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via Udemy |
Go to Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/storytelling-in-the-classroom/
Certainly! Here's a detailed review and recommendation for the Coursera course "Storytelling in the Classroom (for teachers of 5-8 yr olds)": --- **Course Review: "Storytelling in the Classroom (for teachers of 5-8 yr olds)" on Coursera** "Storytelling in the Classroom" is a well-designed, practical course tailored specifically for educators working with young children aged 5 to 8 years old. Led by experienced storyteller Katy, the course offers a hands-on approach to mastering the art of storytelling, an essential skill for engaging and inspiring young students. **Course Content & Structure** The course is structured into five comprehensive sections, each building on the previous one, ensuring a progressive learning experience: 1. **Story Recall & Visualization:** Katy introduces fundamental techniques for remembering stories, focusing on plot structure and visualizing the story world. These methods serve as a solid foundation for confident storytelling. 2. **Interaction:** This section emphasizes the importance of engaging children actively through interactive storytelling techniques, making stories more memorable and participatory. 3. & 4. **Voice & Gesture:** Here, learners explore how to use voice modulation and gestures to bring stories to life. While these are presented at an introductory level, they add valuable expressive tools for storytelling. 5. **Recap & Application:** The final section consolidates all techniques by applying them to a new story, reinforcing skills learned throughout the course. What makes this course exceptional is its interactive design. Many lectures include pause points for learners to practice exercises demonstrated by Katy, encouraging active participation rather than passive listening. With a total video duration of just over three hours, the course's full impact, including exercises, will likely take about 7-10 hours, making it a manageable yet profoundly effective professional development (CPD) opportunity. **Strengths** - Practical, easy-to-implement techniques suitable for early childhood educators. - Focus on traditional, lesser-known stories that resonate well with 5-8-year-olds. - Emphasis on active learning through exercises, enhancing confidence and skills. - Supportive instructor who encourages questions and provides feedback. - Flexible pacing allowing educators to adapt the course to their timetable. **Who Would Benefit?** This course is ideal for primary or elementary school teachers seeking to enrich their classroom storytelling skills. It's especially beneficial for those looking to create more engaging, memorable learning experiences for young children, fostering language development and imagination. **Final Recommendation** I highly recommend "Storytelling in the Classroom" for educators interested in elevating their storytelling capabilities. Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your techniques, this course provides practical tools and engaging methods that can transform your classroom experience. Dedicate a few hours over several weeks, actively participate in exercises, and keep a storytelling diary to track your progress. The skills gained will not only enhance your storytelling but also significantly enrich your students’ learning experiences. --- Feel free to ask if you'd like a more personalized review or suggestions on how to integrate this course into your professional development plan!
In this course, you will learn essential storytelling skills by working on a new story in each of the five sections. The stories are supplied within the course, plus tips to find more of your own. They are traditional, but not very well-known stories, that work really well with 5-8 year old children (Katy has been using them in the classroom for over 20 years with great success).In the first section, Katy introduces the basic techniques of remembering a story: working on plot structure and visualisation of the story world. The second section focuses on interaction, which is a key element of good storytelling with children. The third and fourth sections focus on using voice and gesture effectively to tell the story: these are important, but not essential for a beginner storyteller, so are treated at an introductory level. Each section also builds on the previous ones, by repeating the basic techniques until they are second nature. The fifth section is a recap of all techniques applied to a new story.Many of the lectures are designed for you to pause the video and have a go yourself at exercises that Katy has demonstrated within the lecture, so you are not passively listening, but actively engaging with the material. So while the length of the video content is just over 3 hours, the course will take considerably longer, if you do all the exercises (allow 7-10 hours in total). Much of the course is suitable for learning to tell stories to any age group, but the stories have been chosen with younger children in mind and is excellent CPD for primary/elementary school teachers.You are encouraged to complete a Storytelling Diary as you try out the stories with your class, and the final assignment is a self-assessment of your progress. The course would work well, completed over 5 weeks with you telling a new story to your class every week, but of course you can go at whatever pace suits you best. You are welcome to contact Katy with questions during the course and she will do her best to respond quickly.