Is it possible to use ASL for storytelling? Yes. Can ASL-based storytelling improve your child’s love of reading as well? Yes. Storytelling is, in general, already a part of the art of sign language communication because when you encounter someone using ASL, you find yourself completely engrossed in what they are trying to let you know. That intriguing aspect of it all is already a story building up.
To encourage your child to read more, let’s expand your understanding of storytelling and show you how to incorporate ASL into your storytelling.
The Art of Storytelling
To better understand the art of storytelling, one must know what a story is. So, what is a story? First of all, let us debunk the idea that a story is just a group of words merged, written, or told for entertainment or information. It goes beyond that. Every story is birthed either from an event or a collection of events (true or imaginary), and it can either be in written, oral form, or other visual forms.
The main purpose of stories is mainly to pass information– and the information from stories isn’t necessarily restricted to entertainment. Stories educate and are used as tools of empathy, symbols of identity, community, and social orientation. Also, people gain self-awareness and expression through stories.
Interestingly, storytelling began with sign language. That is before men began oral communication, they found other ways through signing, pictures, and carvings to tell stories which were basically to relate events– good and bad among themselves. It suffices to say then, that telling stories with ASL should not be too strange to fathom, especially using ASL to get your child more interested in books and stories. Before that, let’s examine what your child gains from storytelling.
Your Child and Storytelling
Have you ever seen a group of extremely young children retelling stories to one another? Do you find yourself wondering when they had the intelligence to do so? Well, children learn to tell stories simply by hearing others around them do the same. They do not just want to be told to read, they want to see you enjoy the art of reading and storytelling so much that they emulate you. Hence, the need for following few reminders of why your child should be encouraged to read more:
Memory Development:
The fact that some kids can tell stories better than others may be related to the number of stories they have heard, read and recounted. The capacity of your child’s brain is increased by storytelling, enabling them to comprehend and process more words than their peers.
Increase in Concentration Level:
Because storytelling involves a giver and a receiver, a child who develops the habit of constantly receiving stories; that is listening to stories, eventually has a greater degree of concentration that they can apply in other learning activities.
As one quality of a good friend is one who listens, improving your child’s listening abilities also helps them develop interpersonal relationships.
Better Imagination:
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Children’s imaginations are strengthened when they are exposed to stories. They can imagine more places beyond the ones they live in daily, the more stories they read and listen to.
Having gained an understanding of storytelling and its significance, let’s look at several ways that ASL might help your child appreciate reading more.
Storytelling with ASL
Engage Your Child with Stories Told Using ASL:
If your child has access to videos of the books they have read, let them see the ones that have been presented in ASL. Such depictions will bring the books they have read to life and inspire them to read more.
Create ASL Story Time At Home:
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Encourage a child who has some experience using ASL to tell you what they are reading in ASL only. They might initially find it absurd and challenging, but with time and repetition, they become accustomed to it and most likely will enjoy it. If there are more people in the house who are conversant with ASL, they can decide to take turns signing stories too. This activity makes storytelling more fun and can cause your child to be eager to read more in preparation for these story times.
ASL Story Games:
Have your child play ASL games with a narrative component rather than just regular ASL games. It makes little difference whether these games are played before or following the hearing or reading of the story. For instance, your ASL puzzles can be about the characters from a book the child has already read or one they have not after which they are then introduced to them.
Rewrite Stories with ASL Pictures:
Encourage your child to make illustrations with ASL signs to tell a story they are familiar with to further their enjoyment of reading. You may be shocked to learn that they are enthusiastic about the concept and are reading more books simply to get the chance to develop their ASL versions of these same books they have already read.
Always Be Involved in the Process:
You are more likely to increase your child’s love of reading when they see you reading, or when you are passionate and participating in these ASL techniques of storytelling. The reason for this is that your involvement will show them that you value the art of reading and storytelling.
Conclusion
There are countless stories in the world, and every day individuals are coming up with new ways to tell them. In addition to telling stories to children as often as possible, adults should encourage them to create their own stories. Therefore, integrating ASL in storytelling via the simple methods we have described will significantly increase your child’s love for reading and stories generally– whether they are the ones telling the stories or the ones listening to them.
Do you want to learn ASL at a pace that suits you? Allow SignBee Academy to help you with my ASL learning courses.
Thumbnail Photo Credit to: Image by storyset on Freepik
