Let me tell you a story...

It is no surprise that telling a story can hold the interest in students. A good story has interesting highs and lows, an easy to follow narrative, and a personal connection to the people listening to it. When reading about how a story "activates the brain," I can attest to actually seeing it. During a class, the lesson for the day was to read over an article that describes money saving tips for teenagers. The regular teacher was out so a sub was there instead. The lesson plan for the sub simply said to read and go over the article with the students. The sub began reading the article and a minute into reading, the kids' attention was lost. Seeing this, I resorted to reflecting on my personal stories on issues with money. I began to tell a story on how I ended up being in debt very quickly out of high school due to college tuition and expenses. As soon as I related the lesson to a personal anecdote, the students immediately became engaged. They then starting to ask me questions on the other tips that we had been going over. I saw how they began to react to the story. The words that they were reading suddenly had another meaning. They were more than just words being read by a teacher.

Using stories in a classroom can be an effective teaching technique. Whether the story is told orally or shown as a digital story, it captivates the students. A good digital story is colorful and appealing to the eyes. It can describe subjects in new and interesting ways through words, pictures, and music. Not only that, when you ask students to relate a lesson using their own story, they seem to understand the lesson better. Now they see a connection from the material to themselves. Letting the students use their imaginations is a good way for them to care about the work they are doing. Having them express themselves is a great way for students to get engaged in their own personal way.