Situation:
Eldon Primary School were working towards improving the speaking and writing skills of the pupils (for whom most had English as a second language) by reading and telling stories. The Head Teacher asked us to create workshop to help her staff of 28 to tell stories to best effect.

Solution:
Our Lifting the Story off the Page workshop would provide a process for teachers to firstly explore and interpret any written story, then using practical exercises develop the content of the story while improving their own style of delivery and confidence to perform. The first half of the workshop explored and deconstructed Little Red Riding Hood, through a combination of individual thinking and writing and interactive discussion. Once the foundation and essential elements of the story were found we moved in to the hall for the practical work. Each teacher developed their own interpretation of the story, taking inspiration from what they were interested in or enjoyed and sharing this enthusiasm through their delivery to their audience.

Results:
The teachers left happy and confident, with a set of techniques to invigorate and colour how they both read and tell stories. Less confident storytellers were noticeably louder, more expressive and comfortable by the end of the workshop. Teachers were excited to have a way to make stories their own, to interpret them (without loosing the plot) so stories could be more relevant, interactive, fun and thought provoking.