Children’s stories are an excellent way to promote a child’s development. You can use teaching materials along with children’s stories to teach moral lessons, factual knowledge, or emotional intelligence.
The beauty of using children’s stories in this way is that children learn without feeling like they are “learning”; They learn by osmosis.
Using stories in teaching also gets kids to really think about things. They can actively participate in the story rather than just passively listening to or reading it.
So, how can you use stories in this way? When you follow these 7 simple steps, you will find that using stories to teach is very easy and fun!
#1 Decide what you want to teach
What do you want your child or students to learn? How do you want them to feel at the end of the “lesson”?
#2 Ask specific questions about the events or characters from the story
Questions like “Why did this happen?” , “Why did Santa do that?” or “How do you think Billy felt?” Good examples. Try to get the children to “analyze” the story – to think about why something happened and its consequences, the motives and feelings of the characters, etc.
#3 Relate the story to the child’s own life/experiences
This is the key – by doing this, the child will internalize the lesson(s) of the story. It becomes more real and personal for the child. Ask questions like “How would you feel if…” or “Have you ever felt [character]? “
#4 Use props and visual aids
This is especially useful for teaching factual information (such as anatomy), but you can also use it to provide visual cues that help children get into the story (imagining it more easily) and remembering it better.
#5 Get them to get physical
Besides making them think, you can get them to act out the story, and maybe even create their own version of it. They will really feel like they are part of the story and its lessons. Moreover, when children move their bodies, the story becomes more real and personal for them. This also helps kinesthetic learners.
#6 Have them relate the story to the larger world
After you get them to relate the story to their own experience, you can really expand the child’s mind by having them relate the story to the larger world.
#7 Create a lesson plan
Obviously, it’s good to prepare, but you don’t need to spend a lot of time on it, and even parents can create a simple lesson plan. You can also find ready-to-use lesson plans and children’s stories.
Conclusion
In my experience, “success” and “happiness” are defined not so much by talent and (artistic) knowledge (although they are also important) as by personality and emotional intelligence. By using children’s stories to help build character and emotional intelligence, you can set your children or students on a path to lifelong success and happiness.