Interactive Storytelling
By Sandee McHugh McBride

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Reading to young children is one of the most enjoyable activities for me! The smiles on their faces and the twinkles in their eyes brighten my day. This happy feeling is contagious and goes far in the quest of motivating children. An exciting tale allows learners to enthusiastically discover the world around them. It allows students the opportunity to take risks with language, the pathway to knowledge. This is not always an easy task for second language learners; but once they get absorbed in the lively adventures of a good story with engaging illustrations, they put aside their hesitation and self-consciousness with the English language and begin participating in the fun.

It seems that we all have a favorite story, and in my first grade class last year it was one particular book: Walking Through the Jungle/Caminando por la jungle. The children loved to hear the story and chant along with the words, whether we read in English or Spanish. Debbie Harter’s story about a little girl taking a walk through animal habitats delighted the children. The vivid pictures captured their attention and the rhythm of the words played tunes in their minds.

As I begin to read aloud to them, “Walking through the jungle, what do you see?”, they spot the colorful illustration of a lion roaring and, in unison, inform me that it’s a “lion” that we see. I continue with, “I think I see a lion,” and the students repeat the refrain together, “chasing after me.” As the story progresses, the students enjoy themselves as they learn about animals and where they live, calling out the names of the animals they recognize. They laugh with pleasure as they chant the refrains.

Walking Through the Jungle captivated the children’s hearts and minds. Their resulting enthusiasm helped guide their writing and motivated even the most hesitant of students. Their writing creations were often humorous, one choosing to use her imagination to create a story about a child coming across various birds in the park. Another wrote about marine animals in the ocean, while a third student wrote about his adventures with pets in the pet store. Most included a repeating refrain much like the author used. They all incorporated beautiful, colorful illustrations. But, more importantly, the students looked forward to working on their writing each day, and eagerly shared their creations with classmates. They proudly displayed their accomplishments for all to see. What an enjoyable learning experience!

Sandee McHugh-McBride has a Masters Degree in Education, with a specialty in English as Second Language (ESL). She has taught ESL in elementary school for over 25 years and teaches for the GraduateSchool of Education at Rutgers. She has presented workshops throughout New Jersey dealing with the education of English/Dual Language Learners.

© Language Lizard, LLC. 2011.

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