: Story Telling how to Teach Kids Persistence through Story Telling
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(453 Words)
Story telling can be a wonderful way to teach children persistence. It can be much more effective than just lecturing to a child as it teaches in a fun and fascinating way.
You want to start with a character to which the child can relate. It can be another child or even an animal. Build a brilliant picture of the character with your words so that the children can be engaged in him or her. Describe him inside and out.
You want the character to face a challenge. It would be ideal to make it a challenge that the children might face so that they can imagine that they are the ones in the story. For instance, they may want to do well in the science fair or on a test. They may want to do well on a sports team or learn how to do something with which they are having difficulty. You will tailor this to the age of the children and what challenges they may be facing at this level.
Talk about the thoughts in the character’s mind. You want the children to feel like they are in his or head. Try to think of some of the statements that they may say to themselves when worried about a challenge. For instance, the character might be worried that they will never be able to succeed. They may think about giving up. You want to explore these thoughts since it is what the children will be thinking when they are facing their own issues.
You want the character to then decide that they want to persist. You can discuss their thought process in coming up with this as the best course of action. A different character who acts as a guardian or advisor can help them make the decision. They can talk about how this is the best way to go.
You want to talk about the character trying and trying and trying. Show that sometimes it takes not one, two or even three times to accomplish something but longer. You can have the character repeat something in his head such as the “I think I can” from the famous story about the persistent engine. Hopefully the children will take this as their own when they are trying for something that is difficult.
In the end you want the character to succeed. He or she could make a statement as to the fact that they never would have succeeded if they had not continued to try.
Storytelling is a fantastic way to teach children about the importance of persistence. There are many books for all ages that contain this lesson or you can come up with a story on your own.