This article aims at describing certain strategies that would help teachers become better storytellers. The demonstration was done for primary school teachers by narrating a story called ‘How the Bean got its strings’, the ‘desi’ version of a Grimm’s fairytale.
The sixth issue of LLT, brought out in July 2014, deals with topics like literacy education, multilingualism in the classroom, politics of language, and reflective journal writing, among others. Also find book reviews, classroom activities and reports on language workshops.
Any school which has set out to bring about learning in an interesting atmosphere could bring in a dedicated area for working with hands. A craft studio or center could provide a rich resource in exploring various materials and could be introduced for children from an early age. Natural materials like clay, bamboo, wood, coconut shells, seeds pods and other fascinating materials like paper, thread, cloth and beads could be brought in for the mere joy of understanding the nature and differing qualities of these materials.
This activity is intended for students in pre and primary school. The aim is to encourage children to learn and have fun with language. These can be built on to encourage idea generation for story construction and creative writing.
Are certain individuals born to be teachers and can only those be truly competent? Or can people without such aspirations develop to become ‘great teachers’? Are there certain conditions, the presence of which foster such development?