Story Spinner Learning is full of ideas, inspiration and the plans you need to quickly and easily start using the Story Spinner throughout your entire school. The pack includes a DVD, CD-Rom and booklet.

Many of your colleagues around the country have told us they have difficulty sharing the teaching potential of the stories with other staff members.  Or they are still only using the stories in ‘Golden Time’ or ‘Story Time’ as they don’t know what else to do with them.

In response, we have spent the last year supplying full-day, half-day and twilight Story Spinner training sessions to schools and LAs.  And we’ve worked extensively with top literacy professionals and teachers to create a truly effective way of putting this training into your hands – Story Spinner Learning.

We designed it with you in mind.  To help you and all of the teachers in your school save time and easily put stories at the heart of a truly creative curriculum. The Story Spinner DVDs are a proven solution to motivate your children, having a massive and immediate impact on their reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Story Spinner Learning will show you how.

Visit our Shop for more details or to place an order.

Graham, J., & Kelly, A (Eds.) Reading Under Control

“When was the last time you heard a good story?  You may have been lucky enough to have been read to as a child, but schoolchildren today might not be as willing to be wrenched away from their PSP consoles – until the Story Spinner project, that is.

…Teachers said that the DVDs fitted in well with the revised Literacy Framework and offered a variety of assessment opportunities in reading, speaking, listening and writing. Researchers also noticed a raised attainment in reading and ‘noticeable gains’ in writing…”

Prue Goodwin writes – “There are few things more powerful than watching and listening to a good teller of tales and that is precisely what the Story Spinner DVDs provide – stories told directly to camera (no acting, no pictures) for all primary children.

This invaluable collection (one DVD for each primary year from Reception to Year 6) includes traditional tales from accross the globe, stories in contemporary settings, tear-jerkers, side-splitters, fables and folk tales to suit every mood and time (and incidentally, every aspect of narrative required by the current Framework for Literacy).

The only slightly daunting aspect of these materials is the price, but compared to buying in an actual storyteller, it is very reasonable – and you get masses of stories which can be watched again and again for years to come.  And let’s face it, as stories are what makes us human, they will never go out of fashion; as story is the most potent means of learning, no school should ever be without them.”

We will publish more information and results as we receive them.

You can visit the National Strategies Site here.

“The Story Spinner sows the seed for teachers, children, families to weave their own tales of wonder and delight for the National Year of Reading and beyond.”

— Marilyn Mottram, School Effectiveness Adviser, Birmingham LA.

As part of the National Year of Reading, the Story Spinner project was rolled out across schools within the Birmingham LEA. The central aim of the project was to use the oral tradition of storytelling as a means of bringing schools, families and communities together.

In our modern screen-based and media-saturated culture, it is rare for children to experience and appreciate oral storytelling as it once existed. For millennia, stories passed on from generation to generation, have been vital in helping us to understand and make sense of our world. They have also been essential tools in teaching children to listen and, more importantly, to imagine. It is this idea of ‘imagining’ – of letting children experience the power of words to paint their own pictures – that lay at the heart of this initiative.

Key Findings from the project

1. The achievements of all children involved indicate that The Story Spinner DVDs have contributed significantly to raising standards in speaking and listening.

2. Noticeable gains have been seen in writing. The structure as well as the imaginative content of the children’s told and written narratives improved noticeably over the course of one term.

3. The DVDs have helped to raise attainment in reading, as children could watch stories on the DVDs then transfer their understanding to stories in books.

4. The DVDs provided support for more flexible and creative planning and teaching, fitting well with the revised Literacy Framework and offering a variety of assessment opportunities in reading, speaking and listening and writing.

5. Teachers’ classroom practice developed significantly as a result of the project. There is good evidence of the potential of The Story Spinner DVDs for supporting professional and curriculum development within schools. For example, through staff development sessions and in using the stories in different curriculum areas.

Stretching the imagination

Eight schools and eleven teachers were involved in the project. Each school was given a set of The Story Spinner DVDs to launch their work during their summer term (2008). The stories on the DVDs, carefully chosen from different countries and cultures around the world, are all told by veteran storyteller, Phil McDermott (rated ‘Excellent’ by Ofsted).

What immediately became obvious when viewing the DVDs in the classroom, was the unique way in which the storyteller interacts with his audience. There are no visual distractions or sound effects. Instead, the camera focuses solely on Phil’s face. Eye contact is maintained throughout and through the use of facial expressions, characterisations and dramatisation, the story is expertly presented simply through the power of gesture and speech. Not only did this provide a powerful model for teachers and children to follow when telling their own stories, but it also provided the key magic ingredient that really captivated and kick-started the project. Imagination.

“You wouldn’t expect it – because there are no extra visual effects – but it is almost as though it means more to them because there isn’t any of the sort of movement and action that they are used to, and they lean forward and want to hear more and more.”

“Watching the DVDs and listening to stories sparked off the children’s own imaginative inner worlds, which became evident in the content of their stories.”

By watching and listening to the DVDs, children were being encouraged to ‘see’ the stories for themselves in their mind’s eye. This individual visualisation of the stories, free of the distractions inherent in other media, allowed the children to experience each story in their own way. In turn, this gave them an increased confidence and desire to express themselves and their ideas both orally and in their written work.

Finding a voice

The DVDs stimulated the children’s own storytelling. Repeated viewings of the stories allowed the children to absorb the techniques that Phil displayed to add drama and character to their own stories. At Yew Tree Community School, the children retold their favourite stories in pairs and small groups. Teachers noted that, as well as employing many of the actions and gestures of the storyteller, they also used remembered phrases and repetition in their recounts.

At Woodview School, the Year 1 class was captivated by the story of Brian and the Dragon, having watched it fifteen times without losing interest. Follow up work saw the children bringing in their own bedtime stories from home, including the setting up of a ‘Story Spinners Corner’ for children to share their stories with each other. Again, children were motivated and excited at the idea of becoming ‘storytellers’, mimicking what they had seen on screen with The Story Spinner DVDs.

‘The beauty of this for them is that… it seems to give them imagination… they have got imagination but we need to unleash it. It’s all in their faces when they are watching [The Story Spinner]”

Something to write about

The achievements of all the classes involved in the project indicate that oral storytelling can provide a powerful means of giving children a ‘voice’ for their writing. The structure as well as the imaginative content of children’s told and written narratives improved noticeably over the course of one term. Improvements were also seen in vocabulary, use of imagery and in a growing sense of the rhythms and cadences of storytelling.

Example 1 – Lucia, Year 4.

On Sunday Orlagh came over to mine to sleep over. We stayed up till 1.00 am in the morning on the PSP and The Do and The computer and hide and seek my dog.

Example 2 – Lucia’s writing, one month later.

When Theseus got down the well he got his strength up to kill the minotaur and he got worried about his father in case he never came back so anyway he started to make my way through the maze. He was walking for a long time.

The creatures eyes where like crimson red gem’s of blood and his finger nail’s like crab claw. Shockingly he had horn’s like daggers and he had and shoulders of a bull.

Not long after that Theseus found the minotaur and he steped forward with braveness and so did the minotaur so he took one more step forward and ran up to the minotaur, leaped, got his sword and stabed it into the minotaur’s belly.

Lucia’s teacher explains:

“Lucia was very reticent when it came to writing. She admitted to having no ideas and not knowing where to start putting pen to paper – even when it was a recount of her own Easter holidays. The Story Spinner Project has given her that spark and eagerness to get going and her descriptions are bringing her stories to life.”

Several teachers also commented on improved behaviour linked to a rise in confidence and self-esteem as a result of children’s success as storytellers and writers.

“He gives them a higher order of language and they just suck it in. You can talk with them easily about similes and vocabulary because they are inside it. The wealth of language they have picked up is incredible. It’s another friend in the classroom for us. The children shout ‘Here comes Phil’.”

Growing confidence as writers

When the teachers analysed the children’s writing at the end of the first phase of the project, a number of common features were noted. The beneficial effects on writing included:

• Improved sequencing of events. The children showed greater confidence in planning, clearly knowing what it was they wanted to write after having had the experience of telling and re-telling stories orally in the classroom.

• Greater attention to characterisation. Many of the children demonstrated a greater understanding of character by including characters’ thoughts and motivation in their written stories. Equally, they were able to develop more multifaceted characterisation.

• A more assured story voice. There was a significant increase in children’s use of adventurous vocabulary and imagery. More complex sentence structure and the use of rhetorical techniques, such as repetition for emphasis or for creating narrative tension, were also noted.

• Improved use of punctuation. Explicit discussion of the cadences of storytelling, including pauses for effect, meant that children became more aware of the function and importance of punctuation.

“They love seeing things over and over again. They love the familiarity of the stories – they want to watch them over and over.”

A repeatable resource

The Story Spinner DVD format has meant that children have been able to watch the stories again and again. This repeatability, which is impossible to capture with a live storyteller, has allowed teachers to focus on different aspects of the storyteller’s oral technique with each viewing.

In addition, the storyteller himself has acted as a valuable model and inspiration, not only for the children’s stories but for the teachers themselves – who, during the course of the project, have all gained confidence and assurance as storytellers themselves.

“The project has already proved effective in raising standards in writing through the use of talk for writing.”

— Eve Bearne, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education.

Only the beginning…

The evaluation of Phase One of the project has already demonstrated the effectiveness of The Story Spinner as a motivational tool for improving children’s writing and oral language skills. As with all good stories, this one will continue to grow and grow as schools continue to share and build on the already outstanding achievements recorded during Phase One of The Story Spinner Project.

For more information on The Story Spinner project then call 020 7483 0644 or email maria@thestoryspinner.co.uk

‘In my opinion, the Story Spinner DVDs are an extremely effective tool in highlighting to the students the importance of description and expression in stories.’

— Shobha Coutinho, Principal at Tonbridge Dyslexia Action

The results of a recent study show that children with Dyslexia can benefit from listening to and responding to oral storytelling. Using the Story Spinner DVDs, the study was conducted at Tonbridge Dyslexia Action Centre with a group of ten students (aged between seven and twelve).

At the start of each session, the children were allowed to choose the story that they most wanted to watch from their Story Spinner DVD. After viewing the performance, the children then spent a further thirty minutes responding to the story through discussion and writing.

Follow-up activities included discussion of the storyteller’s oral technique, including  his use of expression and description to make the stories more interesting and memorable. Children also drew pictures of their favourite characters and created their own story outlines by sequencing the main events.

During the course of the study, teachers completed a questionnaire to monitor children’s increased confidence in a number of key literacy skills, such as prediction, punctuation and comprehension. By the end of the study it was clear that the greatest increase in achievement was in children’s story-writing skills. Through observation, teacher’s judged that an impressive 70 per cent of children showed clear signs of improvement.   Increases in performance were also observed across all levels of reading, writing and general behaviour.

Shobha Coutinho, Principal at Tonbridge Dyslexia Action comments: ‘Quite often an area of difficulty for children with Dyslexia is their limited ability to be able to sequence events. Listening to these stories gave the children an opportunity to actively participate in the story by creating their own images in their mind. This helped in retention of the story sequence.’

It was observed that the Story Spinner DVDs also encouraged the children to become more confident storytellers. Often, children with Dyslexia have a tendency to skip out on details of a story if they can’t spell the words they would have liked to use. By listening to and watching veteran storyteller, Phil McDermott (rated ‘Excellent’ by Ofsted), perform the stories on the Story Spinner DVDs, children were made more aware of the effectiveness of descriptive language when telling a story.

This growing awareness is reflected in the children’s positive feedback:

• I really liked the descriptive words he used.
• I liked the way he narrated the stories.
• The stories made you want to go on listening to them.
• I like the facial expressions and the way in which the stories were told.
• I liked the different tones of voice used.

Shobha Coutinho believes that the Story Spinner DVDs have provided a vital stepping stone in helping children to become more confident storytellers: ‘I’m sure the stories will motivate the children to learn to use the full range of tools available to them to continue expressing themselves rather than limiting their expression due to spelling constraints.’

Throughout the study, teachers commented on the enthusiasm and motivation of the children when it came to working on their own stories. Having watched the Story Spinner DVDs, the children were keen to create interesting and memorable tales of their own – and in doing so, develop the skills and confidence necessary to become the ‘Story Spinners’ of the future.

Moving, amusing and enthralling, this set of DVDs is a wonderful example of a multimodal text using talk and gesture to great effect and fully deserves the UKLA Commendation.”