FAQ
Why is oral storytelling so important?
Since time immemorial, oral storytelling has been a vital and powerful tool for the sharing of ideas, cultures and beliefs. The subtle relationship that is built up between the storyteller and their audience is one that cannot be easily replicated by other mediums. It’s all about ‘image making’ – allowing the pictures in our own minds to create the story, based on our individual life experience.
When listening to a story, every child will experience a different version based on the pictures that they make in their own imaginations. For example a child from Bosnia will have a very different idea of a wood than a child from Somalia. By practising this individual visualisation, children will become more confident and skilled in applying this to their own reading and writing.
What makes the Story Spinner so special?
The Story Spinner box set is the only library of oral stories available on DVD. Each story has been tried and tested, live, in primary schools – an experience that has allowed us to refine and craft a truly outstanding collection of age-appropriate stories that we know your children will love.
By offering the stories on DVD, children at all levels can watch and enjoy the stories time and time again. The DVD format also allows teachers to share stories from other years with children who might need extra support.
Why do you have only one Storyteller?
There is a subtle trust between a storyteller and their audience. This trust is built up over time and repetition, and gives the viewer a chance to build their own personal relationship with Phil.
Having one familiar storyteller allows the children to be taken into their own imagination more quickly and more deeply, and the shared experience of watching the Story Spinner becomes more about the story they create together than the teller.
Many teachers have told us that having a regular male figure in their classroom has had a really positive effect on the children’s learning.
Why is it filmed this way?
We have done extensive research into how children watch stories. As such, we filmed the storyteller in a number of ways to see which would prove the most effective. We observed time and time again that any diversion or movement away from the actor’s face only distracted the viewer from the story.
By keeping the camera’s focus solely on the storyteller, the child has the unique experience of watching their own version of the story unfold. It is a powerful way of stretching their imagination.
Like the oldest oral tradition, the strongest way to tell a story is without a script so that eye contact is maintained throughout the story. This is especially helpful and vitally important for boys.
The storyteller’s facial expressions, characterisations and dramatisation build up ‘the scaffolding’ of the story and become key in informing the children of the emotion of the story, while the words help them to create their own pictures of the story. This is vitally important for children with EAL or SEN.
Live storytellers vs. the Story Spinner DVD.
There is no doubt that experiencing a live storyteller is more entertaining. The stories change with each audience, sometimes drastically in each telling. It is a truly shared experience. However when the storyteller leaves the school, the teachers and children are left with a vacuum. The story dissipates and is eventually lost, leaving the memory of the experience, not the story.
The Story Spinner DVDs allow you to have repeated viewings of the exact same telling of a particular live story. You can then use it as a powerful and versatile teaching tool: children could do their
own re-telling, analyse the story structure, discuss the characters, hot seat, make story plates, story boards, artwork, drama… and, of course, simply enjoy the shared experience of a good story!
With the Story Spinner you have a master storyteller at your disposal whenever you want. The DVDs should never replace the wonderful experience of live storytelling. However, the dependability and versatility of the Story Spinner DVDs ensures that you will always have that vital experience and stimulus on hand to support your teaching.