Abstract
Adhering to the philosophy of constructivism, storytelling is explored as a vehicle for expanding children's existing oral language and developing their literacy abilities during community-sponsored summertime programs. Ongoing observations of the program participants prompted the authors to make the following conclusions: (1) Storytelling is a rich interactive process that facilitates imagination, creative thinking, language abilities, and cooperative learning; (2) Learners actively construct their own understanding, building upon their current knowledge base; (3) Working with others (social interaction) on meaningful tasks enhances learning; and (4) Storytelling offers a limitless opportunity for developing a more authentic awareness of and respect for children with diverse language and cultural backgrounds.
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Palmer, B.C., Harshbarger, S.J. & Koch, C.A. Storytelling as a Constructivist Model for Developing Language and Literacy. Journal of Poetry Therapy 14, 199–212 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017541527998
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1017541527998