attempts to share stories with them.
- Reframe teachers’ comments and concerns in ways that extend their understanding of the role of stories in early language and literacy development.
Next Steps
- Brainstorm together ways teachers can build stories with children everyday and enhance their storytelling interactions with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers through books, music, and dramatic play.
- Identify resources that each of the following contributors might bring to the effort:
- Teachers
- You, as the mentor
- Colleagues or community
