Storytelling can be a very effective Bible teaching method. Even Jesus, the Master Teacher, taught using stories. We must, however, think through the way we tell stories.
Storytelling Mistakes That Lessen the Effectiveness of This Bible Teaching Method
To experience the potential of stories as a Bible teaching method, we should avoid doing the following:
- thinking you don’t have to practice
- failing to carefully construct the beginning sentences of the story to immediately grab attention
- not preparing students for active listening to the story
- telling the story without consideration of adaptations needed to the age and background of your students
- keeping your nose buried as you read and not making eye contact with students
- reading a Bible story from a teacher’s manual rather than having a Bible open in front of you
- telling a story without any expression
- relying on props and not using your own body as a visual aid (Keys to Visualizing the Story Without Visual Aids Worksheet)
- failing to provide a good transition from the story to the next part of the lesson
- focusing on the facts of the story and not getting to the application of the story to their lives
If you’re a leader, observe your teachers telling a story. If any of the above mistakes are present, perhaps it is time to provide teacher training on effective storytelling.
If you’re a teacher, ask someone to observe you and provide you with an honest assessment. Be willing to learn and improve.
i have learnt so many new things regarding story telling. thank you for helping me
You are welcome. I’m glad it was helpful. There’s always more for us to learn.
Hello, can you give me different methods on story telling? thank you and more blessings..
Hello, Monalee. You might find some of the articles on this page helpful: Storytelling Teacher Training Resources