The Secret Wood
Children in two classes from Stisted Primary School in Essex have taken part in an exciting story-telling project focusing on nearby woodland.
Storyteller Lorriane Barfoot worked on an intensive five day project with years one and two, aiming to improve communication and literacy skills. After sessions with the storyteller, the children retold and acted out the stories they had learnt and then explored the connections between nature, characters from the stories and themselves. The stories were themed around the local woodland. They drew story maps, learned to identify a range of emotions, feelings and to celebrate difference. They also acted out life cycles of trees and seasons of the year, as well as creating Treasure Baskets and Story Sticks.
Children from year three and four used Roahl Dahl’s story “The Minpins” as a stimulus for developing speaking and listening skills. A major focus was to try and enable the children to describe using adjectives, verbs, adverbs and their senses. They also retold and acted out parts of the stories and created informative material about the woodland and it's inhabitants.
Lead teacher Lorraine Sutherland saw great improvements in the abilities of the children, saying,
"Speaking and listening skills have definitely improved as children are more comfortable and confident. Children have developed a calm confident atmosphere in circle time, taking part, supporting others and describing their thoughts and feelings."
She also commented on how there had been a vast improvement and development in the quality and style of the children’s writing.
"Their writing is more expressive and several children show an ability to use the language of story telling in their formal writing. Children are desperate to go back to the woods to explore and uncover more of its secrets."
Storyteller Lorriane Barfoot was full of praise of the project and the children involved. She said,
"Children were constantly challenged during the project to think for themselves, to be self-sufficient where appropriate and to always give reasons for their contributions."
She also saw the benefit of taking the children’s learning out of the traditional classroom environment;
"They were incredibly motivated, excited and responsive to the story telling activities in the woods. Experiencing the great outdoors first hand meant new challenges for the class and the children embraced the challenges with pleasure and enthusiasm."
