The power of using stories to teach can get overlooked in the quest to cover all the information available on any given topic. We have instant access to so much material via the internet. It’s easy to get caught up in quantity of information and forego quality. Storytelling is a powerful way to slow down and access deeper learning. It’s a technique you want to use as a teacher and a skill you want your students to learn.

“Storytelling is essential. If you’re trying to engage, influence, teach, or inspire others, you should be telling or listening to a story, and encouraging others to tell a story with you. You’ll have plenty of science to back you up. ” Lani Peterson

These photos are from a quick overnight ‘field trip’ to southern Colorado and New Mexico last week. We stopped at the site of the Ludlow Massacre, a powerful story from history.

Why Storytelling is so Powerful

There’s a wealth of information and research available on the power of storytelling. The summary below is drawn primarily from Lani Peterson’s research-based article for Harvard Business Publishing.

  • When we listen to stories, we use more than just the language processing parts in our brain. We actually activate other areas of the brain that we would use if we had experienced the story ourselves. This, of course, results in better learning.
  • Stories can stimulate your brain to produce cortisol (memory), dopamine (engagement), and oxytocin (empathy). These chemicals contribute to an even deeper learning experience.
  • Finally, stories help us look at our own beliefs and develop new perspectives.

How to Use Story Telling

You know those people who are great storytellers?… I’m not one of them. However, I can read out loud pretty well. I can also spend a lot of time researching and finding videos, books, and articles to make a subject understandable, relatable, and memorable. I’m pretty sure stories can be used to enhance learning in just about every subject you want to tackle with homeschooling.

New Mexico sunrise from our tent.

Here are just a few ideas to get you started:

  • Math can be taught through simple counting storybooks in the early years and then evolve into learning how it’s used for tasks like building houses or roller coasters.
  • Science (along with math, art, music, etc) can all be approached from a historical perspective with stories about the people who discovered the concepts or blazed new territory with their work. Students will find out what drove them, what they had to overcome, and how they changed the way the world thought.
  • History is, for my family, the most accessible way to learn through stories. There are so many wonderful and compelling stories. Find the ones that appeal to you and your children and I guarantee you’ll all enjoy learning about the past. I should mention that, in addition to true stories, historical fiction can be an excellent avenue for learning as well.
  • Finally, we come to English, which is all about stories. Yes, there’s grammar, spelling, and punctuation, but those are just a few of the tools your students use to craft good stories. Whether they’re writing a fairy tale or crafting a research paper, they’ll write a beginning, a middle, and an end – a story.

How to Teach Storytelling

Here’s how I have worked on helping my children become better storytellers than me. I encourage them to:

  • Tell jokes. I absolutely loved the ones my children told when they were little, the ones that made absolutely no sense and were still hilarious.
  • Tell me about stories they read or movies they saw. Early attempts at this are usually long-winded. Be patient. They get better.
  • Read. A LOT. Re-read their favorites. Exposure to many different styles of storytelling helps them develop their own storytelling voice.
  • Use stories when they can to make their speeches, writing, and even teaching better. Because your students WILL teach…

I maintain that we are all teachers, no matter our profession. Every single one of us, adult or child, needs to be able to share what we know in the most engaging and effective manner we can.

“Stories are memory aids, instruction manuals and moral compasses.” Aleks Krotoski

Recognize the power of using stories to teach and pass that legacy on to your children.

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