Teaching Reading and Fluency through
Traditional Stories for students K-5
Dorothy Fonde T. Werts
ESOL Teacher, Atlanta Public Schools
Atlanta, GA USA
fwerts@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Traditional Stories provide cross-cultural context and
facilitate learning through shared knowledge.
(sample list)
Cinderella
Momotaro, the Peach Boy
Aesop's Fables:
The Lion and the Mouse, The Grasshopper and the Ants, The Hare and
the Tortoise, The Dog and his Shadow and more
Jack and the Beanstalk
Rimpelstiltskin
Anansi stories
Hansel and Gretel
Medio Pollito
The Pied Piper of Hamlin
Sleeping Beauty
The Fisherman and His Wife
The Emperor's New Clothes
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp
Alibaba and the Forty Thieves
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Rip Van Winkle
The Ugly Duckling
Dorothy Fonde T. Werts
fwerts@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Instructional Sequence
1. Multiple shared readings with teacher pantomime and dramatic
repetition of key dialogue soon make the story familiar.
2. A vocabulary list of key words and phrases is posted in the classroom
for daily review.
3. Students join in the retelling of the story, saying parts of the dialogue
or narration.
4. Students write self-selected parts of the story using the vocabulary list
and a student dictionary as references.
5. Students illustrate the story, making characters and settings. Craft
sticks (Popsicle sticks) are added to the paper illustrations for a puppet
show.
OR students make puppets from fabric to represent the characters
and use paper backgrounds for the story settings.
OR students make simple paper props and costume parts to
represent the characters and setting and do an informal dramatization of
the story in your classroom. This is sometimes more appropriate for
beginners who have less confidence in their speaking ability.
6. Students dictate or write a version of the story to present to
classmates.
7. Students tape-record the story to go along with their illustrations using
a 15-minute cassette.
8. Students practice their puppet show for presentation in the regular
classroom. They listen to their voices and organize the illustrations to go
with the story.
9. Students present the puppet show for classmates.
10. Students make a BINGO card using the vocabulary and short phrases
from the story and play BINGO.
This sequence can take 2-3 weeks or 6 weeks depending on the
complexity of the story and the language level of the students.
Dorothy Fonde T. Werts
fwerts@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Important points to remember:
1. Select story length according to your students' proficiency and age.
Favorite beginner stories are:
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
The Little Red Hen
Little Red Riding Hood
Favorite intermediate stories:
Jack and the Beanstalk
Rumpelstiltskin
Rip Van Winkle
2. Find as many versions of the story as you can. Students love to
compare and contrast different versions and different illustrations of the
same story. They begin to feel like "experts" when they already know
what will happen next. Check the library for video and audio versions as
well.
3. Discuss with the students how a story changes over time when it
begins as an oral tradition. Ask them what stories they have heard in
their first language traditions.
4. Make a simple puppet stage using plastic plumbing pipe (PVC)
available at home improvement stores. (see dimensions and diagram
elsewhere in this presentation) This stage can be broken down into
straight pieces that are easy to transport. A simple curtain with a casing
for the top pole is the only other part needed. Students sit behind the
curtain and hold the puppets or paper illustrations above the curtain for
the audience to see.
5. Some stories lend themselves to the addition of a song or chant,
especially for a repetition that occurs in the story. For example:
"Oh, fish in the sea,
Come listen to me.
My wife wants a wish,
From the magic fish."
I made up a tune for that repetition which students always remember.
Dorothy Fonde T. Werts
fwerts@atlanta.k12.ga.us
Benefits of learning through traditional stories
1. Students are highly motivated to participate in the projects related to
the story, the audiotape and the puppet show.
2. Students learn stories that are part of our shared literary traditions. They
can make connections with these stories as background.
3. Students have multiple opportunities to practice all four skills
necessary for language acquisition: listening, speaking, reading and
writing.
4. Students are motivated to work together on the group efforts
necessary for presenting their story.
5. Activities in the instructional sequence meet the varied needs of
learners.
6. Students have a choice about which part they will have in the
preparation and presentation of the story.
7. Students develop a love of literature and a desire to read through
exposure to good stories. They look forward to the next story and the
next series of projects.
8. Only through use of BINGO can teachers get students to repeat
incessantly the target vocabulary that they need to win the game!
9. Older and more proficient students become better informed writers
and feel more confident writing their own stories after they have learned
some traditional stories and their elements.
10. Students add context and background knowledge through traditional
stories that help their comprehension in the content areas.
11. Students' fluency improves through repetition and dramatic
presentation.
12. Students experience increased confidence
as they collaborate to tell stories together.
in their language skills
13. Students' background knowledge is
through the use of stories that occur in
their home cultures.
Dorothy Fonde T. Werts
activated
fwerts@atlanta.k12.ga.us
64"
36"
12"
Plan for making a "puppet stage"
from PVC (light weight plastic pipe)
Buy lengths of 1” diameter PVC and cut with a hack saw to the following dimensions:
1
2
4
64” piece for the top bar
36” pieces for the upright ends
12” pieces for the base supports
Buy PVC connectors as follows:
2 90 degree elbow for the top corners, connecting horizontally and vertically
2 T connectors for the bottom connections, connecting vertically and both sides
horizontally for base supports
4 caps for the ends of the “feet”
Make a "curtain" to hang from the top pole in the following dimensions:
Cut a
length of fabric 40” wide and 11 feet long for a full gathered curtain.
Hem the
pole
fabric along the bottom approximately 2”. Turn under a casing for the
approximately 2 ½ “ along the top of the fabric.
This
“stage” is very light weight and easy to store and carry. Children
can
carry it “in pieces” to a classroom for a performance. It can be set up in a
matter of one minute and disassembled when the performance is over.
The children sit in chairs behind the curtain and operate the puppets or show the pictures
at the top of the curtain.
Dorothy Fonde T. Werts
fwerts@atlanta.k12.ga.us