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| Choose a story which the children know well, perhaps
Cinderella. Discuss the story, concentrating on what the characters
thought, why they behaved as they did, how they responded to things that
happened. Talk also about the 'unseen' characters, such as the palace
servants, and the people who lived in the house next to Cinderella's. What
did they think about what happened? Choose a character and ask the children to say what that character knew about the story. For instance, the prince would know nothing (until afterwards) about the way Cinderella was treated by her step-mother and step-sisters, and Buttons wouldn't know what happened at the ball. Ask someone to be the Wicked Stepmother and to tell the story through her eyes. Then choose another character, and another storyteller. Discuss the different versions told by these people who have experienced parts of the same event. Why are the stories different? Ask a child to pretend that s/he really is one of the characters, and ask questions which can't be answered with a 'Yes' or 'No'. "Why did you make Cinderella do all the dirty work?" "What did you (neighbour) think when you saw Cinderella going out in the beautiful coach? Where did you think it had come from?" "Why did you have every dance with Cinderella?" "What do you (Cinderella) think about when you're lying in bed at night, just before you go to sleep?" This activity helps the children to get inside the people in a story, and with a little practice improves their ability to portray their own story characters, whether they are telling a story or writing it. It can also lead to a lot of laughter, which will mean the lessons are actually remembered! © Bob Wilkins 1998
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