The Story Spinner

What is the Storyspinner?

More than just a set of DVDS, the Story Spinner is like having your own professional storyteller on hand when ever you need one.

‘Just walking into the classroom holding one of the DVDs causes a ripple of excitement to run through the class.’

— Patricia Horsnell, teacher.

A timeless resource

The Story Spinner tales have been carefully chosen from a range of cultures, providing you with a rich library of 42 stories, all contained within one DVD box set. All of the stories are skilfully told by Phil McDermott (rated "Excellent" by OFSTED). Each story can be viewed again and again, year after year and be enjoyed across the whole school – from Reception to Year 6. With each DVD, a teachers’ booklet provides essential background information and plot summaries, ensuring that you have everything you need to plan and support your classroom teaching.

* 7 DVD box set
* 6 stories on each DVD
* Reception to Year 6
* Teachers’ booklet with each DVD

A cultural treasure trove

The Story Spinner DVDs contain a diverse mix of stories, folktales and fairytales from around the world. Some of these tales your children may already be familiar with, such as the well-known classics by Hans Christian Anderson and the Brothers Grimm. Others will provide exciting new discoveries, including tales from as far as way as Cambodia, China and the Philippines.

* 42 carefully chosen stories
* A mix of fairytales and folktales
* Other countries and cultures

“The Story Spinner DVDs have contributed significantly to raising standards in reading, writing and speaking and listening through the use of talk for writing”

— Eve Bearne - Cambridge University
— Marilyn Mottram - School Effectiveness Advisor, Birmingham.

A front row seat

Each tale is told to the camera by the master storyteller. There are no gimmicks, pictures or sound effects; the storyteller simply engages with the class through the expressive use of words and gestures. This is the true power of oral storytelling – to let the words paint the pictures in the children’s minds, allowing them to imagine and explore the characters and settings free of any influences or restrictions.

* Presented by a master storyteller
* No gimmicks or sound effects

A shared experience

The Story Spinner resource is accessible to children of all ages and abilities. Unlike a conventional storybook where children may be put off or limited by words that they cannot decode, The Story Spinner uses spoken language that is rich but not exclusive. There are no barriers to children enjoying each and every story and picturing the scenes and characters in their own minds. This resource has already had fantastic success with children with special needs and English as an additional language.

* Rich and accessible language
* Supports EAL and SEN
* Easy to use

“This is a great resource to help children learn. They only see the storyteller’s facial expressions and gestures, so the images they create in their minds are completely unique to them. This unleashes their imaginations which in turn inspires their writing.”

— Carol Smith, Literacy Consultant, Milton Keynes.

A literacy solution

The tales have been chosen to compliment the Renewed Primary Framework and National Strategy materials: Talk for writing and Support for writing. Teachers that have used Story Spinner in the classroom have found it a valuable tool in encouraging discussion, developing speaking and listening skills and raising standards in writing. Each story also offers opportunities for drama, art, citizenship and other creative activities across the curriculum.

* Linked to the Renewed Framework
* Encourages speaking and listening
* Raises standards in writing
* Flexible and cross-curricular

A proven solution

The Story Spinner resource has been proven to contribute significantly to the raising of standards in writing. As case studies and evaluation reports have shown, by watching the DVDs and listening to the stories, children invariably want to explore and tell their own stories. In doing so, they exhibit remarkable improvements in their written work, displaying a greater understanding of characterisation, story structure and sequencing, as well the confident use of new vocabulary.

* Encourages children’s own storytelling
* Improves key writing skills
* Builds confidence and self-esteem

A professional solution

trainings The Story Spinner also offers interactive half-day and whole-day workshops, led by experienced professionals, to help you make the most of this exciting resource in your school. As well as exploring the links with key National Strategy materials, the session will also focus on using the stories to develop children’s writing and to provide evidence to support periodic assessment.

* Story Spinner Learning workshops
* Half day or whole day
* Tailored to your requirements

“The Story Spinner team run engaging and immensely practical CPD sessions which enable teachers to utilise the DVDs in powerful ways which can develop children’s learning right across the primary age range.”

— David Reedy, Senior Adviser (primary language and communication). London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.

A happy ending

The Story Spinner DVDs have already had an extraordinary impact on children’s learning in schools across the UK. If you wish to find out more about what The Story Spinner could do for you and your classroom, then call 020 7483 0644 or email maria@thestoryspinner.co.uk

About Us

Day One Productions

There are three of us working on the team at Day One Productions. Each of us has a background in the performing arts and have been working professionally in our respective fields of drama, music, film making and directing for over twenty years. We all have children in schools in the Camden Borough in London and feel passionate about inspiring children to become effective communicators.

Having done extensive research and worked closely with education professionals for over two years in researching and developing this series, we are both excited and proud to have created a product that will help children improve their key literacy skills. We believe the Story Spinner is a wonderful opportunity to share the delights of oral storytelling with a young audience, and sincerely hope that they give children the creativity and confidence to become our story spinners of the future.