Celebrate National Tell A Story Day with This Activity

April 27th is National Tell A Story Day.

I think it is a great opportunity to do a fun storytelling activity with your family and/or friends.

Oral storytelling is both a good learning experience and a fun activity. It encourages creativity, use of the imagination, and quick thinking.

While telling an entire story alone can be a daunting task, relating a small part of a story can be a little less intimidating. The storytelling activity that I’m about to share with you requires the participants to do just that, take turns telling bits of a continuous story.

You may want to explain these guidelines before starting this activity:

• There is no right or wrong way to tell the story. You can add one sentence or a dozen sentences in the time you are given.
• Comments from other participants should be kept to a minimum and be positive.
• Content should be appropriate for all members of the group.

These suggestions will help make it a more positive experience. I hope your family enjoys this activity on National Tell A Story Day.

Cooperative Storytelling Activity

Materials: A 30 second timer

Instructions:

1. Begin by having everyone sit in a circle.
2. Decide on the type of story you want to tell as a group. Will it be fantasy? Realistic fiction? Historical fiction? A tall tale or folk tale? A humorous story?
3. Determine by choice or by chance who will start the story.
4. Select a setting and main character for the story. This can be decided by the first player or as a group.
5. Pick someone to be a time keeper. He will be in charge of the timer. The timer should be set for 30 seconds.
6. On the count of three, the time keeper should start the timer and the first person should begin telling the story using the genre, main character and setting that was decided on.
7. When the timer beeps, the storyteller should stop, even if he is in the middle of a sentence.
8. The time keeper starts the timer again and the next person continues the story as he likes.
9. These steps repeat for a designated number of rounds or a certain time period.

Helpful Tips:

If you find that 30 seconds is too long or too short, or if you just want to make the activity a little more interesting, you can change the timer to 15, 45, or 60 seconds.

If the group has a hard time deciding on a genre, you might want to write some ideas on little pieces of paper and put them in a container. Someone can pick one out at the beginning of the activity. This can also be done with ideas for the main character and the setting. This can add a little fun randomness to the activity.

Feel free to modify the rules as you like to make this activity easier, more challenging, or even more interesting.

Do you have any ideas for other activities on National Tell A Story Day? I’d love to hear about them in the comment section below.

Many blessings,