Story in Children's Lives: Contributions of The Narrative Mode To Early Childhood Development, Literacy, and Learning

Educating the Young Child 16
Advances in Theory and Research, Implications for Practice
Kelli Jo Kerry-Moran
Juli-Anna Aerila Editors
Story in Children’s Lives:

Contributions of the
Narrative Mode to Early
Childhood Development,
Literacy, and Learning
Educating the Young Child
Advances in Theory and Research, Implications

for Practice
Volume 16
Series Editors
Mary Renck Jalongo, Emerita, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Journal and Book Series Editor Springer, Indiana, PA, USA
Joan P. Isenberg, Emerita, George Mason University, Fairfax, VI, USA
Kin Wai Michael Siu, School of Design, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University,
Hunghom Kowloon, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Editorial Board
Dr. Paul Andrews, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Stockholms Län, Sweden
Dr. Wanda Boyer, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
Dr. Jonathan Brendefur, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA
Dr. Paul Caldarella, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
Dr. Natalie K. Conrad Barnyak, University of Pittsburgh Johnstown,
Portage, PA, USA
Dr. Marjory Ebbeck, University of South Australia, Magill, Australia
Dr. Adam S. Kennedy, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Dr. Jean Kirnan, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ, USA
Dr. Jane D. Lanigan, Washington State University Vancouver,
Vancouver, WA, USA
Dr. Marilyn J. Narey, Narey Educational Consulting, LLC, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Dr. Jyotsna Pattnaik, University of California at Long Beach, Huntington Beach,
Irvine, CA, USA
Dr. D. Ray Reutzel, University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA
Dr. Louise Swiniarski, Salem State University, Salem, MA, USA
Dr. Judit Szente, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA
Dr. Barbara Wasik, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
This academic and scholarly book series will focus on the education and development
of young children from infancy through eight years of age. The series will provide
a synthesis of current theory and research on trends, issues, controversies, and
challenges in the early childhood field and examine implications for practice. One
hallmark of the series will be comprehensive reviews of research on a variety of
topics with particular relevance for early childhood educators worldwide. The
mission of the series is to enrich and enlarge early childhood educators’ knowledge,
enhance their professional development, and reassert the importance of early
childhood education to the international community. The audience for the series
includes college students, teachers of young children, college and university faculty,
and professionals from fields other than education who are unified by their
commitment to the care and education of young children. In many ways, the
proposed series is an outgrowth of the success of Early Childhood Education
Journal which has grown from a quarterly magazine to a respected and international
professional journal that is published six times a year.
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7205

Kelli Jo Kerry-Moran • Juli-Anna Aerila
Editors
Story in Children’s Lives:

Contributions of the
Narrative Mode to Early
Childhood Development,
Literacy, and Learning
Editors
Kelli Jo Kerry-Moran Juli-Anna Aerila
Indiana University of Pennsylvania University of Turku
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA Rauma, Finland
ISSN 2543-0610 ISSN 2543-0629 (electronic)

Educating the Young Child
ISBN 978-3-030-19265-5 ISBN 978-3-030-19266-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

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Preface
Some years ago, teacher scholars living on different continents were introduced to
one another through a mutual acquaintance who thought they might want to write
together about stories. The scholars exchanged email messages, slowly at first, and
then video calls. They talked about stories together and reflected on those conversa-
tions afterwards with friends and colleagues in their home countries and abroad,
they explored stories with children, and they read and wrote about stories and chil-
dren. They observed children playing, making, and living stories. Stories are power-
ful agents in every aspect of young children’s development and context of their
lives. This book is a testament to the might of stories and a call to action for teachers
and families to more fully harness narrative forces to strengthen young children.
Story in the Lives of Children: Contributions of the Narrative Mode is premised
on the power of stories to support children in all contexts of their lives. Much has
been written about the importance of narratives for language development, cogni-
tion, reading readiness, and comprehension; however, less is understood about the
role narratives can play in encouraging growth in other contexts and domains such
as identity, fine and gross motor skills, memory and self-concept, social relation-
ships, or even developing a sense of humor. No single volume can hold the endless
ways narratives contribute to young children’s lives, but this book addresses a gap
by exploring innovative ideas and applications of stories beyond typical school-
based practices. The chapter authors elaborate on the strength of narratives in sup-
porting the whole child in diverse contexts from young children on the autism
spectrum improving their social skills at school to 4–5-year-olds developing histori-
cal thinking to children who are refugees or asylum-seekers dealing with uncer-
tainty and loss.
These varied perspectives on the narrative mode come from a diverse group of
scholars and practitioners. The chapter authors represent accomplished teachers,
researchers, specialists, and teacher educators from several countries and back-
grounds. They include an array of disciplines such as health and physical education,
social work, performing arts, and early childhood education.
Furthermore, this work approaches narrative from an international, cross-
disciplinary, and inclusive perspective. While narrative forms are shared across
v
vi Preface
c ultures, societies and groups use and delineate narratives differently. The book’s
authors define story broadly to include multimodal texts, narrative accounts, move-
ment, storytelling in all its forms, and children’s self-made stories. Scholars and
practitioners increasingly recognize that children engage with stories in a variety of
ways and that what “counts” as story includes far more than book-based
narratives.
Finally, this book is written for generalist teachers, practitioners, and families.
Consequently, the book has a strong practical focus with each chapter, including
research-based recommendations for practices of stories in early childhood settings.
It provides practical recommendations for making curricular and environmental
transformations that are necessary to increase the use of stories among young chil-
dren, educators, and families. The readers do not need to be previously well-versed
in literacy or narrative studies. Story in the Lives of Children: Contributions of the
Narrative Mode will inspire new ideas about narrative modes and effective applica-
tions of story in the varied contexts of young children’s lives.
The Organization of the Book
The narratives nurture and develop children holistically. The chapters in this book
have implications for children’s growth in a variety of contexts and domains. The
book is presented in three sections that highlight how stories can help children’s
voices to be heard, how the diversity of stories can be better recognized and exer-
cised, and how stories can influence children holistically.
The first section, Hearing Children’s Voices, includes chapters that elaborate on
how stories can elevate children’s voices and perspectives. It begins with Mary
Jalongo’s chapter, “Personal Stories: Autobiographical Memory and Young
Children’s Stories of Their Own Lives,” describing the role stories (Chap. 2) play in
developing children’s capacity and skills for memory, especially for shaping memo-
ries of the early years of their lives. Liisa Karlsson, Minna Lähteenmäki, and
Anna-Leena Laastikka, in the next chapter (Chap. 3), describe the use of the story
crafting storytelling method with children who are refugees seeking asylum. These
authors discuss the implementation of the story crafting method and its aims in
helping adults understand children’s feelings and perspectives.
According to Anna-Maija Puroila in “Who Am I: Young Children’s Narrative
Identities” (Chap. 4), children’s identities are shaped in the interaction between
children and their social and cultural environments using performative narratives.
These narratives help children to make sense of their lives and give adults the oppor-
tunity to understand the different identities of each child. In Chap. 5, Eleni Loizou
and Anthia Michaelides focus on children’s humorous stories, which provide a
picture of what is important, meaningful, funny, and enjoyable for children. Humor
and stories are important to children, and they empower children to express them-
selves. Erin Flynn (Chap. 6) describes work with boys who are members of racial
and ethnic minorities that have historically been disenfranchised in the United
Preface vii
States. She presents story circles as tools for bridging gaps between home and
school and for helping children’s voices to be heard by their teachers. Jonna Kangas
and Jyrki Reunamo (Chap. 7) have implemented the action telling method, which
helps children develop social skills as they explore possible reactions and conse-
quences to common social problems in early childhood classrooms.
The emphasis on the second section, Recognizing and Applying Stories, high-
lights how broader conceptions and usage of stories can expand their benefits for
children across content areas, developmental domains, and various contexts of chil-
dren’s lives. The section begins with Marilyn Narey’s chapter, “Understanding
Stories as Multimodal Experiences in Young Children’s Development” (Chap. 8),
on stories as multimodal texts that engage and instruct children through image,
movement, sound, and other modalities. In Chap. 9, Anu Kajamies, Janne Lepola,
and Aino Mattinen continue the theme by demonstrating how scaffolding story
comprehension creates new opportunities for children to achieve higher levels while
increasing motivation.
The chapters written by Laura Arias-Ferrer, Alejandro Egea-Vivancos, and
Linda Levstik (Chap. 10) as well as by Vince Natthapoj, Juli-Anna Aerila, and
Sari Yrjänäinen (Chap. 11) describe how stories enhance the development of areas
other than reading and writing. According to Arias-Ferrar, Egea-Vivancos, and
Levstik, stories can be a format for learning logical and historical thinking, for con-
sidering evidence, and for making inference based on multiple perspectives, includ-
ing prior knowledge or personal experience. Their chapter uses wordless picture
books as tools to develop historical thinking. Natthapoj, Aerila, and Yrjänäinen
describe a framework for stories that go far beyond story problems in teaching
mathematics concepts. The second section ends with a chapter, “Using Stories to
Encourage Optimal Physical Development” (Chap. 12), by Jennifer Butz and
Stanton Hancock who argue that story-based learning can increase motivation and
engagement in physical activity.
The aim of the third section, Holistically Supporting Children’s Wellbeing, is to
highlight how stories permeate all aspects of childhood and create frameworks for
all learning and growing. In Chap. 13, Christan Coogle, Jennifer Ottley, Sloan
Storie, and Anne Larson describe how preschoolers with autism spectrum disor-
der use social narratives as an effective tool for learning social skills. Jaana Pesonen
concentrates in Chap. 14, “Children’s Stories Supporting the Development of
Critical Literacy and Intercultural Sensitivity,” on children’s literature and its pos-
sibilities for empowering children and enhancing their moral development through
increasing cultural awareness and sensitivity. Using stories to teach compassion and
develop empathy is vital from the perspective of coping in an ever more diverse
world.
In Chap. 15, Pirjo Suvilehto, Kelli Jo Kerry-Moran, and Juli-Anna Aerila
focus on using stories in developmental bibliotherapy to help children increase
social and emotional skills. James Bowyer and Ben Munisteri demonstrate in
Chap. 16, “Move Me a Story: Sharing Stories through Creative Movement,” how
children explore and develop stories through movement. Arts-based and holistic
education is the emphasis of Juli-Anna Aerila, Marja-Leena Rönkkö, and Satu
viii Preface
Grönman (Chap. 17), who highlight how stories can be used to make the thoughts
and learning of children visible. In their chapter, they describe a preschooler’s jour-
ney to a museum and how stories are present in many forms and developed through
traditional Finnish craft techniques.
The book ends with Kelli Jo Kerry-Moran’s chapter, “The Tales that Bind us:
The Role of Family Stories in Young Children’s Development” (Chap. 18), about
family stories. Family stories mean sharing and creating the history of family and
community. Everyone’s family has stories, but not all families realize the meaning
of these stories for children’s identity and healthy development.
Acknowledgments
We are indebted to many individuals who contributed their time, expertise, and sup-
port in making this book possible. Mrs. Kimberly Kosky and Mr. Jacob T. Grantz
spent several hours editing and formatting chapters; this project would have been far
more difficult without their help. Dr. Mary Jalongo, who introduced us and sug-
gested a book focusing on stories with young children, mentored us through much
of the proposal writing process, and put us into contact with several of the chapter
authors, was the initiating force behind the book. This book would not have been
written without her support. Dr. Marilyn Narey provided sage advice in preparing
the book proposal and editing chapters. We often drew upon her experience in find-
ing solutions to the many challenges we faced in the project. This book would also
have been impossible without the contributions of the chapter authors. These authors
represent a formidable body of expertise and experience far greater than we could
have provided on our own.
Finally, we are grateful to our friends, our families, and the many children we
have been privileged to associate with over the years. Their love, optimism, and zest
for life inspire us every day.
Pittsburgh, PA, USA Kelli Jo Kerry Moran

Rauma, Finland Juli-Anna Aerila
Contents
1 Introduction: The Strength of Stories�� 1

Kelli Jo Kerry-Moran and Juli-Anna Aerila
Part I Hearing Children’s Voices

2 Personal Stories: Autobiographical Memory
and Young Children’s Stories of Their Own Lives�� 11
Mary Renck Jalongo
3 Increasing Well-Being and Giving Voice Through
Storycrafting to Children Who Are Refugees, Immigrants,
or Asylum Seekers�� 29
Liisa Karlsson, Minna Lähteenmäki, and Anna-Leena Lastikka
4 Who Am I? Shaping Young Children’s Identities Through
Everyday Narratives�� 55
Anna-Maija Puroila
5 Young Children’s Humorous Stories: A Force
for Positive Emotions �� 77
Eleni Loizou and Anthia Michaelides
6 Story Circles: Supporting Boys’ Social and Emotional
Worlds in School�� 97
Erin Elizabeth Flynn
7 Action Telling Method: From Storytelling to Crafting the Future�� 113
Jonna Kangas and Jyrki Reunamo
Part II Recognizing and Applying Stories

8 Understanding Stories as Multimodal Experiences
in Young Children’s Development�� 131
Marilyn J. Narey
ix
x Contents
9 Scaffolding Children’s Narrative Comprehension Skills

in Early Education and Home Settings�� 153
Anu Kajamies, Janne Lepola, and Aino Mattinen
10 Historical Thinking in the Early Years: The Power of Image
and Narrative�� 175
Laura Arias-Ferrer, Alejandro Egea-Vivancos, and Linda S. Levstik
11 Bringing Mathematics Alive Through Stories�� 199
Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai, Juli-Anna Aerila,
and Sari Yrjänäinen
12 Using Stories to Encourage Optimal Physical Development �� 227
Jennifer V. Butz and Stanton A. Hancock
Part III Holistically Supporting Children’s Wellbeing

13 Stories as Social Narratives for Students Identified
with Autism Spectrum Disorder �� 253
Christan Grygas Coogle, Jennifer R. Ottley, Sloan Storie,
and Anne L. Larson
14 Children’s Stories Supporting the Development of Critical
Literacy and Intercultural Understanding�� 275
Jaana Pesonen
15 Supporting Children’s Social and Emotional Growth
Through Developmental Bibliotherapy �� 299
Pirjo Suvilehto, Kelli Jo Kerry-Moran, and Juli-Anna Aerila
16 Move Me a Story: Augmenting Story Genres
with Creative Movement �� 315
James Bowyer and Ben Munisteri
17 Arts-Based Activities and Stories Convey Children’s
Learning Experiences�� 333
Juli-Anna Aerila, Marja-Leena Rönkkö, and Satu Grönman
18 The Tales That Bind Us: Family Stories in Young
Children’s Development�� 355
Chapter 1
Introduction: The Strength of Stories
Kelli Jo Kerry-Moran and Juli-Anna Aerila
1.1 Introduction
There is silence in the children’s group. The teacher is reading William Buckingham’s
picture book Snorgh and the Sailor (2012). The main character is Snorgh, an imagi-
native creature with a body like a bear and an elephant’s trunk, who lives alone and
never has visitors. Snorgh does not like adventures or spending time with anyone.
One stormy evening, a sailor comes to his door and an unlikely friendship is born.
When the sailor leaves, Snorgh discovers that he would like to have his new friend
return and have adventures together. The story ends, and as the teacher closes the
book, she notices Patrick staring at her. Patrick has Asperger syndrome symptoms;
he likes to play by himself and do things in his own way and on his own schedule.
He asks intently, “How is it possible that someone has written a book on me?” All
the children start nodding their heads in agreement. “Yeah, Snorgh is like Patrick!
He wants to be alone and do things on his own, but if you get to know him, he is a
good friend.” The 5-year-olds begin talking about how different they all are and how
important it is to get to know a person; first impressions are often wrong.
Spontaneously, the children hug each other. Over the next week, they create their
own stories based on Buckingham’s book, dramatizing and drawing them.
Buckingham’s story (2012) provided a bridge connecting the tender interactions
between a shy character and a new friend with the children’s personal experiences
in their classroom community. More personally, the story resonated with Patrick,
who could perhaps see himself reflected more clearly through the story, and his
K. J. Kerry-Moran (*)
Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, USA
e-mail: kjkmoran@iup.edu
J.-A. Aerila
University of Turku, Rauma, Finland
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 1

K. J. Kerry-Moran, J.-A. Aerila (eds.), Story in Children’s Lives: Contributions
of the Narrative Mode to Early Childhood Development, Literacy, and
Learning, Educating the Young Child 16,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_1
2 K. J. Kerry-Moran and J.-A. Aerila
classmates who could understand him better through the story’s framework. The
young children explored the complexity of human interactions through this narra-
tive and created a joint context for practicing cooperation, developing empathy, and
reinforcing academic skills. With stories children can explore emotions, weigh
moral choices, come to know themselves, and find ways to make space for each
person’s special needs and gifts. The benefits and opportunities provided by stories
are available to early childhood educators and young children everywhere. Stories
know no boundaries. They require no special resources or equipment; they can
withstand poverty, illness, upheaval and deprivations of every kind. Like love, sto-
ries are one of the few gifts all children can receive, and all adults can give, despite
life’s injustices. This chapter elaborates the premise of this book that stories are
strengthening influences on young children. We begin by defining story and the
forms that it may take, then briefly outline ways in which narratives can support the
whole child across the diverse contexts and developmental domains of the early
years.
1.2 Defining Story and Its Forms
This book builds upon a broad definition of story that acknowledges the diverse
ways in which stories are created, embodied and shared throughout the world. In
addition to the multiple meanings of story, there are many synonyms including: nar-
rative, tale, legend, account, chronicle, anecdote, yarn, review and report. In defin-
ing stories, we consider what constitutes a story, the forms stories may take, and the
purposes stories hold in young children’s lives.
Humans are storied creatures. Bruner (1987, 1990) argued that the desire to
make meaning drives much of human development including language, and lan-
guage and thought are inextricably connected. For children, stories are a natural
platform for using language and expressing thoughts. Furthermore, stories are sites
for joy, reflection, sorrow, and change. We recall, reminisce, fantasize and play in
story both as children and as adults through our entertainment in films, shows, and
books. Some scholars claim that children are able to comprehend concepts and
ideas through stories long before they are able to understand other logical structures
(Bruner 1990; Deitcher 2013) and that children think and learn through storied
forms (Bruner 1987, 1990; Engel 1995). Life itself is a series of stories, and it is
impossible to know whether our lives gives form to the stories or stories give form
to our lives (Rikama 2005).
Universal definitions of story are problematic (Haven 2007). Story is commonly
defined as a causally linked series of real or fictional events. While stories mostly
include causally linked actions, focusing on causation as story’s defining feature
implies that every cause and effect is a story. The result is that “story” loses distinc-
tion from other causally linked events from which people may not imply or infer
meaning. The act of walking down the stairs to arrive at the bottom or eating to
satisfy hunger includes cause and effect but few people would describe these
1 Introduction: The Strength of Stories 3
b ehaviors as stories. However, if walking down the stairs would mean meeting a
long-lost friend or eating would happen after being on a deserted island without
food for weeks, it would be another matter.
Defining story is further complicated when considering young children’s per-
spectives. Engel (1995) asserts that what counts as story for an adult differs for a
young child. Similarly, what counts as a story to a 2-year old may be very different
from what counts for a 5-year-old, so the minimum characteristics of story depend
in part on both the developmental level and the intent of the teller. Young children’s
interaction with story, for example, may be better defined by what it does; stories are
a way of making meaning.
The contemporary research on children’s stories values them as short descrip-
tions of everyday life where events are given meaning. It is also notable that chil-
dren’s stories are not only verbal accounts but often created through play and
embodied in gesture and action (Bamberg and Georgakopoulou 2008). Through
stories, children make their thoughts and feelings visible (Binder 2014) and create
interaction between themselves and their environment. Stories are a part of everyday
life—a way to make connections with others and sense of our lives. One can reflect
upon and structure experience through stories, create common understanding, and
learn tolerance (Short et al. 2018). Stories are a mode of knowing (Gottschall 2012).
Bruner (1990)\ argues that stories are a way of both shaping and perpetuating
culture because children are born with a drive to make meaning. Stories function as
barometers of both what is normal as well as what is exceptional. We subscribe to
Bruner’s definition of stories as, “...a unique sequence of events, mental states, hap-
penings involving human beings as characters or actors” (p. 43). Even in stories that
do not involve humans as characters or actors, human perspectives always play a
prominent role because people make stories.
People in all places and all times have stories. Narratives are an interpretative
lens into who people are as well as a framework through which humans see the
world. Experiences and stories are both culturally based and individually unique.
Furthermore, narrative is a defining feature of language and thought in all its forms
from the verbal to the visual and kinaesthetic. Barthes (1966/1975) writes in his
seminal work on narrative:
Among the vehicles of narrative are articulated language, whether oral or written, pictures,
still or moving, gestures, and an ordered mixture of all those substances; narrative is present
in myth, legend, fables, tales, short stories, epics, history, tragedy, drame [suspense drama],
comedy, pantomime, paintings…stained glass windows, movies, local news, conversation.
Moreover, in this infinite variety of forms, it is present at all times, in all places, in all societ-
ies; indeed narrative starts with the very history of mankind; there is not, there has never
been anywhere, any people without narrative… (p. 237)
In contemporary Western cultures, stories are most commonly associated with

books, but they are also shared through every day storytelling, the visual and per-
forming arts as well as pop culture and media. Stories are meaning-making forms
that encompass more than narrative text; they include images, sounds, movements
and even touch and smell. Narratives are a way of communicating, interpreting,
knowing, and shaping human experience around the world.
1.3 S
upporting Children Across Diverse Contexts
and Domains
Just as stories are present in all cultural groups, they also have the potential to sup-
port the whole child across diverse areas and contexts. Stories are widely recog-
nized for the role they play in helping young children develop language and literacy
(Aerila and Merisuo-Storm 2017; Ayhan et al. 2014; Baker 2013; Flevares and
Schiff 2014; Merisuo-Storm and Aerila 2018). Listening to stories and having con-
versations about stories helps children learn new vocabulary, solve problems,
develop language and new language competencies, and refine their thinking.
Through stories children learn contextualized language while interacting with adults
and decontextualized language individually in the context of telling stories or
explaining their thoughts. Storytelling, story reading, and story play are widely rec-
ognized as experiences that support children’s literacy development in the home
environment, in schools, and childcare settings (Aukerman and Schuldt 2016; Isbell
et al. 2004). Studies confirming the benefits of children’s exposure to stories for
cognitive skills such as reading readiness, comprehension, and logical thought
abound (Allington and Gabriel 2012; Dickinson et al. 2012), but the influence of
narratives surpasses the boundaries of language arts.
Stories can fill pedagogical roles in any subject area by taking advantage of the
dual effect of connecting facts to the images aroused by the stories (Grossman 2001;
Molloy 2003). Narratives enable young children to practice and develop the capac-
ity to think critically through image, movement, and language as they learn logical
thinking and inference skills (Sirén et al. 2018).
Organizational and policy initiatives focusing on the whole child acknowledge
the interrelated nature of development in serving young children and their families
(Slade and Griffith 2013). Children’s development is described in domains includ-
ing cognitive, physical, social, and emotional. The boundaries separating develop-
mental domains are categories created by scholars to facilitate exploring, researching,
and understanding human development; however, individuals, especially young
children, experience development holistically so that each area influences the other
(Dowling 2010). Similarly, young children are influenced by the people, environ-
ments and institutions that touch all areas of their lives including home and family,
school and community as well as governmental policies and regional cultures.
Developmentally appropriate practice calls for meeting young children at their
current level and for most children that includes learning experiences that engage
both mind and body. While adults may consider stories only through the mind, the
young child investigates stories through the whole body. Children are motion; they
engage physically with the world around them using their bodies to experience,
explore, and learn about themselves, others, and the environment. While stories and
physical development may not appear to be directly related, these constructs can
and do influence one another. A young girl may dance as she pretends to be
Cinderella at the ball or concentrate to move her fingers in just the right way as she
ties a string to the bed which has become her make believe pirate ship. She may
extend her arms above her head and walk on the tips of her toes, transforming her-
self into a giant. Each play-based action is inspired by and connected with story as
it influences both mind and body.
One of the great challenges of early childhood is learning how to manage emo-
tions and treat others well. Stories and story characters play an important role in
modelling appropriate social interactions such as being kind, sharing, using good
manners, and being considerate of other people, as well as portraying the downfalls
of negative behaviour including greed and cruelty (Tartar 2009). Following the shar-
ing of William Buckingham’s picture book Snorgh and the Sailor (2012) that was
described at the beginning of this chapter, the classroom of children created their
own stories. One boy described a series of adventures with three unlikely friends:
Snorgh, the sailor, and a ghost. These three banded together and conquered oceans,
the jungle, and monsters before arriving on an island where they celebrated the
Snorgh’s birthday with cake, skating, and handmade presents. Themes of friendship
and uniting to overcome fears permeated the narrative. Stories nurture children by
helping them to recognize different emotions and feel empathy. For instance, the
illustrations of picture books have an important role in helping children to recognize
feelings and sentiments of other people (Nikolajeva and Scott 2013).
Similarly, Stories have always played an important role in children’s spiritual
and moral development. Ancient tales often include moral messages focusing on
how to live a good life. Sacred writings from all the major religions of the world
include stories that are used in the religious education of young children, and story-
telling plays an important role in faith-based settings. Furthermore, many children’s
stories include spiritual and moral themes that encourage children to think of them-
selves and others in connection to a greater purpose or working toward a common
good. Stories can expand children’s views so that they consider moral and socio-
emotional issues beyond their personal experiences and ponder from a safe distance
what choices they would make in similar circumstances (Izumi-Taylor and Scott
2013; Tartar 2009).
Children can be strengthened by stories in a variety of ways and contexts. Stories
permeate all aspects of life from the routines of home and family to advertisements
on billboards and social media sites; children are immersed in a storied culture.
Young children consume stories as they listen to, watch, play, and read narratives
written by others at home, school, and in their communities. Furthermore, they pro-
duce their own stories by playing, telling, drawing, writing, and performing (Cooper
1993; Paley 1990). Developmentally appropriate practice also requires consider-
ation and care for a child’s current circumstances. For many young children, invent-
ing a story is a way to deal with and describe their own thoughts and world-views
(Aerila and Rönkkö 2015; Zepeda 2014) or to manage tragedy and adversity.
Challenges of childhood may at times seem to be of little consequence to adults, but
a young child’s difficulties and sorrows are tremendously consequential in their
lives. For example, a 3-year-old who was fearful of his family’s anticipated move to
a new community took solace in the assurance that his new house was made of
brick. Like the three little pigs in the traditional fairytale, this little boy felt hope that
this new place could keep him safe from life’s wolves. The child grieving the loss of
a parent, struggling to make friends, or hoping to be welcomed into a new country
as a refuge can be strengthened through the power of narrative.
Telling stories of one’s own is important for children and for those individuals
close to them. The United Nations’ declaration of Rights of the Child emphasizes
children’s rights to reach their full potential. Through reading and hearing real-life
and fictional stories, children can direct their own life story (Solomon et al. 2001),
and there is power in learning through story and telling one’s own story. When chil-
dren tell stories themselves, they can be heard the way they want to be heard; chil-
dren choose the words, drawings, and acts they want to use to express themselves
(Hohti and Karlsson 2013; Karlsson 2003). Children’s self-created stories can help
adults better understand and make children’s thinking and knowledge visible to
themselves and others (Aerila et al. 2016; Campbell 2001). Narratives may even be
a source of protection for young children unable to articulate their fears directly or
needing safe mental spaces to nurture their hopes and dreams. Educators and fami-
lies can work together to help children create stories that positively influence them
and are a source of happiness and strength in their lives. A thoughtfully shared story
can help a child better understand herself. Like Patrick in the introductory narrative,
stories can help us realize that we are not alone. This knowledge can be a great
comfort to a child.
1.4 Conclusion
As children encounter stories, they gain personal insights, but they also confront
new situations, feelings, and people that may be very different from those within
their immediate circle of acquaintances. Stories and storytelling are fundamental
across peoples and cultures so that narratives can also be a source of comfort and
familiarity. Most significant stories have been passed on from generation to genera-
tion, and children and their families create their own narratives as they live their
lives together. Stories are powerful forces in helping young children grow and
develop as they gain new insights into self and society. Families, teachers, and all
adults who care for young children can bolster the ongoing cycle of generations of
children learning and growing through the narrative domains if they will harness the
power of stories to enrich children’s lives. As our introductory story shows, there is
a story for everyone. Finding one’s own story, whether fictional or true, helps to
make one whole.
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Part I
Hearing Children’s Voices
Chapter 2
Personal Stories: Autobiographical
Memory and Young Children’s Stories
of Their Own Lives
Mary Renck Jalongo
2.1 Introduction
One of the fundamental principles of child development is that experiences in early

childhood affect later development in profound ways. The famous designer Frank
Lloyd Wright, credited a set of highly polished wooden blocks that he was given
while a young boy with sparking his interest in architecture. Celebrated picture
book author/artist Lois Ehlert, known for her inventive collage illustrations, linked
her career choice to a big table in the basement of her childhood home that was
stocked with art materials and found objects; it became her first workshop. Jane
Goodall—researcher, humane educator and animal activist—recounted that she dug
up earthworms as a child and placed them indoors on her bed sheets. Rather than
scolding, her mother calmly stated that the worms would die without the earth. Each
of these famous adults considered seemingly ordinary events from early childhood
to be highly influential, not only on their behavior as children but also on their life
course. In keeping with the findings of longitudinal research, their memories from
childhood also remained relatively stable (Josselson 2000). All of them were fortu-
nate to have adults in their lives who respected and encouraged rather than criticized
and judged. Notable to the thesis of this chapter is the fact that, in each case, a
memory from childhood endured and was regarded as significant. Ultimately, those
reminiscences from early childhood became part of the stories of their lives.
M. R. Jalongo (*)
e-mail: mjalongo@comcast.net

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_2
12 M. R. Jalongo
2.2 D
efinitions: Memory, Autobiographical Memory,
and Personal Narrative
At the simplest level, a memory is literal, short-term recall, such as a child remem-
bering what he ate for breakfast that day or a baby tooth that fell out recently.
Memories are not automatic; children actually learn how to remember, usually
through interactions with parents and teachers (Ornstein et al. 2013). Just as meta-
cognition is commonly conceptualized as thinking about one’s own thought pro-
cesses, there is also a process referred to as metamemory, or thinking about how our
memory works and what we can do to improve memory (Friedman 2007). For
example, most preschoolers can explain some of the strategies they use to remember
something, such as associating an image with a word or spontaneously rehearsing
(Visu-Petra et al. 2008). Metamemory strategies often are directly taught to children
as well, such as spelling rules (“i before e except after c”) or mnemonic devices as
in the sentence “Every good boy does fine” to remember the notes in the musical
scale of EGBDF. Children also learn to use lists and notes to boost memories (Fritz
et al. 2010).
In everyday conversations, we often use the word “memories” to refer to some-
thing more than short-term recall. We reflect on our experiences, identify the most
significant ones and construct them into a story; we also interpret and reinterpret
these memories over time. In other words, memories are more than bits of stored
and retrieved information; they are formed (Schneider 2000). During an interview
for an HBO Documentary, neurologist Dr. Joseph Giacino from the Center for Head
Injuries at JFK medical center explained, “Memory formation is not instantaneous;
it takes time for a memory to form.” Both for children and for adults, memories tend
to be “forgotten gradually, recovered by reminders and modified by new informa-
tion that overlaps with old” (Rovee-Collier and Hayne 2000, p. 279). Furthermore,
memories are inextricably linked to our sense of self because they capture obstacles,
motives, lessons learned, fears, breakthroughs, disappointments, foibles, accom-
plishments, transformations, and dreams. One way to better appreciate the value of
human beings’ memories is through study of the effects of medical conditions that
damage memories such as amnesia, head trauma, stroke, or dementia (Baddeley
et al. 2014). When people lose access to their reservoir of past experiences, it has a
profound and negative influence on their sense of self, relationships with others, and
capacity to enjoy life.
The focus in this chapter will be on one particular category of memory, episodic
memory, as it pertains to the recollection of autobiographical events over time. The
other broad category of memory is referred to as semantic memory; it refers to recall
of factual information. An example of the distinction between them is illustrated by
responses to two questions. “When did the towers at the World Trade Center fall?”
would be answered by a fact drawn from semantic memory (September 11th). In
contrast, “Where were you when the towers fell on 9/11?” typically would be
answered with an account of an experience—a story—drawn from episodic mem-
ory. Although the two types of memory obviously interact (Haslam et al. 2011),
2 Personal Stories: Autobiographical Memory and Young Children’s Stories of Their… 13
episodic memory generally is regarded as a higher level cognitive process because

it goes beyond simple recall. It also is influenced by visual and auditory imagery,
narrative coherence, and the teller’s mental state (Rubin et al. 2003). To illustrate, a
child care provider can easily remember if a student was absent or what the snack
was that day; however, if a child on the autism spectrum responded to a peer in a
positive way (and vice versa), that experience is treated differently because it has
personal significance for the teacher. If it was perceived as a defining moment for
that child, the event is apt to be analyzed more thoughtfully. The teacher might then
consider why this happened at that time, how best to recreate the right conditions,
ways to support further growth, and so forth.
Furthermore, there may be a bidirectional relationship between episodic self-
knowledge and personal identity. One research team stated this as: “To be is to know
and therefore to remember; to remember is to know and therefore to be” (Haslam et al.
2011 p. 199). Equally important to understanding memory processes is that the expe-
rience will become part of the teacher’s professional storehouse of cases that can be
accessed later to guide practice. Then, because it is personal life experience, it is
incorporated into the educator’s autobiographical memory—which no doubt also
includes memories experienced in school a child herself or himself (Walls et al. 2001).
Autobiographical memories (AM) “are of specific events or experiences that are
infused with a sense of personal involvement and ownership”; they are modulated
by individual differences, develop within a social and cultural context, and shape
identity and relationships over time (Bauer and Fivush 2010 p. 303). Perhaps one
reason that autobiographical memory has captivated the imagination of researchers
from many fields is that it “constitutes a major crossroads in human cognition where
considerations relating to the self, emotion, goals and personal meanings all inter-
sect” (Conway and Rubin 1993, p. 103). When we recall experiences from our per-
sonal past and build them into the stories of our lives, this is autobiographical
memory at work (Fivush 2011).
Increasingly, AM is being studied through neuroimaging technology that reveals
which regions of the brain are activated by various types of memories (Slotnick
2017). Generally speaking, the presence of activities in multiple areas of the brain
is associated with more complex tasks and higher level cognitive processing.
Whereas brain activity for factual information of semantic memory often is local-
ized in the frontal lobes of the left hemisphere, brain activity for episodic memory
activates areas in the right hemisphere as well (Nelson and Fivush 2004). In addi-
tion, there are some key neurological developmental achievements during early
childhood that affect young children’s memory formation. The medial brain struc-
tures that are believed to be critical to memory, for example, typically form near the
end of the 1st year while the frontal lobes that evidently play a role in the retrieval
of semantic and episodic memory may not be fully formed until age 5 or 6 (Nelson
2003a; Nelson and Fivush 2004).
What is particularly important for parents/families and educators is the fact that
the early childhood years are when AM emerges. In their extensive review of the
literature, Nelson and Fivush (2004) identify as major influences on AM formation
the child’s ability to remember, skill in language and narrative, opportunities to
14 M. R. Jalongo
interact with responsive adults about memories, understanding of temporal con-

cepts, and understanding of self and others. The word “narrative” is used to describe
event-structured material, or stories (Engle 1995). “Personal narratives are coher-
ent, followable accounts of perceived past experience. Part of this experience of
follow-ing involves a recontextualization of the narrative imagery and events in
terms of the listener’s own life experience. In this sense personal narratives can
generate experiential resources for the listener—resources that may be ‘thought
with’ and ‘thought through’ in the struggle to make sense of the world” (Braid 1996,
p. 6). Personal narratives are a compilation of personally significant experiences in
story form that, when considered collectively, form a life script (Bohn and Berntsen
2013; Scherman et al. 2017).
From among all of the experiences amassed by children, they select the ones that
were most significant to them and decide which memories endure (Morris et al.
2010). At the same time that parents may be attempting to “make memories”—for
example, planning a dream vacation—children are deciding for themselves what
affected them the most. Just as an expensive toy may be set aside while the child
chooses instead to play with the empty box, wrapping paper and ribbon, humble
events can be chosen by a child as the focus of a personal narrative even if adults
assume that other experiences are much more memorable and influential. When it
comes to memory formation, the individual decides whether to discard or maintain
the memory, link it with other experiences, or re-evaluate perspectives on it. The
major way of solidifying memories is to fashion them into a narrative—a story—
however, young children are just acquiring the skill set necessary to accomplish
this. The next section explains how the process of converting an experience into an
event-structured account, or narrative, unfolds.
2.3 T
he Development of Narrative Abilities During Early
Childhood
Where young children are concerned, a major influence on memory formation is

developmental level. Clearly, the capacity of young children to form memories is
related to brain development; there are age-related changes in encoding, retention,
and retrieval of memories (Richmond and Nelson 2007). The ability to share a per-
sonal narrative relies on keeping various ideas in mind; this capacity to store and
retrieve information in the mental workspace of the brain is called working memory.
For typically developing children, working memory expands rapidly as they mature;
for children with attentional disorders or language processing difficulties, the pro-
gression is slower (Bayliss et al. 2005; Kasper et al. 2012; Wolfe and Woodwyk
2010). Producing an event-structured account of a personal experience demands the
coordination of many different language skills (Massey 2013; Meier 2009). In
Applebee’s (1978) classic study of narrative development, he identified four
abilities that children develop, first when telling stories and later, when composing
written narratives. These abilities are:
• Centering—arriving at a purpose for recounting the story and a unifying feature
of the narrative. As children mature and begin writing, this relates to establishing
a theme for a story.
• Chaining—linking events together in a logical sequence. As children become
writers of stories, this becomes the plot.
• Informing—providing sufficient background information for the listener or
reader to understand the story. As children mature into writers of stories, this
relates to audience awareness.
• Elaborating—supplying adequate details about the experience to sustain the lis-
tener’s/reader’s interest. When composing stories, elaboration relates to the writ-
er’s style (Applebee 1978; Bliss and McCabe 2008; Jalongo 2015).
By the time children reach the age of 3–4 years, most begin to tell stories; usu-
ally, these stories are about home and family. A child’s autobiographical story
reveals something about self-concept, higher-level cognitive processes, perspectives
on tasks, and inferences about the listeners (Engle 1995; Nelson 2007; Nelson et al.
2001). It is typical for 3 and 4 year olds to focus primarily on who and what in their
stories—young preschoolers’ narratives are often a list of never ending actions (and
then…and then…). With ample opportunities to share stories and discuss them,
many 5 year olds begin to incorporate some elements of the literary styles of their
families and cultures into their personal narratives. They may do such things as giv-
ing a title to the story, using the past tense of verbs, using their voices expressively,
indicating the beginning (“You know what?”) and conclusion (“The End”), and
incorporating elements of surprise and suspense. Around 6 years of age, thoughts,
intentions, and feelings about the event are apt to be included as children gain more
experience relating personal narratives. Kindergarten and early primary-grade chil-
dren often have a unifying theme in their narratives that connects events and attempts
to explain when and why (Stadler and Ward 2005). Still, the story may simply stop
without any feeling of conclusion or “wrapping up.” For many elementary school
age children, there is more structure to personal narratives. Older children’s per-
sonal narratives tend to have a clearer sequence (chaining) as well as unifying theme
(centering) and a definite conclusion. Often, it is during the elementary years that
children begin to experiment with writing dialogue and incorporating it into their
stories.
In addition to these general narrative abilities there is a developmental sequence
in formulating personal narratives (Nelson 2003a; Nelson and Fivush 2004). This
sequence and ways to support the child’s growth in formulating personal narratives
are contained in Table 2.1.
To summarize, “Narrative development depends on the acquisition of complex
linguistic constructions that allow the expression of time, perspective, mental states,
emotions, motivations, plans, and problems” (Nelson and Fivush 2004, p. 495).
16 M. R. Jalongo
Table 2.1 Developmental sequence of personal narrative in young children

Levels (Nelson
2003a) Typical age Description of behavior Ways to support growth
Cognitive 1.5–2 years Toddlers begin to recognize Have child look into a
understanding of themselves in a mirror image; the mirror and change
self way this is tested is to surreptitiouslysomething (e.g., put on a
make a little smudge on the child’s hat)
forehead and see if, when the child Do a play-by-play
looks in the mirror, he or she touches narration of common
that place on the body (Lewis and experiences (e.g.,
Brooks-Gunn 1979)... Rituals (e.g., feeding, bath time)
getting ready for bed, having a snack) Recap a familiar event
are remembered as “scripts” (see sequence (e.g., getting
Nelson and Fivush 2004). At about ready for bed)
18 months, children tend to refer to
“Quiz” the child about
the past briefly (e.g., “all gone!”)
routines using concrete
objects (e.g., place a cup
and spoon on the table
and ask, “What is this
for?” “What will you
do?”)
Representational 2–3 years Children at this age still may not Play with Instagram,
self make the connection between making changes to the
themselves and representations of child’s appearance
themselves (e.g., photo, video). Talk about past
Children are reliant on adults to (“Remember when
elaborate on the past and collaborate we...”), present (“Now
with them. If a child recalls, “kitty we are…”, and future
run”, the parent might say, “Yes, events (e.g., “We
when you visited your Aunt, her kitty will…”)
ran and hid under the bed.” Retaining Make a memory book of
a memory over time often relies on an event using digital
adults who jointly experienced and photos and online
discussed the event with the child, yet resources
respected the child’s autonomy.
Affirmations (“Yes, the snow was
really deep.”) support them in
becoming more competent narrators
(continued)
Table 2.1 (continued)
Levels (Nelson
2003a) Typical age Description of behavior Ways to support growth
Narrative 3–5 years Children begin to establish a self, Elaborate on
self- distinguished from others, that descriptions of past,
understanding includes past, present, and future. present, and future
They begin to construct a unique life events (e.g., “Yes, you
story but reminiscing remains a visited grandma, but
cognitive challenge. Still, they may what did you do
not be able to construct a forward or together?”)
backward sequence from a group of Share family stories and
unorganized photos. They may not look at photos together
yet fully understand terminology (“When I was little, we
such as “yesterday” or “tomorrow” used to…”)
and sometimes rely on nominal days, Link experiences with
such as “first day at child care”. They language—poems,
begin to talk about events from the finger plays, songs,
more distant past (e.g., “When I was picture books
three, I had a birthday party and a
clown came. She had a hedgehog.”)
Around 4.5, they often realize that
others may remember the same
incident very differently and that
memories can be false
Cultural 5 and up Children of this age usually have a Encourage children to
self- concept of themselves that is include who, what,
understanding continuous and exists in the past, when, where, and why
present, and future. Many 5- and in accounts of events
6-year–olds produce more detailed Ask the child to depict
accounts of past experiences and are experiences in the
less reliant on adults to suggest a past family, neighborhood,
event or scaffold it. Older children and larger community
often supply background information using a presentation
that assists listeners in understanding software such as
the story. They tend to evaluate the VoiceThread. Invite
event and describe their internal family members to
emotional states as well. The child’s respond to the child’s
own narrative style exerts an work
influence on how adults interact with Share picture books that
them. The hallmark of this stage is depict diversity and
achieved when children integrate discuss what is universal
their own life story within a cultural and what is unique
framework about others’ stories
Sources: Cleveland and Reese (2005), Nelson (2003a), Nelson and Fivush (2004) and Larkina and
Bauer (2010)
18 M. R. Jalongo
2.4 E
vidence-Based Recommendations on Supporting
Children’s Personal Narratives
Four strands gleaned from the research related to autobiographical memory are
described below. Each is followed by implications for early childhood educators.
2.4.1 F
inding 1: Autobiographical Memory Is Influenced
by Family, Language, Gender, Culture, and Religion
Autobiographical memory is affected by the characteristics of the people involved

and the specific context, so much so that an event viewed positively by one family
might be viewed negatively by another family. Even within the same family, a child
may come away with an indelible, positive memory from an experience while a
sibling interprets the incident in a completely different way, recalls it as a negative,
thinks it was unimportant, or perhaps does not remember it all. Indeed, some of the
most contentious issues within families are rooted in these disparate perceptions.
With respect to gender, there is some evidence that parents (usually, mothers)
tend to engage in more discussions of the past with girls than boys (Kingo et al.
2013). A review of the literature concluded that, in general, adult women have lon-
ger, more detailed, and more emotionally laden autobiographical memories of
childhood and adult experiences than men (Fivush and Buckner 2003). This may be
attributable to different maternal styles of reminiscing with daughters and sons as
well as the influence of sex stereotypes within a culture. AM is affected by culture
and language (Fivush and Nelson 2004; Peterson et al. 2009). As one research team
phrased it, memories can result in children feeling as though they are “fitting in” as
well as “sticking out” (Schröder et al. 2012).
Some ethnic and cultural groups have strong oral storytelling traditions (Gardner-
Neblett et al. 2011) and this can influence a child’s AM style. To illustrate, European
Americans tend to tell stories with a single topic focus and a definite beginning,
middle, and end. The stories of African American children tend to include more than
one topic, flow freely from one event to the next, and emphasize personal meaning
and engagement (Bliss and McCabe 2008; Bloome et al. 2001). Unfortunately, their
narrative abilities may be judged as deficient by adults with different assumptions
about what constitutes a “good” story (Cheatham and Jimenez-Silva 2012). We
know that “Experience with different forms of narrative, in play, in stories and espe-
cially in talk about personal episodes, provides a model for organizing one’s own
episodic memories into the kind of narrative that emphasizes personhood, motiva-
tions, goals, outcomes, emotions and values” (Nelson and Fivush 2004, p. 490).
2.4.1.1 Implications for Practice
One way of demonstrating respect for other cultures is to include distinctive com-
munity storytelling styles in the curriculum (Hare 2012; Lotherington et al. 2008;
McKeough et al. 2008; Meesook 2003; Park and King 2003; Riojas-Cortez et al.
2003). When children experience a variety of approaches to composing narratives,
this expands their repertoire of storytelling skills. For older students, have them
describe an important skill that they learned outside of school and create a “How I
learned to…” book all about it. In a rural community, for example, children chose
topics such as “raise chickens,” “grow a vegetable garden,” and “get an animal ready
to show at the fair”—all things that were valued within their community.
Dramatizing children’s accounts of a personal experience—dictated or written—
for the class is a way of celebrating diversity. This experience builds young chil-
dren’s confidence as speakers, extends vocabulary, teaches the skills of
self-regulation, builds a sense of community in the classroom, and motivates chil-
dren to share. Teachers can use three strategies to support memory of a shared expe-
rience in diverse groups of students. If, for example, a service dog visits the school
and children recall the experience, a teacher can: (1) restate/repeat the child’s obser-
vation (“Yes, the dog did know how to turn the lights off and on.”), (2) confirm a fact
(“You’re right, I had forgotten that they said his sister is a service dog too.”), or (3)
evaluate (“You mentioned the dog’s vest and I noticed it in many of your drawings.
Now you have a way to recognize service dogs.”).
2.4.2 F
inding 2: Autobiographical Memory Is Subject
to Revision and Shaped by Social Interaction
Research into the earliest memories that people have from childhood suggests that
comparatively few people recall events before age 3.5 and, for some people, the
earliest childhood memory is from later childhood—about 6.5 years (Wang and
Peterson 2014; Wells et al. 2014).
The paucity of these memories is commonly referred to as infantile or childhood
amnesia (Bauer 2008). Although it is difficult to sort out what an adult truly remem-
bers versus their “second hand” recollections of a family story about them that was
repeated frequently, it does appear that discussing events with family members
solidifies memories. In a study of 21 mother-child dyads when children were 30, 36,
and 42 months of age, events that were jointly handled and jointly discussed were
more likely to be committed to the young child’s memory 1 week and 3 weeks later
(Haden et al. 2001). In retrospective studies with adults, firsthand memories typi-
cally are: richer in sensory detail (e.g., visual, smell, touch); more pictorial than
verbal; related from the viewer’s point of view; include spatial qualities, feelings,
and thoughts; and are rated higher, both in terms of completeness and the remem-
berer’s confidence in the accuracy of the recollection (Crawley and Eacott 2006).
20 M. R. Jalongo
One consistent finding in the research is that young children develop autobio-
graphical memory through discussing personally significant events. When there is
no one with whom to share family stories, autobiographical memory does not
develop fully because children’s recollections are not reinforced (Nelson 1999,
2007). If family conversations are limited to the literal, “here and now”, then chil-
dren’s narrative abilities may not have the opportunity to develop fully. Conversely,
AM can be boosted by elaborating on accounts of experience and several studies
have concluded that, with training in a more elaborative style of interaction, mothers
were able to exert a positive effect on the number and complexity of their young
children’s personal narratives (Boland et al. 2003; Haden et al. 2009; Reese and
Newcombe 2007).
Recounting past experiences occurs frequently during social interactions—often
multiple times within an hour (Fivush and Haden 2013). The child’s efforts at tempo-
ral ordering of events into a sequence solidify the experience into a memory (Pathman
et al. 2013). That is because “Reminiscing, talking about the past with others, is a
critical part of our autobiographical memory” (Reese and Farrant 2003, p. 29).
Recent perspectives on human consciousness suggest that one defining charac-
teristic of the human brain is the search for patterns (Nunez 2016). As applied to
AM and personal narratives, this need to impose order on experiences is reflected in
the search for coherence amongst the totality of an individual’s life experiences
(Reese et al. 2011). For example, if a family story exists about a person who behaved
in an unusual manner as a child but later gained positive recognition, that childhood
behavior could be interpreted as a foreshadowing of genius. Conversely, if a fre-
quently recounted incident from childhood depicted odd behavior and that individ-
ual committed heinous crimes as an adult, the unusual behavior from early life
might be viewed as a warning sign that went unheeded. In either case, the early
childhood personal narratives are woven into the fabric of a life story.
When sharing picture books with very young children, try using the pictures as the
basis for interaction with a child and relate the story to the child’s experiences.
Make it an “all about you” story by commenting, for instance, “Look, they’re going
to the grocery story. You go to the grocery store. What do you do there?” When
discussing events, make comments and ask questions that encourage greater elabo-
ration. If, for example, a child says, “Look, these are my new shoes my grandma got
for me,” saying something such as, “Wow, they are really nice!” “What do you like
best about them?” “Did you try them on first?” “Are they comfortable?” will encour-
age the child to add details to the story. After children have made numerous journal
entries describing personal experiences, invite them to go back and choose a favor-
ite one, elaborate on it, and develop it into a picture book. Evidently, when teachers
and parents prepare children for an event to be experienced in the future, children
are more likely to recall it later and to do so in richer detail. So, previewing a book,
building prior knowledge about a video, or learning about a museum before visiting
one aids memory formation.
2.4.3 F
inding 3: Autobiographical Memory Is Central to Self-
Concept and Foundational to Mental Health
As Wilson and Ross (2003) explain, AM “plays an important role in the construc-
tion of personal identity…Individuals’ current self-views, beliefs, and goals influ-
ence their recollections and appraisals of former selves. In turn, people’s current
self-views are influenced by what they remember about their personal past, as well
as how they recall earlier selves and episodes” (p. 137). Across cultures, there does
seem to be a preference for remembering positive life experiences as opposed to
negative ones (Peterson et al. 2013; Scherman et al. 2015). Autobiographical mem-
ory is fundamental to a concept of self (Demiray and Bluck 2011; Watson and
Bernstsen 2015); this can best be illustrated by the fact that, when it deteriorates, it
undermines self-respect, as in the case of patients with advanced Alzheimer’s dis-
ease (Merriam 1980). AM serves self, directive, and social functions (Harris et al.
2014). “What we remember and how it affects us, socially and emotionally, has
major consequences for overall psychological well-being (Watson and Bernstsen
2015). For example, memories of traumatic experiences can have profound implica-
tions for mental health, as in the case of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Memories of traumatic events tend to differ from other types of reminiscing in
important ways—for example, they are unintentionally retrieved, encapsulate
themes of threat, are intrusive, and are fleeting fragments rather than complete sto-
ries (Hackerman and Holmes 2004). One team of researchers argues that “Personal
narratives are integral to autobiographical memory and to identity, with coherent
personal narratives being linked to positive developmental outcomes across the
lifespan” (Reese et al. 2011).
Based on over 30 years of research, there is also evidence that therapies that
target memory disturbances are a route to improving psychological well-being
(Watson and Bernstsen 2015). Likewise, the current emphasis on positive psychol-
ogy that emphasizes optimal experience relies on autobiographical memory and
invites people to recall peak experiences in life. Studies suggest that categories such
as interpersonal joy and external achievements tend to predominate in these remi-
niscences, even when gathered across different cultural groups (Ho et al. 2012).
It is important to use different modalities to elicit children’s autobiographical mem-

ories (see Narey 2017). Some children may rely more on drawings and captions
dictated and transcribed by a teacher while others may have the written composition
skills to write and illustrate an original picture book about a significant life experi-
ence. Some type of regular drawing/writing in journals is recommended from pre-
school up through the primary grades. It is also important to encourage families to
share their traditions and create family stories about them, so incorporate some
suggestions on doing that in newsletters sent home. Inviting students to talk or write
22 M. R. Jalongo
about a peak experience recalled from childhood, a time when they felt particularly
happy, is an activity that builds both sense of self and language skills. One activity
that results in a personal narrative begins by inviting the family to take a photo of a
seemingly ordinary item that they treasure. After discussing it with various family
members, the child tells the treasured object’s story and the photos and stories can
be put on display for others to appreciate. Fox’s (1989) picture book, Wilfrid Gordon
MacDonald Partridge is an excellent way to introduce the concept of an object that
stirs memory.
Another route to stimulating autobiographical memory is to interview a child
about an experience and then have the child transform the transcript into a story. For
children with special needs, such as those on the autism spectrum, the practice of
using social stories to teach fundamental interaction skills is gaining acceptance
(see Chap. 13). Likewise, positive approaches to promoting self-regulation fre-
quently include class meetings and discussions of events that matter to the class-
room community.
2.4.4 F
inding 4: Language Development, Prior Knowledge,
and Vocabulary Affect Personal Narratives
Language as a tool to “encode and access” memories (Nelson 2003a, p. 12).
Memories can be elicited by the written and oral narratives produced by others, such
as when one person shares a personal account and another responds with a story of
their own or when reading about a person’s life causes the individual to recall and
re-examine an event from their own. As novelist Henry James once noted, “Stories
happen to those who know how to tell them,” and young children are just learning
how to do this.
Children’s knowledge about the materials or events being remembered are very
influential; so much so that what the child already knows may determine what gets
into memory (Haden 2014). It is difficult for a child to share an autobiographical
memory when he or she literally does not “have the words” to relate the event, so
vocabulary is important. Particularly for children with language delays/disorders or
who are speaking or writing in a language other than their first, relating a personally
significant event can be challenging. There is some research to suggest that, when a
memory task is more concrete and “child friendly,” children perform better. For
example, when 3 year olds were provided with a timeline consisting of photos of
them at 1 and 2 years old and 5 year olds were supplied with photos of them at 1, 2,
3, and 4 years of age, preschoolers of both ages were better able to produce and
describe an episodic memory and a possible future action (episodic foresight)
(Hayne et al. 2011).
Particularly for very young children, those who are learning the language of instruc-
tion, or those with language delays/disorders, it is important to make experiences
concrete. Collaborative storytelling—for instance, starting with a stuffed toy and
initiating a story (“Once there was a little kitten who got lost...”) and then passing to
a child in succession with the words, “and then,” is a way to build narrative skills in
children (Rainville and Gordh 2016). Teachers who work to build prior knowledge
can do a better job of giving every child a chance to participate and succeed. During
a summer reading support program for children, there was talk of going camping
but all children had not had this experience. The teacher used real objects while tell-
ing a story about a camping trip, created a learning center set up like a campsite with
a tent, “campfire”, and even real animals from a taxidermist; had children take a
virtual camping trip online, and, as a culminating activity, parked her camper on the
school property so that children could go on a simulated camping trip. Together,
they built a “word wall” with words and pictures the students gathered and later
used to talk and write about camping experiences.
Teachers who build children’s prior knowledge, extend vocabulary, and provide
a range of examples in different formats (e.g., real objects, photographs, drawings,
words) are, in effect, “stocking the child’s storytelling pantry” with the ingredients
they need to create more detailed and interesting stories. Provide practice with
event-structured materials, such as wordless books or captioned video in a child’s
first language. Have children experiment with graphic organizers that enable them
to visualize the sequence of their personal narrative. Revisit events, for example,
creating a documentation panel illustrated with digital photographs to recount an
experience such as a class project or field trip. The iMovie program on the iPad is
another way to capture a shared experience. Children might use digital photos and
Microsoft Photo Story to tell about their personal experience or, they could use the
slide show feature of Facebook and write captions to produce an autobiographical
memory.
2.5 Conclusion
Formulating memories, transforming them into stories, adding details, and sharing
them with others is a commonplace, yet essential part of life. Some researchers have
argued that one of the defining characteristics of human beings is their unique
capacity to process, learn from, and generate stories; as applied to autobiography,
humans may be the only ones capable of “mental time travel” that extends beyond
now to include past and future (Tulving 2002 2005). It has been hypothesized ani-
mals of many types are capable of recall of episodes, their recollections are more
like snapshots while the memories of most people are more like a live action movie
(Grandin and Johnson 2006).
24 M. R. Jalongo
Autobiographical memory can be conceptualized as a record of a series of selves

across time that then can become an autobiography (Bluck 2003). Nelson (2003b)
contends that autobiographical memory has increased in importance because it
serves cognitive, personal and social purposes; in other words, children not only
have a life but also need to present that life effectively to others.
For early childhood educators, narratives are an undeniably powerful tool for
fostering learning. Story is the heart of literacy learning (Cunningham 2015) but
personal narratives go beyond academics; they also socialize children about ways to
deal with emotions and interact with others (Bluck 2003). In addition, early child-
hood educators use autobiographical memory and narratives as a way to make a
concept memorable for children as well as a tool to improve teaching practice.
Entire college-level courses and accompanying textbooks are devoted to memory
as a field of study in cognitive psychology (Schwartz 2017). Advances in neurosci-
ence and technology have energized investigations of human memory into a bur-
geoning field of inquiry (Eichenbaum 2011). As described in this review, the
research on memory/autobiographical memory and narratives/personal narratives is
expansive and has clear implications, both for parents/families and for teachers. The
personal narratives that we construct during childhood influence the present and
direct the course of the future life script as well. Ultimately, personal narratives mat-
ter because “the world we know is the world we make in words, and all we have
after years of work and struggle is the story” (Rouse 1978, p. 187).
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Chapter 3
Increasing Well-Being and Giving Voice
Through Storycrafting to Children Who
Are Refugees, Immigrants, or Asylum
Seekers
Liisa Karlsson, Minna Lähteenmäki, and Anna-Leena Lastikka
3.1 Introduction
Thinking, why he is not at home. Why am I cast out from home? Thinking, why am I
deported? “I have done nothing bad, so that I would have to stay away from home.”
Thinking, why have I transformed into a doll! “Oh, how lovely that I am a doll now.” ...
There is a wound in the other hand. It is bleeding, because he fell and then he cried. First,
he thought that he doesn’t have to cry, because mother will be angry. But then he thought
that yes, he has to cry. There is a wound also in the foot... I was joking, when I said it is a
boy. It is a girl. Her name is Naazi. The red heart is the mother of the blue heart. (Naazi,
4 years, Iranian girl, told in Farsi and illustrated in Fig. 3.1.)
Naazi is a 4-year-old child, who has fled with her parents from Kosovo to a
reception center in Finland. She is the only child in the family, and they have awaited
the decision on refuge status for 7 months. Naazi’s story has a powerful effect on a
listener familiar with Naazi’s personal story, amplifying the levels of anxiety
induced in the listener. Her story demands that the listener attends to it carefully and
enquires after Naazi’s welfare. It also raises the following questions: is Naazi’s story
exceptional; what kinds of stories do children who are asylum seeking tell in gen-
eral; to what extent do such narratives refer to the child’s well-being and experience
of danger; and who in their stories is subject to the dangers described? Furthermore,
Naazi’s story brings up the question that if children who are asylum seeking and
other children in difficult living conditions have a “wounded doll” deep inside
themselves, do they have any possibility to tell someone about their feelings? And
L. Karlsson (*)
The Children Are Telling Research Group, Helsinki, Finland
University of Eastern Finland, Joensuu, Finland
M. Lähteenmäki · A.-L. Lastikka
The Children Are Telling Research Group, Helsinki, Finland

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_3
30 L. Karlsson et al.
Fig. 3.1 Four-year-old
Naazi’s drawing of her story
additionally, how can these children, living in tenuous circumstances, be helped to

express both their joyful and their distressing thoughts?
The Storycrafting method (Karlsson 2013, 2014; Riihelä 2001, 2002) was used
with Naazi’s story. This method entailed not providing her with any specific subject
matter nor asking any questions. Instead, she was given complete freedom in her
storytelling, which was recorded (in writing), just as she told it. Her story was not
altered or corrected while being told, or afterwards. This is the essence of
Storycrafting: the subject is free to tell any kind of story; whether true, fictional or
a mixture of both. This means that, while a Storycrafting narrative cannot be treated
as literally true, it does contain narrative knowledge that forms a valid statement
made entirely by the child.
In this chapter, we analyze the subjective well-being and feelings of security
among children who are asylum seekers. In particular, we explore the causes – per-
ceived threats, danger and loss – that lead to such insecurity. We also examine the
problems related to narrating and being heard when the narrating child lives in dif-
ficult conditions. Our material is based on a succession of field notes taken at two
refugee centers in Finland and is comprised of stories created by children who are
asylum seeking, using the Storycrafting method. These data are being mirrored
against research data from two other refugee centers and one children’s club for
immigrants in Finland, in the on-going research and development projects: the
KOTO project (KOTO Integration through Arts and Skills)1 and the Storybridges –
Participation and Action in Language Learning Project.2 In both projects,
1
The KOTO Project conducted by the University of Eastern Finland, aims to develop and design
new and diverse learning methods, which support active participation of immigrants and asylum
seekers. KOTO is funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, South Savo Regional Fund.
2
The Storybridges Project is a project of the Children are Telling group, which aims to support
language learning through methods that promote children’s participation and action. The
Storybridges is funded by the KONE foundation.
3 Increasing Well-Being and Giving Voice Through Storycrafting to Children Who… 31
Storycrafting is being used as a method to empower children who are asylum seek-
ers, immigrants and refugees, in order to build up a shared dialogue and to give the
children a voice.
3.2 Background and Previous Literature
Permanent migration flows in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation

and Development) countries have increased (OECD 2017), and the migration wave
of asylum seekers and refugees is of concern to Finland (Finnish Immigration
Service 2016) as well as many other parts of the world.
In 2015, a record 1.3 million people applied for asylum in Europe arriving mostly
from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Germany received the highest number of asylum
applications (476 649). Hungary (177 130) was the second most popular country
and Sweden (162 877) moved to the third place (Ministry of the Interior 2016). In
2015, Finland received 32,476 asylum applications of which 7652 (24%) were chil-
dren and 3024 were unaccompanied minors. When comparing EU countries,
Finland ranked fourth in asylum receipts per capita in 2015. Before that the annual
figures were between 3000 and 4000 asylum applications (Finnish Immigration
Service 2017). The situation is constantly changing; the number of asylum applica-
tions in 2017 is clearly less than in the years before the increase of asylum seekers
in the autumn of 2015 (Finnish Immigration Service 2018).
When studying immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees, researchers are taking
an increasing interest in the well-being of children. In various studies and indicators
of such well-being, the subjective experience of the child, in being heard and feeling
secure, has become a key element.
3.2.1 Child Welfare, Safety and Hearing Children
In the 1970s, Erik Allardt examined welfare from the perspective of fulfilling indi-
vidual needs. He claimed that the key elements of well-being are having (standard
of living comprising health, income, the quality of the living environment, and edu-
cation), loving (social relationships) and being (feelings of being valued, opportuni-
ties for influence and other means of self-development) (Allardt 1976). Security
underlies all of these key categories. While being heard relates to the category of
being, in particular, it also plays a role in social relationships (loving) and health
(having). A similar categorical division of the components of individual welfare can
be found in many other welfare studies and indicators.
Studies, since Allardt, also highlight the importance of security in the well-being
of children (e.g., Bradshaw et al. 2010; Fattore et al. 2009). According to Fattore
et al. (2009), children describe their own well-being on the basis of three dimen-
sions: positive self-image, the feeling of being an active agent (the ability to control
one’s everyday life) and a feeling of security. McAuley et al. (2010) had similar
findings. According to Bradshaw et al. (2010), the key elements in the well-being of
a child are confidence and good relationships with other family members. In addi-
tion to a feeling of security, the child’s school and the economic situation of the
child’s family were also important (Bradshaw et al. 2010, p. 202).
There are many national and international welfare indicators of child welfare.
UNICEF (2007) uses 6 dimensions and 40 indicators to assess the welfare of chil-
dren: security, material welfare, behavior and behavioral defects, health, relation-
ships with family and friends, and educational and subjective well-being. The
OECD (2009) recommends a similar list of indicators: security, material welfare,
heath, risk behavior and educational welfare. For the OECD, other key dimensions
include housing, the living environment and the quality of school life. However, the
OECD does not include relationships with family and friends or the elements affect-
ing a child’s subjective welfare. In its list of the basic dimensions of welfare, the
Stiglitz Commission (Stiglitz et al. 2009) adds subjective well-being to the dimen-
sions listed above.
One important aspect of children’s well-being is to include children’s voices
when defining the well-being concept and indicators. Not being listened to or taken
seriously are among the difficult experiences that asylum-seeking children, under
18-years of age, who have come to Finland alone, have expressed during the recep-
tion process (Ritari and Piitulainen 2016). Therefore, to be heard is of great impor-
tance and special emphasis should be placed on promoting it. Studies have shown
that the Storycrafting method has created time and space to encounter children,
share with them and listen to them (Hohti and Karlsson 2013; Karlsson 2013).
Through the method, children have been able to influence matters concerning them-
selves. This, in turn, has had an impact on the children’s self-esteem: research has
shown that the method has empowered the children (Karlsson 2013).
The basic need to be heard is in line with the United Nations Convention on the
Rights of the Child (United Nations 1989), which highlights the phenomenon. The
Rights of the Child stipulates that a child should be heard in any matter that con-
cerns him or her. Such a requirement is also included in the national legislation of
many countries. The contents of the UN Convention are gradually leading to a
change, at the international level, in the concept of what constitutes a child and they
are changing the position of children in research (e.g., Alderson 2001, p. 141).
However, although the children’s need of being heard is an obligation, it is not
always actualized in practice. Karlsson (2013) states that participatory and empow-
ering methods, for children, are scarce.
In current studies of childhood, children are viewed as active and subjective
rather than passive and objective (e.g., Christensen and James 2008; Karlsson 2000,
2013). It is, thereby, accepted that a child’s well-being cannot be wholly determined
by adults; the knowledge, experiences and views of the child him or herself, are
indispensable to research on children’s well-being.
3.2.2 S
ecurity, Threats and Dangers in Studies on Asylum-
Seeking Children
We will now turn to feelings of security among children who are seeking asylum
and living in special conditions. Such children and their families have often experi-
enced danger, threatening situations and loss; not only in their home countries and
while fleeing, but also in the refugee centers which receive them. In their studies,
Bronstein and Montgomery (2013) and Jensen et al. (2014) showed how sleeping
disorders and anxiety experienced by children who are seeking asylum originates in
their experiences in their home countries (see also Fazel and Stein 2002).
According to Björnberg (2013), earlier experiences of this kind affect the mental
and physical well-being of such children, as well as their sense of security later in
life. Furthermore, the children that participated in a study by Suárez-Orozco and
Suárez-Orozco (2001) recalled their traumatic experiences when crossing borders
during their flight from danger. Many children referred to being arrested, returned,
beaten or humiliated. Children who had succeeded in crossing frontiers recalled
their awareness of the danger involved and their extreme fear at the time. Asylum
seekers also experience feelings of anxiety about family and friends left behind in
their home countries, particularly if their acquaintance has gone missing (Björklund
2014; Kohli 2011; Lähteenmäki 2017).
However, emotional difficulties for a child seeking asylum do not end upon
reaching a refugee reception center. Earlier feelings of fear, insecurity and discrimi-
nation often continue in the country of asylum (Fazel and Stein 2002; Spicer 2008;
Vitus and Liden 2010). Confined living conditions, health problems, the poor health
of a parent and incidents that upset the refugee community make life in reception
centers difficult for children (Björnberg 2013). Other causes of emotional difficulty
include delays in the asylum-seeking process, the division of responsibility for
chores and caring for other family members, and the absence of friends (Vitus
2010). Moreover, the basic structure of life in a reception center is often emotionally
based on wavering between hope for a positive decision on an application for asy-
lum and fear of a negative one. Such a structure is felt in the everyday lives of center
residents (Lähteenmäki 2013, 2014).
Finally, the customs, culture, and language of the new country are often unfamil-
iar. Unaccompanied children seeking asylum may be traumatized by violations of
privacy in connection with age tests and the opening of their mobile phones by the
police, deaths of close family members, changes of residence, mental disorders
affecting other children, and reactions to negative decisions and refusals of entry
(Lähteenmäki 2017).
3.2.3 Culture of Silence and Lack of Communication
Let us now turn to how children seeking asylum communicate their well-being.
Reports reveal the difficulty in obtaining reliable information on the experiences
and feelings of children who live in difficult environments typical of refugee centers
(e.g., Given-Wilson et al. 2016; Kauko and Wernesjö 2016). In many cases, the
children are probably too frightened by experiences over which they have no control
to be willing to divulge the related information (Kohli 2009). Upsetting issues are
particularly avoided. Many adults also seek to protect children from further trauma
by avoiding difficult subjects, which, in turn, encourages similar behavior in the
children (see Lundberg 2011; Lähteenmäki 2013). Parents and relatives who have
lived through terrible experiences may cultivate a systematic silence on such issues,
which hardens into a culture of silence within the family (Lähteenmäki 2013).
Ottosson et al. (2013) noted how the social workers working with families seeking
asylum, tended to ask the children only superficial questions on topics such as school
and friends. In the discursive situations involved, the children had no opportunity to
raise subjects that might be bothering them. Other barriers to the communication of
important information included the limited time set aside for family meetings and a
lack of trust between the children and professionals (Ottosson et al. 2013).
In another study, Björnberg (2013) noted how children remained silent due to the
way in which raising a fearful subject would make the original situation more vivid,
thereby adding to the number of issues unsettling the child. Silence among children
was, therefore, a means of reducing the number of anxieties to which the parents, as
well as the children, were subject. In a sense, the children hoped to help their moth-
ers by ignoring their own personal needs. Another line of argument suggests that
children lose traumatic memories as a natural, protective reaction when processing
incidents that are too difficult to address (see also Kohli 2018). In addition, children
who have experienced war are often so confused by what they have witnessed that
they may even lose their ability to refer to war-related issues (Melzak 1992).
Furthermore, according to Vitus (2010), the uncertain nature of time spent in a refu-
gee center tends to further deepen the silence of the affected children.
Vitus (2010) noticed how children avoided discussion of subjects related to their
flight and time spent seeking asylum. The children were somewhat pessimistic
about the benefits of discussing their experiences, since this would, they believed,
have no direct effect on whether they were granted asylum. In our study, such reti-
cence was magnified by the fact that many of the children claimed that they had no
memories of their home country or the flight. It seemed easier for them to remain
silent about their harsh experiences (Lähteenmäki 2013).
Silence, of the above kind, is often related to anticipation of what may happen in
the future as much as it concerns what happened in the past (Kohli 2009). In her
study, Ní’Raghallaigh (2014) maintains that mistrust of the authorities is the pri-
mary reason for silence in such cases. The young asylum seekers she interviewed
felt that the questions asked about their earlier experiences were insensitive,
traumatizing and even threatening. In addition, they did not believe that the profes-
sionals involved would not divulge their answers.
Silence can also be collective: subjects considered too inappropriate or unsafe to

be communicated to the people working in a child’s immediate environment are
marginalized in the child’s mind. This may lead children, their families, or social
workers to remain silent in situations where talking would be more beneficial for the
child. Power is also involved; someone other than the child may decide what sub-
jects the child is permitted to recall, and at what age, as well as determine what
constitutes subject-matter that is fit for discussion (Lähteenmäki 2013).
Whatever the reasons for their silence, children seeking asylum often have night-
mares and experience states of terror (Kujala 2003). Combined with the regressive
and disturbing behavior among the children we studied, symptoms of depression
often led refugee center employees to suspect that the children had been subjected
to deeply unpleasant experiences (Lähteenmäki 2013).
Despite the many reasons for which children choose silence, it is a fact that
unburdening themselves of unpleasant memories often provides emotional relief.
Being heard is an important factor in well-being (Ben-Arieh 2010; Karlsson 2013;
McAuley et al. 2010). For example, in a study by Björnberg (2013) a girl seeking
asylum refused to divulge her problems to anyone but did write her feelings and
experiences down. This record, she indicated, was a means of unburdening herself
of unpleasant memories and feelings.
3.3 R
esearch Method, Design and Questions: Capturing
the Culture of Silence
As stated, many children seeking asylum live in difficult conditions and have experi-
ences of threats, dangers and loss, with corresponding effects on their sense of secu-
rity. To help such children, social workers and the authorities need to understand
children’s mental processes and how they perceive their lives. How can profession-
als uncover the thoughts of such children in a prevailing culture of silence? What are
the ethical issues involved in encouraging a child in a difficult situation to create a
story about his or her own experiences in a way which avoids further upset or wors-
ening the situation? The related approach needs to be sensitive, careful, and respect-
ful. Earlier studies have revealed the general difficulty involved in using a series of
questions to reveal what children are thinking (e.g., Clark 2005; Karlsson 2000;
Punch 2002). For children in difficult life situations, such a process is even harder.
3.3.1 The Storycrafting Method
The Storycrafting method provides a solution to this problem by simultaneously

allowing the child to discuss difficult topics, while omitting certain issues from his
or her narrative. This method, in which the narrator exercises full power over the
story, creates a free narrative space and enables the listener to obtain information
without further directional questioning. Storycrafting is an open-ended method
whereby the listening adult does not define the structure of the child’s story nor its
subject matter (Karlsson 2000, 2013; Riihelä 2001, 2002). The method is based on
the premise that everyone has important and valuable stories, thoughts, and knowl-
edge regardless of age, sex, race, color, level of education, national origin, or dis-
ability. It is ideal for encounters focusing on the role of the listener, or recorder
(storycrafter). The role of the listener is to be active and committed listener, and to
concentrate on the story of the teller, as well as on the interaction promoting democ-
racy and reciprocity in hierarchical power relations.
As the method has proved to be a valid method for active listening (see also
Karlsson 2000, 2013, 2014, 2018; Karlsson et al. 2018), we are interested in explor-
ing how it works with children living in difficult life situations and within the cul-
ture of silence.
3.3.2 Background of the Storycrafting Method
The Storycrafting method is a result of research and development, which has mainly
been implemented in early childhood education and elementary schools. The
method was discovered in the 1980s, when the predominant way of working was to
interpret children’s thinking. Thus, there was a need for a method that would allow
for listening to children’s thoughts, as told by themselves (Karlsson 2013). Such a
method was brought to the fore by a school psychologist, Monika Riihelä (1991).
She was interested in children’s own thoughts and started experimenting with a new
open assignment, before moving on to the actual topic. Riihelä asked the children to
tell a story they wanted to tell. “I will write it down the way you tell it to me and the
story will be yours” (Riihelä 1991, p. 32).
The Storyride project, coordinated by Stakes3 in 1995–1999, in different parts of
Finland gave space to children’s voices in early childhood education and care prac-
tices, schools, child health clinics, libraries and club activities. The project devel-
oped ways of working to support adults’ listening skills (Karlsson 2000). The
method was given its name in this project, after which it started to spread nation-
wide, as well as to other Nordic countries. By 1996, the method could be found in
all five Nordic Countries: Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark and Finland.
Nowadays, the method is being used on all continents, in many different countries
and environments. Storycrafting is the only Finnish method, selected from among
hundreds of proposals, to qualify as a function model for promoting children’s men-
tal health (Mental health Europe 1999).
The strength of children’s telling of their own stories has been powerful: disabled
children’s self-respect and pride about own capacities have risen through
Storycrafting. Also, children with vulnerable life experiences and living in orphan-
3
Research and Development Centre for Welfare and Health, since 2009, the National Institute for
Health and Welfare.
ages have been given a new imaginative possibility to tell about their problems.
Additionally, children who get used to telling their own narratives, learn to demand
attention and participation, as well as to read and write during the Storycrafting
process (e.g. Karlsson 2000).
For professionals, Storycrafting has proved to give a deeper understanding of
children’s lives. Instead of only hearing, they have learned to listen and to under-
stand, instead of evaluation (e.g. Karlsson 2000, 2014).
3.3.3 Theoretical Underpinnings
The narrative knowledge gained through Storycrafting is very different to a tradi-

tional logic-rationalistic approach (Bruner 1996; Gubrium and Holstein 2008).
Narrative knowledge allows us to understand personal feelings and meanings, and
to examine emotional and motivational dimensions. Through stories created by
children, it is possible to gain information on their preoccupations and how they
experience and perceive various subjects and their meanings (Karlsson 2013).
The theoretical background to Storycrafting rests on a sociocultural-historical
tradition, which views human development as being the result of cultural, social and
historical processes, as well as the intentions of active agents (Bruner 1996; Cole
1996; Karlsson 2013; Riihelä 2001; Rogoff 2003). Storycrafting views individuals
as naturally interactive beings exercising agency and the ability to learn, create
information, affect the world around them and grow through empowering experi-
ences with others (Karlsson 2013).
3.3.4 Storycrafting in Action
In the Storycrafting method, the listener and the scribe (the storycrafter) begins by
asking the child to do as follows: “Please tell us a story that you would like to tell. I
will write it down, just as you tell it. When the story is finished, I will read it aloud.
If at that point, you can correct the story or make changes, if you wish” (CAT 2019;
Karlsson 2013; Riihelä 2001).
Storycrafting is different from other methods, because the focus is on dialogical
listening and on the premise that all have something interesting and crucial to say,
regardless of age, gender, cultural background, level of education or degree of
disability. In Storycrafting, everyone has unique thoughts, information and stories,
which are important (Karlsson 2013, 2014; Riihelä 2001).
One important aspect in Storycrafting is that a child tells, or a group of children
tell a story, of their own choice, and the adult writes the story down exactly as it has
been told, without an adult correcting the story, asking questions or making sugges-
tions. The narrator’s own story is interesting just as it is; it can consist of a few
words or sentences, or even of sounds. When the story is finished, the adult reads it
aloud so that the child or children can change the text if they so choose. It is crucial
to remember that simply writing down the story is not Storycrafting; Storycrafting
is always based on a dialogue, interaction and willingness of the storycrafter, the
recording adult to listen to the story of the child. The dialogue in Storycrafting
begins when the storycrafter, listener encourages the other, the child to tell. It is
crucial that the storycrafter listens attentively, writes everything down and reads the
story aloud. The dialogic nature of Storycrafting encompasses the sharing of the
story and the appreciation of the child’s way of seeing. A dialogue does not neces-
sarily need words: active and respective listening, approving and taking seriously
are important parts of the dialogue Storycrafting (Karlsson 2013; Riihelä 2001).
Another important element of this method is the objective of not asking the child
questions (e.g., about his or her traumatic experiences or about the happy things in
life). The main idea is to be genuinely interested in listening, giving a voice to chil-
dren and providing the space and freedom for them to decide on the things they
want to tell, as well as how and when (see also Hohti and Karlsson 2013).
3.3.5 Research Questions
We aim to explore the information provided by children seeking asylum, via

Storycrafting, on their own well-being. Since security is a key factor in well-being,
we focus on how a sense of security and insecurity is manifested in children’s sto-
ries. The children’s stories are examined from the perspectives of threat, danger and
loss, as they feature in the narratives, owing to the frequency with which such ele-
ments arose. We also analyze elements perceived as threatening and dangerous, and
inquire about the causes of such elements, as well as studying the victim or object
of the danger. Another aim is to ascertain how well the Storycrafting method func-
tions as a means of creating narrative knowledge among children who live in diffi-
cult conditions and within a culture of silence, in relation to their families and the
authorities. Here, the key focus is on the phenomenon of being heard and how this
affects personal well-being.
3.3.6 The Research Data
The research material was produced in two Finnish refugee centers, between 2005
and 2006. The 18 child participants in the study (aged from 4 to 12 years) repre-
sented seven different nationalities. Our chapter is based on the 55 stories told by
these children using the Storycrafting method. These data are being mirrored against
the research data from two other refugee centers and one children’s club for immi-
grants in Finland, in the research and development projects (2016–2018), previ-
ously described as the KOTO (KOTO Integration through Arts and Skills) and
Storybridges (Participation and Action in Language Learning) projects.
Parents and children who are refugees and staff were invited to participate and
informed of the study and its purpose in their native language. Parents provided
written informed consent on behalf of their children. Interviews were carried out by
employees of refugee centers, who also provided a written informed consent to
participate in this study. All identifying data were anonymized prior to analysis and
pseudonyms were used in place of participant names. This study followed the ethi-
cal guidelines set by the Universities of Eastern Finland and Helsinki.
A briefing session was organized at each center. In these sessions, children were
asked if they wanted to participate in Storycrafting. The children participated in two
or three, and sometimes more, Storycrafting sessions. A researcher or center
employee was present with the interpreter and acted as the recorder. The stories cre-
ated through Storycrafting were then considered alongside the researcher’s field
notes and the interviews with the parents and center employees.
Because the Storycrafting sessions were held at the beginning of the ethno-
graphic fieldwork, they also served as a method of becoming acquainted with the
child. Since Storycrafting creates positive images and associations and is normally
thought to present no harm to a child, no difficulties were experienced in obtaining
the parents’ permission for their children’s involvement in the study.
3.4 Results: From Silence to Telling
In this section, we begin by examining how the children reacted to Storycrafting and
then describe the results of the analysis of the stories created by the children.
3.4.1 From Silence to Telling
While collecting the research material, it became clear to the researchers that as a
method, Storycrafting is highly suitable for the creation of narrative knowledge by
children seeking asylum. In most cases, the children were enthusiastic about telling
their stories; although the first session took longer, due to the researchers’ initial
lack of experience. The children showed no signs of being disturbed by the presence
of a strange interpreter and/or researcher, which is in line with the on-going projects
of KOTO and Storybridges. In some cases, an employee of the refugee center and/
or the mother of the child were also present. On two occasions, the children did not
want to tell their stories. Willingness to talk is an important element in Storycrafting
and no attempt is made to compel the children to tell a story (Karlsson 2014). In the
creation of an interactive and listening environment that respects the child, the child
must have full control over the degree of his or her participation. In Storycrafting,
the children are free to refuse to participate and to decide on the nature of the stories
and when they are created.
Fig. 3.2 Seven-year-old
Ramiz’s drawing of his
story
Self-expression and effective communication are not always easy. One cannot
even assume that anyone will be willing to listen – who is heard, and when, is often
someone else’s choice. These problems, as well as courage in the face of restrictions
on free speech, are the central themes in the story of Ramiz, a 7-year-old Albanian
boy. The story is illustrated in Fig. 3.2.
The Parrot and the Cat
Once upon a time, a man went to a market and bought a parrot. He brought it home. The
parrot was very happy, as it was cool inside and hot outside. Then the parrot sang because
it was so happy. That man also had a cat and the cat said to the parrot: ‘Don’t sing so
loudly because it disturbs other people.’ The parrot said: ‘Your voice and mine are different.
When you sing, it sounds terrible. When I sing, it sounds good’. And the cat said: ‘I was
born in this house and would never dare to sing. You weren’t born here, and you dare to
sing!’(Ramiz, 7 years, an Albanian boy, told in Albanian)
In this story, the parrot and cat discuss the difference between their voices, and
the right to use one’s own voice. While the cat is a native who does not dare to use
his voice, the parrot is newly arrived at the house and sings happily. The cat then
reveals that lack of courage prevents it from expressing itself. This has been the case
for many children seeking asylum, for whom discussing one’s thoughts, experi-
ences and feelings in a difficult situation requires a great deal of courage. The
researchers noted that Storycrafting also provides shy or otherwise unheard children
with a voice in which they can tell their stories; such children are represented by the
cat in Ramiz’s story.
Almost without exception, the children felt sufficiently emboldened to tell their
stories in the Storycrafting sessions, and their enthusiasm often grew as their stories
took shape. The method provided a rapid and positive means of forming a rapport
with the children (Lähteenmäki 2013), which has also emerged in the on-going
KOTO and Storybridges projects. Some children told the researcher that they had a
story ready when they saw her at the school, which they would have been happy to
share immediately. However, this had been impossible without the presence of an
interpreter.
Although the children told stories and tales in the Storycrafting sessions, they
were under no obligation to prove or define which parts were true and which were
not. Narrative knowledge (Bruner 1996) is based on life experiences, but it also
simultaneously shapes the narrator and listener encounter. Storytelling can, there-
fore, be said to both create and shape the way in which a person experiences life.
The children’s stories comprise highly intense, thick descriptions (Karlsson
2013; Geertz 1973). They include multiple perspectives, with new incidents occur-
ring in almost every sentence. The stories involve a wide range of subjects and
agents and are highly diverse. Despite this, they also share many similarities.
A refugee center employee recounted how the storycrafted tales had a powerful
effect on her, making her aware of the immediate knowledge possessed by the
children:
Yes, they [the stories] certainly say something about them [the children]. In a way, reading
between the lines, I think that there are elements of everyday life in there, and information
on what happens at home. The family, from which the tales come, it made me think. And it
made me reread them carefully. I mean, when you read the tales… There is a lot about
things breaking up… and things going to pieces. (Interview with Bahan, Ebru and Saadet’s
support worker)
Although asylum seeker children bring forward difficult and hard things, they
also told about pleasant and happy matters. One story told by a 9-year-old Kyrgyzstan
boy, Aleksi, brings forward that there are also positive emotions and insights in
stories:
At school, where I am now, I like that school. I lived in Kyrgyzstan. We did not have like this
at all. The school is interesting. In Kyrgyzstan, there was no such thing as in Finland.
Next, we will describe what the children living in difficult life situations talk
about; we will explore, in detail, how the children talk about security and insecurity,
and how these elements are constructed in their stories. In the next section, we will
examine the contents of the children’s stories quantitatively and in detail.
3.4.2 Emotion Words and Agency in the Children’s Stories
Since our focus about the stories was on well-being, our first task involved catego-
rizing the emotion words presented in them. The children used few adjectives,
despite the emotional nature of their stories. The material they collectively gener-
ated included 17 stories involving adjectives describing emotions; such stories con-
stituted 31% of the entire material. Adjectives were used to describe feelings only
once in these stories, while 27 emotion-related adjectives appeared throughout the
entire material.
The children used verbs more often than adjectives to describe their feelings. A
total of 22 of the stories (40% of the entire data) included verbs describing positive
emotions. These referred to actions such as liking, helping, being able to do some-
thing and being close to someone. Verbs were used almost as often to refer to nega-
tive emotions such as crying, inability, and being afraid. Verbs describing negative
emotions were present in 21 of the stories. Like emotional adjectives, verbs describ-
ing emotions were scarce in the story material. There were 27 verbs describing posi-
tive emotions and 26 describing negative ones.
Given the difficulty of examining well-being by studying the emotion words

used in the stories, pleasant and unpleasant subjects were used as a basis for this.
The material included 109 mentions (29%) of pleasant and 269 mentions (71%) of
unpleasant subjects or experiences. Therefore, the children mostly did not talk about
their emotions by using adjectives and verbs. Instead, they expressed their feelings
as situations of acting. Now, we take a closer look at these acting situations in the
children’s stories.
3.4.3 Threats and Dangers in the Stories
Our attention was drawn to the frequency of descriptions of unpleasant subjects and
experiences in the data, even though this was not evident in the number of emotion
words used. This led us to examine the events described in the stories: what kinds of
pleasant and unpleasant subjects did the children refer to in their tales? Upon closer
analysis, it was noted that children seeking asylum, tend to describe various kinds
of threats, dangers and loss in their stories (see also Allardt 1976; Bradshaw et al.
2010; Fattore et al. 2009). A threatening or dangerous event is described in 44 of the
55 analyzed stories (80% of the stories), while something menacing which has
already occurred, forms the background of five of the stories.
In the following section, we describe who or what in the studied data poses a
threat or danger, at whom the threat is directed, and what constitutes the environ-
ment in which the menacing or dangerous event occurs. We also study the course of
the menacing events described and how active the victims were, in the related
situations.
Saadet, an 8-year-old Kurdish girl from Turkey, was living in a refugee center
with her parents and four younger siblings. Several threats, dangers and examples
of loss were featured in her story, which involved children crying for their dead
mother and the death of their insane father. The children wander through the forest
with their eyes veiled and then fall, cry out, and die. Only one child survives and
manages to make her way out of the forest. She leaves for Turkey by boat but also
dies when her hands are injured while steering the boat. In Saadet’s story, snow,
forests and water all signify danger.
A Story to Make You Cry
Once upon a time, somebody went out into the snow. He then covered himself in snow
and ate snow and died. He had no mother, as his mother had died. All his children cried
with him. He had a father who was crazy. And then some children wanted to go into the
forest. One child shut his eyes. They put a cloth over their eyes, so as not to see. One child
held a stone against his eyes. One child fell where she was. All of the children cried when
she fell. All of the children screamed, saying that this is not a nice game, we will all die.
Then they took one big stone away, but other stones came after it, and all the children were
buried underneath the stones. All the children died, except one. The one that survived had
to go to Turkey by ship, but she went by boat. Then she used her hands to steer the boat, and
her hands went numb and were hurt. She went under the water and could not swim, as her
hands were hurt. She drowned.(Saadet, 8 years, a Turkish girl, told in Finnish)
Table 3.1 Threats and victims

Threatener No. Victim No. Active Passive
Human being 19 Human being 43 35 40
Group of people 8 Group of people ≥12 5 ≥9
Animal 15 Animal 20 8 12
Group of animals 4 Group of animals 9 6 3
Fictional character 7 Fictional character 7 2 5
Group of fictional characters 1 Group of fictional characters 0 0 0
Natural phenomenon 9 Natural phenomenon 4 1 3
Other 9 Other 9 2 7
Does not say 10 Does not say 0 0 0
Saadet’s story is illustrative of the frequency with which threats of various kinds
are realized in stories told by children seeking asylum. Threats appear in 57% of
such stories. Only in every fourth story (23%) do the characters survive the dangers
they confront; whereas, the situations remain either wholly or partially unresolved
in the other narratives.
A story often includes more than one threatening element and the cause of dan-
ger is mentioned in 36 stories (72%). Table 3.1 lists both threats and victims in
children’s stories.
Another person (19 human characters and eight groups of people in the stories)
are clearly the most common cause of danger. Whereas, a family member was a
threat in nine stories, the characters posing a danger were otherwise varied.
Policemen and strangers are the groups most commonly mentioned as being a cause
of danger.
Bahan, a 6-year old Kurdish boy from Turkey, was living in an apartment near a
refugee center with his large family. His story depicts strangers as dangerous knife-
men, but the police are called due to a broken window, not a stabbing.
The Cat and the Dog
One day some guests arrived. The cat jumped onto the windowsill. The dog went to the
windowsill and barked: “Don’t go there!” Then the guests opened the door and saw that
the dog and the cat were there. The guest stabbed the dog and the dog died. And then they
killed the cat too. But the dog did not quite die. It died a little. It was wounded and bled.
Then the cat put on plastic gloves. Then it went to help the dog with its wounds and rubbed
its wounds. Then the cat went and broke the window. Then the guests called the police. The
police came. The guests said that the cat had broken the window. The police asked the
guests: “Why have you stabbed the dog?”(Bahan, 6 years, a Turkish boy, told in Kurmanji)
Threats in stories are often posed by animals (15 single animals and four groups
of animals) (See Table 3.1). The most dangerous animals in the stories are bears,
cats, dogs and snakes. In seven stories, the cause of danger is a fictional character.
In addition, the source of danger has a natural background of some kind on nine
occasions in the material. Vehicles and food of various kinds are also viewed as
threatening in some stories.
People and animals represent threats in the story told by 5-year-old Ebru, the
little sister of Bahan and Saadet. Other articles, such as food, are also causes of
danger.
Bob the Builder, Anni and Jenni
There was a small child, and he tried to fight, even though he couldn’t. When the other
children went to eat, he went to fight them, to bother them. Then, after they had fought, they
went to eat. Then everyone died. Then all the grannies were in our house. All the children
and all the grannies came to the houses of the children who had died. The other children
took their food and took it home to eat. Then when they ate, they died. Then when all the
people had died, a serpent came and started to eat them. Then the serpent became so big
that the other children started to be afraid. Then a squirrel came, and the squirrel went to
knock on the door, and saw the serpent there. The squirrel was afraid. It saw a lot of blood.
It saw that the serpent had eaten them all…(Ebru, 5 years, a Turkish girl, the beginning of
a story told in Kurmanji)
Ebru’s story is full of fear, death and killing. At the beginning of her tale, the
children die after dinner. After eating the same food, the other children and the
grandmothers also die. Then a serpent eats the bodies of the children and grand-
mothers that died from the poison. The rest of the story is no happier, involving the
deaths of dozens of people, animals and fantastic beasts.
When identifying the victims in the stories told by the asylum-seeking children,
we see that humans are the most likely to be in danger. Of the humans threatened in
the stories, 18 are children and 25 are adults. Furthermore, although 13 or even
more different groups of people are in danger in the stories, children are present in
almost all of them. Half of all victims are relatives, people who are crucial to the
children’s feeling of security. Animal victims are also present in the stories; nine
groups of animals are in danger besides the 20 individual animals mentioned;
although, dogs and birds are most at risk of being in danger. Eight fictional charac-
ters are also endangered in the stories. While no natural phenomena are threatened
in any of the stories, ten different everyday objects (e.g., buildings or parts of build-
ings) are endangered.
3.4.4 Agency and Inability in Dangerous Situations
Many characters in the children’s stories try to actively resolve the dangerous situa-
tions in which they are involved (Table 3.1). A total of 47 individual victims, 17 of
whom are children and 17 of whom are adults, actively solve situations in the sto-
ries. Both sexes are viewed as equally active. Six active characters are employees;
the rest are animals and fictional characters.
In the story told by Aarash, a 9-year-old Afghan boy, the dangerous situations are
resolved by a happy ending. The boy in the story manages to survive the threatening
events on his own.
Once upon a time, there was a boy and his old mother. They were lonely and had no money.
They had only a cow. The boy sold the cow and got one bean for it. He went to his mother.
The mother said: ‘If you have sold the cow, what have you brought instead?’ He said: ‘I
brought this bean.’ His mother went mad and screamed: ‘Why did you bring just one bean?’
and then she kicked him out of their home and threw the bean away and went to sleep. The
bean grew into a tree, and bigger. The boy woke up and saw how the tree had grown bigger.
Then he climbed up the tree, and there was a big meadow, and a house. Then the boy went
inside and saw huge pieces of fruit. Everything was huge in size. He saw a giant coming in.
It said: ‘There is a human smell here!’ Then he caught the boy and wanted to eat him whole.
Then the boy somehow escaped. I don’t remember what happened, how the giant died. After
that, the boy took all his gold coins and went to his mother. When the mother saw he had
brought so much money, she forgave him. And then everything went well. (Aarash, 9 years,
an Afghani boy, told in Dar)
Aarash’s story can be a retelling of a popular folktale, Jack and the Beanstalk. In
Storycrafting, in addition to self-made stories, children can decide to tell a story,
which they have heard before. It is noteworthy that in Storycrafting, children have
the right of self-determination to decide what they want to feel or tell. Aarash might
share this story, because he identifies with Jack and feels a symbolic connection
with the story, but he might also share it because it is a good story and he is pleased
to share a story that is exciting and that he can tell so well. In Storycrafting, the
freedom to decide what to tell is relieving for children. Whatever the child’s ratio-
nale, the tale tells something about what is important to the child.
The boy in the story not only escapes the giant but is also resourceful enough to
appease his mother and return home. The boy acts alone, which is very typical of the
human victims, in the stories told by the children. Animal victims on the other hand,
often try to overcome danger by relying on the collective strength of a group.
Characters succeed in surviving dangerous situations through their own actions,
almost as often as not (14 survivals and 16 failures of this type can be found in the
stories). Five stories include both successful and unsuccessful attempts to survive.
Even more often, the characters do not try to survive the threats they face: 55
human, animal and other characters confront danger passively. Most of these char-
acters are human (40), consisting of 17 children and 23 adults. Groups of children
are more passive than their adult equivalents. Nine animals make no attempt to
survive. Of the inactive characters, 13 are females and 16 males; passive animals are
more common than active. Individual animals are more passive than animals in
groups. Fictive characters are as likely to be active as passive.
3.5 D
iscussion and Tips for Professionals:
Towards Participation, Well-Being and Security
Here we discuss the results and utility of the Storycrafting method for professionals
working with the children living in difficult life situations.
The children in our study still harbored unspoken fears, which manifest in vari-
ous ways: the children reacted strongly to alarm bells, ambulance and police sirens,
had nightmares and were restless in general (Lähteenmäki 2013). Many of the chil-
dren seeking asylum had been victims of various kinds of oppression, had witnessed
and been protected from violence, and had been subject to dangerous events and
neglect. However, during the asylum-seeking process, they remained silent about
past experiences for reasons which could not always be determined.
Our findings demonstrate that the Storycrafting method is a valid working
method which is particularly suitable for children living in difficult conditions.
Despite the prevalent habit among children seeking asylum to remain silent about
upsetting experiences, they were happy to participate in the Storycrafting sessions.
Although the stories they told were multifaceted and distinctive, common character-
istics can nevertheless be found. Threatening or dangerous situations, including a
wide variety of agents and events, featured in over 70 of the stories.
By creating tales through Storycrafting, the children may have found an oppor-
tunity to process issues about which they might otherwise have remained silent. In
many cases, they created harsh narratives in which life was dangerous, with nega-
tive themes far outnumbering the positive. Most of the stories (80%) centered on
themes of threat, danger and loss. The children were clearly able to convey their
unpleasant and difficult experiences by giving them a verbal form based on various
types of action. This finding is reinforced by earlier studies, which also show that
children examine their lives through action, rarely using adjectives in their stories
(e.g., Klami 2005).
In the stories, danger is often encountered in a domestic setting (See Fig. 3.3) and
the victims are usually relatives of the storyteller. Home and family are often central
to a child’s sense of security; notably, these are the very issues, which are most often
threatened in the stories. Conversely, danger often lurks close to the child since the
parents who are supposed to protect them may become the very source of the danger
in question. As a result, the storyteller’s family can no longer be trusted. Both chil-
dren – particularly in groups – and adults are in danger: a parent may eat his or her
own child, or a grandmother may cook her grandchild alive. Police and other
‘strangers’ are also depicted as menacing. Many of these threats are also encoun-
tered in folktales that children may bring with them from their home country or
become acquainted with on their migration.
Fig. 3.3 Dangerous Unknown

environments in children’s (4 stories) 7 %
stories Home
(18 stories) 28 %
Other places
(15 stories) 23 %
Other indoor places

(6 stories) 10 %
Places situated in nature
(11 stories) 17 %
Other outdoor places
(10 stories) 15 %
The threatened characters often take a passive attitude to threatening situations

but are just as often active and seek to confront and resolve the threat. They are suc-
cessful in doing so in approximately half of the cases. Interestingly, both sexes are
equally active.
Children often describe threatening situations through animals with which they
seem to have a special affinity. As previous studies have shown, children use fic-
tional characters of this kind as a way of processing various issues (e.g., Klami
2005; Karlsson 2013). Mental and physical distress and fear of the proximity of
death are emphasized in the stories told by the children for this study. Within their
narratives, they struggle to survive in ways they themselves have invented. The lack
of security in the lives of the children is clearly emphasized in the storycrafted
material.
It is noteworthy that the variation in children’s stories is stark; there are many
different environments, actors, actions and ways of thinking evident in the stories.
Furthermore, the children told long stories with enthusiasm. These attributes high-
light the narrative richness and diversity of the children as well as their ability to
speak, reflect and deal with difficult matters.
Next, we highlight why the Storycrafting method is beneficial and how it pro-
motes different elements of children’s well-being for professionals working with
children living in challenging life situations.
In the Storycrafting process, children seeking asylum eagerly engaged in pro-
cessing issues related to their well-being. Even children who preferred to avoid
difficult topics were able to discuss such issues, and related experiences, through the
Storycrafting sessions. These sessions gave them a voice and enabled them to
recount and reconsider their experiences of fear, threat and loss. In this way,
Storycrafting may encourage trust between the child and adult as the child feels safe
to tell the story and the adult is willing to listen.
The children avoided direct descriptions of how it felt to cross borders illegally,
to see their parents being beaten, their mother trying to take her own life in a refugee
center, or a friend departing in the company of policemen (Lähteenmäki 2013).
However, insecurity was evident through their stories; their tales recounted feelings
of terror that might have been felt during border crossings, parental violence, or
inhumane conduct by the police. Storycrafting and listening creates a space in
which a child can form his or her own thoughts, experiences, feelings and attitudes
within a narrative, and construct and try out various solutions (Hohti and Karlsson
2013; Karlsson 2009). This is the basis on which the storycrafter, the listener, can
form his or her own understanding based on the child’s knowledge and experience.
These results demonstrate that in Storycrafting, children have space for both
positive and negative thoughts and experiences. Children seeking asylum may be
able to express what is troubling them without fear that it will endanger the asylum
decision because they are only telling stories or tales. Storycrafting enables children
to talk freely about anything, even horrible things, and to test what could happen
and find solutions by themselves.
Stories based on Storycrafting weave a comforting veil between reality and fan-
tasy. The playfulness of the method allows for multiple perspectives: the protagonist
may be rough and ready or cool and emphatic. It has been suggested that children
use play as a prism through which they can examine their thoughts (Riihelä 2001).
In the case of Storycrafting, the open-ended narrative gave the child the freedom to
choose how to approach their subject. This allowed the storyteller to protect him or
herself, be humorous, have adventures or dwell on the horrible details – whatever
felt suitable within the narrative situation.
The children were happy to use the autonomy that Storycrafting afforded them,
which was only possible because the listener did not demand a detailed examination
of their experiences, or a specific end to the story. As a listener, the storycrafter cre-
ated the space, time, and place the child needed. In this space, the child could
address difficult themes in the way that suited him or her. This method also enabled
the use of humor, everyday descriptions and other elements that afforded emotional
relief. The child had control over whether to disclose issues and could examine a
subject without the need to answer further, importunate questions. Such an approach
was sufficiently subtle, easy and respectful to encourage the children to respond to
the storycrafter’s call to tell.
Storycrafting enables a situation of intimacy in which the child is listened to and
taken seriously. The stories’ information content was not the sole important factor;
the narrative also created meaningful processes, a series of interactive situations in
which stories and the feelings they encompassed were shared between those present
(Karlsson 2000, 2009, 2013, 2014). For children in difficult situations, immersing
themselves in a dialogue between a narrator and listener provide a safe method of
sharing feelings (Riihelä 2002).
The professionals working with the asylum-seeking children attested that,
through Storycrafting, they gained information that they would not otherwise have
gained. They were able to make professional use of this knowledge in designing
support services for the children. For professionals working with children living in
difficult life situations, it is essential to try and understand children’s fears and expe-
riences (Kauko and Forsberg 2017). However, there can be a temptation to over-
interpret experiences when listening to a child’s story. For example, in Naazi’s story
described earlier, the listener might take for granted that Naazi is talking about
herself when telling about a child, who has fled from her own home. This is only one
possible interpretation and Storycrafting does not decrease the importance of receiv-
ing mental health services when dealing with trauma.
Earlier studies confirm that being heard is beneficial to children’s well-being
(e.g., Fattore et al. 2009; McAuley et al. 2010). Furthermore, children have a legal
right to be heard. Yet, the opportunity to talk is not the only key issue; children must
also be taken seriously and actively listened to. In our study, Storycrafting enabled
asylum-seeking children living in difficult situations to break through the culture of
silence (e.g., Björnberg 2013; Kohli 2009; Ottosson et al. 2013). Through
Storycrafting, children could look for solutions to their troubles and anxieties or
explore more extreme situations. They could talk about matters that were happier
and more joyful or difficult and traumatic than their own experiences, which was
seen as helpful.
There are some challenges and limitations to Storycrafting. First, it is important

to consider that if one uses children’s stories as factual accounts, one might end up
seeing stories as legal documents. This is not the purpose of the method. It is
essential to remember that Storycrafting produces tales, not necessarily factually
correct stories. Second, one cannot and should not force a child to tell a story.
Third, consider children’s language needs, especially when working with children
who are immigrants, refugees, or asylum seekers. When there is no common lan-
guage, Storycrafting requires an interpreter who is able to relay children’s stories
and tales in a way that illustrates the children’s original thinking, descriptions, and
feelings.
Storycrafting also helps to build up a shared dialogue between immigrants and
people belonging to majority groups, which promotes integration and inclusion. In
this process, Storycrafting can act as a method to get to know each other in a new,
empowering way. While research in Storycrafting is ongoing, most of the data used
in this chapter, were collected over 10 years ago, so the views represented may dif-
fer from children who are currently refugees or asylum seekers.
Storycrafting method begins by giving free space and time for a child to tell
about anything he or she wants. During this free narration, the child’s play and
imagination are promoted and encouraged. In the Storycrafting process, the adult
listens to children and take them seriously. With the collaboration of an adult, a
child actively participates and engages in creating his or her own story, which usu-
ally leads to a feeling of empowerment.
This chapter contributes to the body of knowledge in refugee studies and studies
of childhood. The information provided by Storycrafting can and should be
employed in the design, organization and development of operational models and
support systems for children in difficult situations in different countries. Every child
has a narrative right (see e.g., Hohti and Karlsson 2013), which should be encour-
aged by the professionals working with children in difficult life situations, such as
refugees, immigrants or asylum seekers.
3.6 Conclusions
In this chapter, we have discussed the wellbeing of children who are asylum-seeking
through researching children’s stories told by the Storycrafting method. We have
also discussed how the Storycrafting method can function as a means of encourag-
ing children who live in challenging life situations, to tell about their feelings and
thoughts. The teller, whether it is a child, a young person, a juvenile or an adult can
touch upon the possible crisis or tell directly about it. The crucial element is that
there is the freedom to tell the story by one’s own words; stories and imagination
enable all people of different ages to encounter and cope with deep emotions, which
helps to find empowering resources. In the future, it would be important to study
more in detail the effects on asylum seeker children and immigrant children if
Storycrafting is used regularly and for a longer time. The preliminary results of the
on-going research projects, the KOTO (KOTO Project 2019) and Storybridges
(Storybridges Project 2019), show that Storycrafting is an empowering method for
children who are immigrants or asylum seekers, as it brings forward the experi-
ences, memories, thoughts, hopes and dreams of these children, as can be seen in
the story of Faihan, a 13-year-old boy (KOTO research data):
I like Finland. I am Iraqi. I do not want to go to Iraq. In Iraq, the school is scary. I want to
live in Finland. In Iraq, I never go out, but I am always inside. I like the Finnish school. I
like all boys and girls in Finland. I want a Finnish passport, because I want to live here.
Finland is beautiful, winter and summer. I like football and ice hockey. I like all my friends,
Finland and Garifuna. I want to become a Finnish police officer.
We would like to conclude by stressing that Storycrafting is a valid and therapeu-

tic method in encouraging asylum seeking, immigrant and refugee children, but also
for adults in breaking the culture of silence.
Acknowledgements We would particularly like to thank the asylum-seeking children involved in

the study and the Academy of Finland research project ‘Children talk about their well-being – Who
listens?’ (TelLis, project number 1134911), the Finnish Cultural Foundation, South Savo Regional
Fund (KOTO Project), the KONE Foundation (Storybridges Project) and KASVA (Doctoral
Programme in Educational Studies) for making this study possible.
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Chapter 4
Who Am I? Shaping Young Children’s
Identities Through Everyday Narratives
Anna-Maija Puroila
4.1 Introduction
I am standing in the yard of a child care center, observing and listening to children. Children
have dispersed into different play groups. A group of boys has developed a play theme
around an imagined castle. Elli (a 3-year-old girl) wants to join in. Ville (a 5-year-old boy)
says to Elli, “We can’t play with you. You are too small!”
This episode draws attention to young children’s interaction in an early educa-

tion setting. Elli’s desire is thwarted as she is excluded from the play because she is
regarded as being too small. This brief glimpse into their interaction provides an
example of how children’s identities are shaped in relations between children and
their social and cultural environments. By relating to and distinguishing themselves
from each other, Elli and Ville make sense of themselves as individuals and social
beings. While identifying Elli as a small child, Ville performs himself as belonging
to the group of bigger children. In the cultural context of early education settings,
belonging to the ‘smalls’ or ‘bigs’, the ‘three-years-olds’ or ‘five-year-olds,’ is sig-
nificant for children’s emerging identities (Ahn and Filipenko 2007; Konstantoni
2012; Olwig 2011; Puroila 2013). As Puroila and Estola (2014) note, being narrated
as a member of the ‘smalls’ or ‘bigs’ implies values, social statuses, and power
relationships that influence children’s sense of self.
This chapter focuses on children’s narrative identities in a child care center con-
text. A growing body of research suggests that narratives are crucial for people’s
identities (McAdams 2011; Smith and Sparkes 2008). Young children, however,
have largely been neglected in narrative identity research, generally due to the dom-
inant conceptions of identity and narrative. The concept of identity usually refers to
A.-M. Puroila (*)

University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
e-mail: anna-maija.puroila@oulu.fi

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_4
56 A.-M. Puroila
humans’ responses to the question, “Who are you?” (Ahn 2011; Tracy and Robles
2013). Identity is often approached from the perspective of the individual’s psychol-
ogy as an essential and stable entity that they achieve in late adolescence or early
adulthood (McAdams 2011; Smith and Sparkes 2008). From this perspective, young
children are not interesting participants in identity research as they are working
towards having identities. Narrative research, in turn, has traditionally emphasized
the contents, form, and structure of verbally articulated accounts of adults’ life
events (Puroila 2013). Dimensions such as a linear progression of events, temporal-
ity, and a plot line consisting of a beginning, middle, and an end have been regarded
as criteria for well-formed narratives (McAdams 2011). As young children have
limited capacities to produce verbal narratives that fulfil these criteria, the space for
exploring their narratives has been restricted (Puroila et al. 2012a; Puroila 2013).
This study is theoretically informed by a performative perspective on narrative
identities (Puroila 2013; Smith and Sparkes 2008). Instead of approaching identity
as an individual’s coherent, internalized life story, the performative perspective
highlights the social, relational, and dynamic dimensions of identity; the daily inter-
actions through which individuals’ multiple identities are negotiated and performed
(Smith and Sparkes 2008). The performative perspective opens up new space for
examining young children’s identities from narrative viewpoints (Puroila 2013).
With the aim of exploring young children’s narrative identities, this study focuses
on everyday narratives produced in an early education setting. An everyday narra-
tive as a concept refers to daily interactions and practices through which children
perform themselves and are performed by other interlocutors in a certain light (see
Puroila 2013). The research questions include: How do children narrate themselves
in a child care center context? How do they come to be narrated by other children
and adults?
4.2 E
veryday Narratives as Sites for Negotiating
and Performing Children’s Identities
Narrative researchers usually reject the assumption that identity is an essential, sin-
gle entity, and instead view it in the plural and as connected to the situated and dis-
cursive practices through which identities are shaped (Ahn 2011; Smith and Sparkes
2008). Smith and Sparkes (2008), however, argue that “although there is a chorus of
qualitative researchers singing that identities and selves are narratively constructed,
they are not always in harmony” (p. 6). They present five distinct, though interre-
lated understandings of narrative identities: the psychosocial, the intersubjective,
the storied resource, the dialogic, and the performative perspectives. Smith and
Sparkes (2008) highlight that these perspectives should not be understood as mutu-
ally exclusive but rather as a continuum, with a ‘thick individual’ and ‘thin social
relational’ focus at one end and a ‘thin individual’ and ‘thick social relational’
emphasis at the other (p. 7).
4 Who Am I? Shaping Young Children’s Identities Through Everyday Narratives 57
This study draws on the performative perspective on narrative identities that rep-
resents the ‘thin individual’ and ‘thick social relational’ emphasis in the afore-
mentioned continuum (Smith and Sparkes 2008). Peterson and Langellier (2006)
argue that the performative perspective has a significant function in re-situating the
object of a narrative study: “Narrative is embodied in communication practices,
constrained by situational and material conditions, embedded in and ordered by
fields of discourse, and strategically distributed to reproduce and critique existing
relations of power and knowledge” (p. 175). Employed in narrative identity research,
the performative perspective requires focusing on the interactional and contextual
aspects of narratives, rather than on narratives as cognitive, internalized structures
through which individuals understand themselves. Accordingly, identities are
understood as something that people do or perform, rather than have (Smith and
Sparkes 2008).
In previous research literature, researchers use the concepts of a story and a nar-
rative in many different ways. Whereas some researchers use the terms interchange-
ably, others view a narrative as a broader term than a story (Van Oers 2003;
Hyvärinen 2008). I draw on conceptualizations in which two distinct though inter-
twining aspects of narration are distinguished; the content (What is told?) and the
process (How and where the telling occurs?). While a story refers to the content, a
narrative covers both the content and the process through which the story is pro-
duced. This chapter focuses on everyday narratives as sites for negotiating and per-
forming young children’s identities in an early education setting. I understand the
concept of an everyday narrative as a dynamic meeting place where children’s iden-
tities are shaped in relations between people and their environments (Ahn and
Filipenko 2007; Puroila et al. 2012a). In accordance with previous studies, the ‘per-
forming’ of children’s identities includes not only spoken language but also other
means of multi-modal narration, such as bodily activities, gestures, tone of voice,
and emotional expressions (Puroila 2013; Smith and Sparkes 2008).
Moreover, I highlight the significance of the social, cultural, and material envi-
ronment for the performing of children’s identities. In previous research, the home
environment, and especially mothers as primary caregivers, has been viewed as sig-
nificant for young children’s narrative identities (e.g., Reese et al. 2010). On the
other hand, some studies acknowledge the importance of institutional education for
children’s identities, as contemporary generations of young children spend a large
part of their childhood outside home in institutional early education settings
(Farquhar 2012; Puroila 2013; Puroila and Estola 2014). As Farquhar (2012) main-
tains, such settings play a crucial role in young children’s identity construction
through the practices and technologies that provide social spaces for normality,
regulation, and surveillance. Performing children’s identities thus has close connec-
tions with moral development; what it is to be ‘a good child’.
58 A.-M. Puroila
4.3 Study
4.3.1 Setting and Participants
This study was conducted in a municipal child care center in an urban area in
Northern Finland with a group of 21 children aged between 3 and 6: 11 girls and 10
boys. The staff consisted of three female educators: two kindergarten teachers and
one trained nurse. The indoor spaces included two rooms, the corridor, and the toi-
let, and the group sometimes had the chance to use the center’s common spaces, for
instance the gym hall. The center was open from 6.30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the chil-
dren’s daily activities were usually structured around regular routines.
In my previous studies, I have explored the daily lives of children in this group
from diverse viewpoints, such as the nature of children’s spontaneous narrating
(Puroila et al. 2012a), children’s narrated well-being (Puroila et al. 2012b), the child
care center as a narrative environment (Puroila 2013), and the narrative identities of
the youngest children (Puroila and Estola 2014). The focus of this chapter is the
everyday narratives in which four children emerge as protagonists: Titta (a 3-year-
old girl); Nuutti (a 5-year-old boy); Joni (a 3-year-old boy); and Leevi (a 5-year-old
boy). The other children and educators are present in the narratives as interlocutors
with Titta, Nuutti, Joni, and Leevi. As a researcher, I am also part of the everyday
narratives because, as Spector-Mersel (2010) notes, narrative research is not neutral
or clean from researchers’ effects, as researchers influence by their mere presence.
4.3.2 Co-composing Everyday Narratives
The methodology of the study was based on ideas about narrative ethnography
(Gubrium and Holstein 2008) and the multi-modality of children’s narratives
(Puroila 2013; see also Smith and Sparkes 2008). I spent a lot of time with the group
of children during the course of 1.5 years, and I lived and co-composed the everyday
narratives alongside the children and educators (see Clandinin et al. 2016). The
notion of the multi-modality of children’s narratives challenged traditional ideas
about listening. Listening to children’s multi-modal narratives demanded going
beyond listening only with ears, and meant listening to the rich variation of lan-
guages, symbols, codes, and expressions through which children’s identities were
negotiated and performed (Puroila et al. 2012a). This kind of listening was not pos-
sible for an outsider observer, but rather required me to form relationships with the
children and adults. As Caine et al. (2013) remark, narrative research involves a
research orientation that grows out of being in relationships: “Through attending to
the relational in-between space in narrative inquiry, possibilities arise to discover
new ways of knowing and understanding” (p. 580).
The relational research orientation also challenges the research ethics. Hyry-
Beihammer et al. (2012) argue that though important, it is not enough to obtain
written consents and follow formal ethical protocols. Rather, researchers are respon-
sible for treating participants in an ethical way throughout the research process. In
my study, I had the consent of the children, their parents, the staff members, and the
municipality. Moreover, I attempted to be sensitive and respect children and adults
in different phases of the process. For instance, I joined the children’s activities if
invited, but avoided disturbing their playing situations if they did not want my par-
ticipation. Similarly, I tried to adapt my role to suit adults’ different situations. My
role as a researcher thus varied on a situational basis.
Rather than organizing special occasions to generate research material, I observed
children’s daily situations, participated in their activities, and listened to their spon-
taneous narratives. I co-composed a vast collection of material with the children and
educators through tape-recording daily conversations and keeping written diaries.
The research material was transcribed into a form of everyday narratives. In this
study, I primarily use material generated at the end of my field work, which involved
following one child during an entire day at the center. Thus, this chapter is based on
everyday narratives drawn from Titta, Nuutti, Joni, and Leevi’s day in the early
education setting.
4.3.3 Interpreting and Re-telling Everyday Narratives
My approach to the everyday narratives was a holistic one, which influenced how I
understood the entire research process and working with the narratives. In accor-
dance with Spector-Mersel (2010), I view field work, co-composing the everyday
narratives, interpretation, and writing as inseparable processes. From this perspec-
tive, the first interpretations were already made during the field work phase and
when co-composing the narratives. Hence, the everyday narratives employed in this
study do not reflect children’s daily lives authentically, but rather are filtered through
my interpretations and capacity to understand what is going on.
Lieblich (2014) suggests that the concept of narrative contradicts the idea of
analysis; when analyzing narratives down to fractions there is a risk of losing the
context expressed by the narratives. Rather than analyzing and fragmenting the
everyday narratives into smaller units, my intention was to read and re-read the
everyday narratives as a whole to interpret and better understand the children’s nar-
rative identities. Gradually, I began to perceive four different dimensions meaning-
ful for children’s narrative identities: the possession of material items; skills and
competences; peer relationships; and the child’s relation to the rules and conven-
tions of the child care center.
Identifying these dimensions was not the end of the process; I continued the re-
reading in parallel with previous research literature and aimed to place the everyday
narratives and the previous research literature into a dialogue. Viljamaa (2012) calls
this kind of approach dialogic re-reading and re-telling (pp. 20, 103). With dia-
logue, Viljamaa refers to knowledge that is accumulated in spaces between partici-
pants, between participants and researcher, and between research material and
60 A.-M. Puroila
previous research literature. For the researcher, the dialogic re-reading and re-telling
means seeking to enter the spaces where knowledge and knowing stratifies into
multiple layers in different narrative encounters. In this study, the dialogic re-
reading and re-telling involved constant movement; when writing this chapter, I
moved back and forth between my memories of the field work, the research material
on which this chapter is primarily based, what I have written about this group of
children in my previous publications, and previous research literature. In what fol-
lows, I will re-tell the four dimensions of children’s narrative identities by drawing
examples from the everyday narratives and discussing them together with previous
research literature. I will use the term ‘everyday narrative’ when referring to the
whole research material, and the term ‘example’ when referring to the extracts from
broader everyday narratives.
4.4 Findings
4.4.1 I Have: Performing Children’s Identities

Through Possession
The everyday narratives provided insights into the meaning of material objects in
shaping children’s narrative identities. Children repeatedly told me and shared sto-
ries about getting new clothes, backpacks, movies, games, and books. Children dis-
cussed what they had, what they did not have, and what they wished to have. Thus,
‘having’ was present in the everyday narratives in many ways. In particular, the toys
brought from homes to the child care center inspired the children and prompted
them to narrate. During my field work, the children taught me much about the child-
hood consumer culture. I learned to know Bagugans, Spidermen, Zhu Zhu Pets,
Disney princesses, Hero Factory figures, and numerous other trendy toys (see
Puroila et al. 2012b; also Ruckenstein 2010; Wohlwend 2017). The following exam-
ples demonstrate how the dimension of having intertwined with children’s narrative
identities.
Example 4.1
I learned to know Leevi as a child who is very interested in Hero Factory figures.
One morning, Sami brought Hero Factory figures to the child care center.
Sami: Leevi, look what I have with me!
Leevi takes one of the figures and begins to knock it down and put the pieces together.
Sami and Leevi start to play with the figures; they fly the figures around the room.
Sami: Do you have this kind of figure?
Leevi: I’ve one that color, but it’s a baddie.
Example 4.2
After resting time, children come one by one to the room where I am sitting. Joni,
Nuutti, and Pekka chat about Sami’s Hero Factory figures. They seem to wait for
Sami, but do not realize that Sami is on the other side of the room.
Joni: We (Sami and Joni) will play with Sami’s Hero Factories. I’ll ask Sami if I can
have the one with a shredder.
Sami comes over with a bag filled with different Hero Factory figures.
Joni (smiling): Hey Sami, can I play with that one?
Sami gives each boy a figure. They begin to play.
Example 4.3
Titta comes to me and shows three little princess figures she has brought from home.
AM: What are they?
Titta: Look, I’ve this Cinderella! I bought this with my mum from the market
yesterday.
AM: Oh, it’s new!
Titta nods. Alli joins our discussion, pointing at one of the figures.
Alli: I’ve got that, it’s called Auroora.
AM: Auroora. And what are the names of these?
Titta: Cinderella and Bella and Sleeping Beauty.
AM: Mm.
Alli to Titta: Can I play with that one? (pointing at one figure).
Titta ignores this question.
Titta: Veera and Niina and Hilla are not here yet.
The girls go to build with some blocks. Titta keeps the figures close to her.
In these examples, some children perform as owners of trendy toys. Even though
many children explain that they have similar toys at home, the ownership is most
concretely present in Sami and Titta, as they have brought their toys to the child care
center. Similar to Nordtømme’s (2012) study, the everyday narratives echo how
material items create power relations and interplay with the children involved. In the
first two examples, Sami utilizes his toys to connect other children to a joint play.
This appears to be a successful strategy; in the first example Sami and Leevi – an
older boy in the group – engage in a common play with Sami’s Hero Factory figures.
In the second example, Sami’s figures connect a group of boys to a common play.
In Example 4.3, Titta shares her joy at having new princess figures. In this situation,
Alli shows interest in playing with Titta’s figures, but Titta ignores Alli’s sugges-
tion; the girls begin to play together, but not with Titta’s figures. These examples
show that having a toy frames the children’s right to choose the play and to include
or exclude others. Similar to Sami’s Hero Factory figures, Titta’s princess figures
cropped up in different situations throughout the everyday narratives.
In accordance with previous research, the everyday narratives reveal that mate-
rial items are not neutral, but instead have an influence on children’s relationships,
opportunities for participation, and identities (Nordtømme 2012; Wohlwend 2017).
62 A.-M. Puroila
Drawing on William James’s conception of self, Hermans (2012) argues that the self
is not restricted to inside a person, but rather extends to their environment:
[…] not only do one’s thoughts and feelings (Me) belong to the self but also that which the
person calls his or her own (Mine) – like my body, my mother, my father, my children, and
even my opponent – belongs to the self in a broader sense of the term. (p. 2)
Besides extending the conception of identity to relations between humans, some

studies have addressed how adults use material objects to express who they are and
who they would like to be. The everyday narratives of this study propose that
Dittmar’s (2008) argument “to have is to be” has associations with young children’s
narrative identities. Having a material item makes a child a certain kind of child,
thus producing statuses, hierarchies, and boundaries that are significant for the
child’s identities. For instance, during my field work I did not meet any boys who
showed interest in princess figures, nor any girls who brought Hero Factory figures
to the child care center. (I do not, however, argue that such boys and girls do not
exist). Having a nice toy was meaningful for how the child was treated by others;
the other children admired their toys and sought their company in order to play with
the toys.
The everyday narratives also drew attention to the space for children’s own toys
in the pedagogical culture of the child care center. As noted in previous studies,
there are differences between educational institutions in terms of how children are
allowed to bring their own toys (Puroila et al. 2012b; Ruckenstein 2010; Wohlwend
2017). In this group, the rules allowed the children to bring their own toys to the
setting whenever they wanted. The educators showed interest and discussed the
children’s own toys but they did not restrict children’s toy choices nor utilize the
toys for pedagogical purposes (c.f., Wohlwend 2017). Therefore, the individually
owned toys created an arena for children’s peer culture and provided one dimension
through which children were differentiated one from another.
4.4.2 I Can: Performing Children’s Identities

Through Competences
When participating in children lives and re-reading the everyday narratives, I

encountered several examples of children presenting themselves as competent.
They did this by telling me about their new skills and proudly showing me their
drawings and craft works, and they compared their accomplishments with their
peers while drawing, playing, and working on assignments. They were also com-
mended by the educators when they demonstrated their knowledge, skills, and prog-
ress in learning. Sometimes, the children seemed to search out praise from their
peers and the educators – to be acknowledged as competent. These notions resonate
with research literature highlighting the importance of positive experiences of
achievements and competences for one’s agency and well-being (e.g., Brown 2011;
Kumpulainen et al. 2014). The following examples show how children performed as
being-competent, being-less-competent, and being-not-competent in relationships

with peers and between children and educators.
Example 4.4
I am in a room where the educator has gathered all five-year-olds together for
‘Viskari’ (a club for five-year-olds). They discuss different shapes (circle, square,
triangle). The educator challenges the children to think about how they could
form a circle.
Leevi: I know! Let’s make a ring.
The children hold hands and make a ring.
Educator: Excellent, Leevi!
Example 4.5
Nuutti, Leevi, and Annika are playing together in the yard. They all shovel sand onto
a swing. Nuutti takes the shovel from Leevi’s hand.
Nuutti to Leevi: You should hold the shovel like this.
Nuutti gives the shovel back to Leevi. Leevi and Annika follow Nuutti’s example.
Nuutti: It’s good to swipe this way.
Other children follow his example.
Nuutti: Good work!
Example 4.6
Joni and Sami sit side-by-side eating breakfast. Sami is first finished.
Joni: Sami, can you wait for me?
Sami: Yeah.
Sami remains at the table.
Sami: Joni, I’ll get the figures from my locker.
Sami goes to the locker room and comes back with a bag full of Hero Factory fig-
ures. Joni has now finished eating and takes his dishes to the trolley. Sami advises
him where to put each of the dishes.
Joni: Yes, I know.
Example 4.7
I am sitting at a table with Titta, Alli, and Veera who are coloring pictures. Titta has
given one of her princess figures to each of the girls. I note that Titta colors very
carefully, without crossing the border lines.
Veera: Look, Titta! (showing her picture)
Alli: Look, Titta! (showing her picture)
Titta glances at the pictures, then continues her own coloring.
Titta: They’re quite messy.
These examples draw attention to different moments in which children’s com-
petences are performed. Example 4.4 occurred in an adult-directed situation with
a clear pedagogical goal to support children’s learning of shapes. In this example,
Leevi had an opportunity to shine; he was the one who showed himself as a clever
and skillful child, and the educator’s reaction to Leevi’s suggestion confirmed his
success. Similar to Brown’s (2011) study, this example shows the crucial role
64 A.-M. Puroila
educators play in supporting children’s perceptions of themselves as learners. In

the everyday narratives, the children’s competences were often performed in this
kind of learning-oriented situations. This is not surprising, as the ideas of promot-
ing children’s development and increasing children’s competences are inherent in
institutional early education; indeed, one of the main purposes of early education
is to promote children’s growth, learning, and development. As Claxton and Carr
(2004) argue, early education settings always have a learning curriculum, whether
explicitly or implicitly articulated.
The other three examples above reveal the fleeting moments that provided space
for children to demonstrate their competences. The performed competences did not
only concern so-called academic skills; rather, the children expressed several kinds
of skills, such as being able to play with sand, bring the dishes to the trolley, or color
a picture. In Example 4.5, Nuutti played a leading role in the children’s outdoor
play. He treated the other children as if they were less competent by advising them
in how to sweep the sand more effectively, and the other children maintained his
leading role by following his suggestions. In Example 4.6, Sami showed his com-
petence by giving advice to Joni about placing dishes on the trolley. However, Joni
proved equally competent by rejecting the need for such advice. Finally, in Example
4.7, Alli and Veera seemingly searched for feedback from Titta, who did not appre-
ciate the other girls’ work. By dooming their colorings as ‘messy,’ and working
carefully on her own picture, she portrayed herself as more competent than the
other two.
In the everyday narratives, the children’s competences provided one dimension
for the children to differentiate themselves. Competences were thus significant for
children’s evolving narrative identities. However, competences did not emerge as
measurable skills, inherent qualities, or unified properties of the child (see Ahn and
Filipenko 2007; Smith and Sparkes 2008). Rather, competences appeared as nar-
rated and performed aspects attached to particular children in particular situations.
4.4.3 M
y Friends: Shaping Children’s Identities in the Nexus
of Peer Relations
The everyday narratives were full of episodes revolving around children’s peer rela-
tions. On the one hand, there were narratives involving children who formed close
friendships that endured over time. For instance, Joni and Sami often performed as
best friends; they searched for each other’s company and expressed loneliness when
one was not present (see Examples 4.6 and 4.12). On the other hand, the everyday
narratives also involved children who played with many peers and inhabited an
extended nexus of social relationships. Negotiations about play-mates penetrated
the children’s interactions throughout the everyday narratives. As the following
examples show, ‘who plays with whom’ was a frequently addressed question among
this group of children.
Example 4.8
Pekka, Leevi, and Nuutti are building a castle with Lego blocks.
Pekka: Paavo won’t play with us in the yard.
Nuutti: Who is he playing with?
Leevi: He’ll be playing with Sami. We can play with many friends.
Pekka to Nuutti: You can’t force me to play only with you!
Nuutti: No, I can’t.
Pekka: I’ll play with you another day.
Example 4.9
I am standing in the yard and looking at how a group of boys (Nuutti, Leevi, Paavo,
and Pekka) are playing around a climbing frame. They begin to chat about who
is allowed to join in.
Nuutti: We don’t let girls come here.
Some of the boys: They’re nasty!
The boys notice Annika (a girl) on the climbing frame.
The boys shout: Annika, you can’t come here!
After a while, I note that the boys have included Annika in their play.
Nuutti: Let’s go, boys!
Example 4.10
Four girls are drawing and coloring pictures. Viivi finishes her drawing and begins
to talk about who plays with whom.
Viivi: I know. Veera plays with Niina and Viivi with Hilla.
Titta: Someone must play with me.
Viivi does not pay attention to Titta. Titta gathers the papers and pens and takes her
drawing to her locker. She takes her princess figures from the locker and goes to
the window, glancing out.
Titta: When is my mom coming?
These examples were drawn from the ‘free play’ situations in which children
could choose their playmates and activities (also Børve and Børve 2017; Konstantoni
2012; Wood 2014) and provide insights into children’s preferences when choosing
who to play with. One of the most striking dimensions in the everyday narratives
was the children’s tendency to develop common activities on a gendered basis,
which is also obvious in the examples above. This is not surprising, as previous
research literature presents notions about the significance of structural factors, such
as gender, age, and ethnicity, in children’s peer relations (Børve and Børve 2017;
Konstantoni 2012; Puroila and Estola 2014; Wood 2014). The question also involves
the process of identification, where similarities and differences form the basic
dynamics through which identities are shaped. Applied to children’s worlds, this
means children must have something in common to form relationships and identify
themselves as members of certain social groupings (Konstantoni 2012).
In Example 4.8, a group of boys negotiated the principles by which playmates
were chosen. It was clear from the entire research material that Nuutti enjoyed a
high status in the group, and other children, both boys and girls, often searched out
66 A.-M. Puroila
his company and acceptance. Nuutti also played a leading role in several daily situ-
ations (see Examples 4.5 and 4.9). The hierarchies of the group colored the boys’
conversation in Example 4.8. Unlike in many other situations, Nuutti found himself
on the losing side; he had to admit that he could not always decide who plays with
whom. In Example 4.9, outdoor play initially involved the group of boys, who per-
formed their male identity by inventing rules that girls were not allowed to join.
However, Annika entering their territory changed the situation. Although they first
forbade her from playing, she was soon regarded one of ‘the boys’. Example 4.10
provides a view of peer relations among the youngest girls in the group. Although
Titta expressed her willingness to be included in the joint play, she was left alone;
she did not stand up to take her place in the other girls’ play. Her actions implied
loneliness and being left alone made Titta miss her mother.
These examples draw attention to the dynamics through which peer relations
shape children’s identities. Although some social bonds and power structures tran-
scend situations, such as close friendships and social hierarchies, they do not seem
absolute or unchanging in the context of this study. For instance, Nuutti’s high sta-
tus in the group was questioned when the other children resisted him and made their
own choices. The narratives also echo how flexibly children re-created the boundar-
ies between the playing groups. The group of boys accepted Annika to play a role of
‘a boy’, while Titta was excluded from the play despite having the attractive prin-
cesses. Similar to previous studies, the everyday narratives portray peer relations as
an arena for the politics of belonging, where boundaries between ‘us’ and ‘them’
are created, maintained, and contested (Sumsion and Wong 2011; see also Over
2016). Through this boundary maintenance, children were identified as insiders and
outsiders in relation to the groupings. As Konstantoni (2012) argues, being included
and chosen as a friend forms an important aspect of children’s lives, their develop-
ment and well-being.
4.4.4 M
y Place: Children’s Identities Shaped by Cultural
Rules and Conventions of the Child Care Center
The everyday narratives provided a range of diverse insights into the pedagogical
and institutional cultures of the child care center, which are important for shaping
children’s identities. As Tuval-Mashiach (2014) notes, all single narratives echo the
culture and shared meaning systems in which narratives are created and performed.
An increasing body of research maintains that the pedagogical and institutional cul-
tures of early education settings shape children’s identities through framing and
regulating the social spaces of normality (Edmiston 2010; Farquhar 2012; Olwig
2011; Puroila and Estola 2014). Children’s identities thus have a close connection
with a moral perspective: What are good and desirable children like in the context
of early education settings?
In accordance with previous studies, the child care center appeared as a well-
structured place where physical spaces, material items, and people’s actions were
framed by a particular spatio-temporal order (Olwig 2011; Puroila 2013). On the
one hand, cultural conventions were expressed explicitly; for instance, the daily
schedule was made visible using a series of pictures representing the order of daily
routines and activities (see Puroila et al. 2012b). In the yard, the fences indicated a
clear border that children were not allowed to cross without the educators’ com-
pany, while the borders between the different groups’ indoor spaces were marked
with doors and walls. The children’s lockers and chairs were labeled with nametags;
“this is my place” and “this is my locker” were often heard during the children’s
daily activities. On the other hand, some cultural rules were less explicit, and these
became particularly evident when children did not behave as expected and when
they contested or broke the rules. In the extracts above, the moral landscape of chil-
dren’s lives is mapped by rules concerning how to use the physical spaces and mate-
rial items, how to engage in the tasks assigned, how to treat other children, and how
to behave in different situations. The examples below offer insights into how the
children navigated in the culturally marked landscape of their center.
Example 4.11
I am sitting on a bench in the locker room in which children are playing. Two clean-
ers go through the locker room to a small room meant for their detergent and
cleaning implements. Sami shuts the door behind the cleaners and runs away
laughing. Leevi remains beside the door. The educator enters the locker room
and reminds Leevi that children are not allowed to enter the cleaners’ room.
Leevi moves from the door, giggling.
Leevi (to Sami): The cleaners are locked in the room forever!
Example 4.12
The educator has organized material on a table for children to make cards, as
Fathers’ Day is coming. The educator asks children to engage in card making in
small groups. Joni has not yet made his card, as he and Sami have played the
morning with Sami’s Hero Factory figures.
Educator: Hey, Joni, please come here to make the card!
Joni: I’d like to get this [Hero Factory figure] ready.
Educator: Does it take a long time?
Joni: No (continuing his play).
Educator: Joni, please, come!
Joni leaves the figure and comes to the table. He makes the card and wraps it with
the educator’s help.
Educator: Thank you, Joni!
Joni runs back to Sami.
Joni: I got off now, doesn’t it take a long time?
68 A.-M. Puroila
Example 4.13
I am observing children who are playing in the yard. Leevi runs to one boy (Heikki),
shoves him down, and presses him on the back.
Leevi: Nuutti, come here!
Heikki begins to cry. An educator approaches the boys.
Educator: What’s going on? Why’s Heikki crying?
Heikki: Leevi’s teasing me.
Educator (to Leevi): Why?
Leevi: They bullied us.
The educator talks to Leevi about how he should behave.
Example 4.14
The children are gathered in a locker room for a circle-time situation. They sit on
benches and wait for an adult. Nuutti is sitting between two boys. An educator
enters the room.
Educator: Nuutti, do you have such a place that you can sit there?
Nuutti: Yes.
The examples above took place either in the rooms dedicated for this group or in
the yard, spaces that formed the ‘stages’ where children’s identities were performed
(see Puroila 2013; also Børve and Børve 2017). Example 4.11 involves the spatial
regulations of the center; the border between the permissible and prohibited spaces
for children lies between the locker room and the cleaners’ room. Even though
Leevi did not cross this border, he was reminded that the children are not allowed to
enter the cleaners’ room. Example 4.12 offers a glimpse of the curricular activities
of this group; in the light of the everyday narratives, it was obvious that the children
had plenty of space to choose their activities, which reflects the idea of a play-based
curriculum (see Wood 2014). As Joni’s case in Example 4.12 reveals, the educator
respected the children’s engagement with play, and therefore the children could
complete the task of making cards within a flexible time frame. However, one can
see that the educator was determined that Joni must make the card. Even though
Joni’s mind seemed set on the Hero Factory figures, he met the educators’ expecta-
tions by making the card.
In addition to Examples 4.11 and 4.12, there were a number of other situations
where children adapted themselves to the moral order of the center, thus performing
as nice and obedient children. However, there were clear differences between the
children in this respect. Titta often played the role of ‘a good girl’; she managed the
conventions and rules of the center very well and took care that other children did
not break the rules. Joni usually adapted to the center rules as well, and rarely con-
tested them. Of the four children considered in this chapter, it was more difficult for
Nuutti and Leevi to fulfil the adults’ expectations. In many situations, these boys
were on a collision course with the moral order of the center; they appeared too
energetic and too noisy to play the role of a desirable child. These boys often found
themselves in conflict with other children in the group, like Leevi in Example 4.13.
As noted in previous research, misbehavior may have a cumulative nature in terms
of children’s emerging identities; the more children perform as trouble-makers, the
more the community begins to expect this kind of behavior from them (Puroila
2013). According to my interpretation, the educator views Nuutti as a potential
trouble-maker in Example 4.14. She is seemingly concerned whether Nuutti is able
to sit quietly when seated between two boys. Seating is one of the various means by
which educators maintain order among children and indicate a child’s place within
the group (Puroila 2002).
4.5 Discussion
The questions “Who am I?” and “What constitutes the world in which I live?” are
among the most fundamental ones that children encounter already in their early
years. In many Western societies, a growing number of children spend many of their
waking hours in institutional early education settings. These settings provide young
children with a significant context for their development; a context where they can
make sense of themselves and the surrounding world. On the one hand, it is the first
context that allows young children to mirror themselves against their peers and
learn to participate in the creation of peer culture (Børve and Børve 2017;
Konstantoni 2012). On the other hand, it is a context for children’s civilizing pro-
cess in which public educational policies frame children’s shaping as social beings
(Farquhar 2012; Olwig 2011). The present study offers insights into how children’s
narrative identities are negotiated and performed between children and the complex
nexus of social, material, and cultural relationships. The study both contributes to
early childhood education research and has implications for educational practices.
4.5.1 T
he Potential and Challenges of the Narrative Approach
in Research with Young Children
Previous research has proved the potential of narrative approaches in research with
young children. Exploring young children’s lives from narrative viewpoints has pro-
vided insights into, for instance, children’s psychological and linguistic develop-
ment (e.g., Engel 2006; Nicolopoulou 2008). However, research on young children’s
narrative identities has been scarce. This is due to the long tradition of narrative
research that has placed the emphasis on individual narrators’ verbal stories of their
past life events. During the past decade, there has been increasing interest in expand-
ing narrative research beyond the mere verbally articulated narratives towards scru-
tinizing narratives as social practices in context (Lannamann and McNamee 2011;
Striano 2012). Research on narrative identities has also become more complex and
multi-voiced; research literature contains “various ideas of what narrative identities
and selves are and how they should be studied” (Smith and Sparkes 2008, p. 6). This
expansion of narrative research broadens the opportunities for utilizing narrative
approaches in research with young children (Puroila 2013).
70 A.-M. Puroila
This study contributes to early childhood education research by opening new

spaces for applying narrative approaches in studies of young children’s identities.
Rather than restricting the concept of narrative to children’s verbal accounts, this
study conceptualized narratives as dynamic meeting places where children’s identi-
ties are shaped in relations between people and their environments (see Ahn and
Filipenko 2007). The everyday narratives explored indicated the holistic nature of
children narrating, as children’s verbal accounts were connected closely to their
bodily actions, emotional expressions, gestures, and the situation where narrating
occurred. Building and knocking down Hero Factory figures, sweeping sand, play-
ing, drawing, crying, climbing, and participating in the daily routines of the setting
had a crucial function in the narratives. By looking merely at the children’s verbal
accounts, the narratives would not be understandable.
The performative perspective applied in this study offered a fruitful framework
for exploring young children’s narrative identities. This perspective challenged me
to focus on how narrative identities were negotiated and performed in the dynamic,
relational space between children and their contexts. As a researcher, I was essen-
tially part of the nexus of relations under study. Clandinin et al. (2016) maintain that
as narrative inquirers we do not try to get out of stories; rather, “we linger in the
complex layers of the intertwined and interwoven stories” (p. 20). The everyday
narratives co-composed in this study provided a rich and life-tasting ground for this
‘lingering,’ that is, going back and forth between various narratives, my memories
from the field work, and previous research literature.
Its highly relational nature can be seen as both a strength and a limitation of this
study. On the one hand, the study shows that engaging in living, telling, re-living,
and re-telling the everyday narratives enabled getting close to the children’s daily
lives. Close reading and re-reading of small, even minimal, extracts of daily interac-
tions provided insights into the children’s life events in their complexities. Regardless
of my honest willingness to understand children’s lives, I cannot escape the fact that
my interpretation and understanding are restricted unavoidably by my role as an
adult researcher, nor can I argue that the findings of this study are generalizable.
However, the study may provide inspiration for further studies and provoke memo-
ries, images, and feelings of familiarity in the readers beyond the research context.
4.5.2 Y
oung Children’s Identities: A Crucial Part of Their
Daily Lives
Early childhood education research and practice has long been dominated by age-
dependent and individually focused developmental theories that have provided an
overarching framework for understanding early years (Edmiston 2010; Hedges and
Cullen 2012; Urban 2012). From the developmental viewpoint, the interest in young
children’s identities is focused primarily on their ‘becoming’, that is, the develop-
mental steps through which children build their identities. As Edmiston (2010)
remarks, the developmental theories drawn from the ideas of Piaget or Kohlberg
tend to assume that children are at less competent stages of their cognitive and
moral development than adults: “Young children are inherently more egocentric,
lacking in deep empathy, and less able than adults to abstractly and rationally reason
about moral issues” (p. 198).
This study explored young children’s identities from a slightly different perspec-
tive thus providing an alternative and complementary theoretical view for under-
standing children’s identities. In accordance with a growing body of research
literature, this study highlights identity as a dynamic and relational phenomenon
that is crucial to young children’s daily lives in early education settings (e.g., Ahn
2011; Farquhar 2012; Konstantoni 2012). The study offers glimpses of a variety of
daily interactions in which children relate their selves to other children and adults,
and to the material, institutional and pedagogical cultures of the early education set-
ting. The findings reveal that four intertwining dimensions permeate the negotiating
and performing of children’s identities in the context of this study: the possession of
material items; skills and competences; peer relationships; and the child’s relation
to the rules and conventions of the child care center. These findings indicate that
children’s identities are interwoven tightly into the whole texture of the early educa-
tion setting.
In addition, the findings of the study draw attention to three aspects relevant to
educational practices in early education settings. First, children appeared both as
active and passive in negotiating and performing their identities. They not only
performed identities themselves but also became narrated and treated in a particular
way by other interlocutors. From this perspective, the quality of interaction among
children and between children and educators forms an important means of influenc-
ing children’s identities. Second, the shaping of children’s identities emerged as
both situation-specific and trans-situational by nature. Even though the children’s
identities often changed from situation to situation, some aspects of identities
seemed to cumulate and offer continuity in the children’s lives. For instance, close
friendships and the role of a trouble-maker characterized a variety of some chil-
dren’s situations. Undoubtedly, all children sometimes encounter unpleasant mat-
ters in the heat of everyday life, such as negative feedback and disputes. However,
being repeatedly excluded, rejected, or labelled as a trouble-maker is a real threat to
the child’s well-being and development. Therefore, educators need to be sensitive to
the relationships and interactional patterns that exist in the setting. Third, the chil-
dren’s identities were shaped by both adapting to and contesting and transgressing
the power structures of the child care center. The children’s identities were con-
nected closely to how they exercised their agency within the hierarchies of the peer
group and the social and moral order of the setting. This notion calls for reflecting
on the moral basis of early childhood education: What are the desirable children like
in institutional early education settings? What kinds of identities are preferred and
promoted? Table 4.1 summarizes some practical tips for educators of how to utilize
everyday narratives in supporting the development of children’s positive identities
in early education settings.
72 A.-M. Puroila
Table 4.1 Practical tips for utilizing everyday narratives in early education settings
Provide space for children’s Appreciate children’s spontaneous initiatives to narrate and
spontaneous and multimodal share their experiences
narratives Create opportunities for children to narrate in multiple
ways: in addition to verbal narratives children tell, for
instance, by singing, drawing, playing, and moving
Pay attention to different children’s ways of narrating;
those who tend to remain silent have also their stories to be
shared
Engage in children’s narratives Organize time and space for yourself to engage in
children’s narratives: utilize the potential involved in
diverse daily moments and encounters
Create fruitful situations for narrating and listening: keep
close to children and encounter children face-to-face
Recognize adults’ tendency to speak a lot; reduce your own
speech and show your interest in what children are
expressing
Exercise your skills of listening to children’s multimodal
narratives: listening requires using not only ears but all
senses
Utilize the potential of everyday Document everyday narratives co-created in the setting;
narratives in developing the observe, write diaries, and use technologies
pedagogical practices of the Provide spaces for educators to share and reflect on
setting everyday narratives
Reconsider the significance of materiality for children’s
identities; reflect on practices connected with physical
spaces and material items
Reflect on your interactional patterns; reconsider how you
support children’s positive sense of self, give positive
feedback, and strengthen children’s sense of being
competent
Reflect on how you support children’s peer interaction and
peer culture: help children form relationships; support
children’s sense of belonging; create practices of
intervening in exclusion and bullying
Reflect on the moral basis of early childhood education in
the setting; reconsider explicit and hidden rules that frame
children’s moral development
4.6 Conclusion
This study portrays a child care center as a context in which young children engage
in a variety of relations with their social, material, and cultural environment. These
relations constitute the messy landscape where children’s narrative identities are
continuously negotiated and performed. Throughout their daily lives, children nar-
rate about themselves and they encounter narratives about who they are, who they
will become, and what kind of children they are expected to be. These narratives are
important, as they provide children with a view of how they relate to other people
and the world in which they live. The findings of this study challenge us to recon-
sider the significance of daily interactions, material and social environments, educa-
tional practices, and institutional and pedagogical cultures in terms of children’s
narrative identities. In light of the findings, we can see that the function of institu-
tional early education goes far beyond promoting children’s academic learning.
Rather, the development of children’s personalities is on view in a holistic manner
throughout the day in a range of situations in such settings.
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Chapter 5
Young Children’s Humorous Stories:
A Force for Positive Emotions
Eleni Loizou and Anthia Michaelides
5.1 Introduction
There was a man who was red and went to a place where all the trees were red and then he
continued and found more things. Bananas which were all green and then went to a field
and he saw yellow soil. Then he continued and went to his house and fell asleep. (Theory of
the Absurd-Incongruous Appearance) (Girl-G, 5 years old)
Once upon a time it was someone’s birthday and they gave him a present. He opened it and
there was a frog which had exploded inside the box but then the frog jumped out
(Empowerment Theory- Violence). (Boy-B, 4 years old)
“Every day we swim in a sea of stories” (Pickard 2005, p.130). Children are
natural narrators who tell stories in order to communicate, explore and share their
feelings, needs and understanding of the world and also co-construct stories with
adults and peers (Harrett 2004; Leicester 2006). As shown above with the two sto-
ries, children are natural narrators and are aware of the genre of humorous stories.
Young children have fun playing, exploring their world, manipulating the environ-
ment around them and taking advantage of their social interactions in constructing
their understanding of the world. The stories told by the two children exemplify how
they perceive humor through the humorous features they employ. It is clear that they
consider humor as be something out of the ordinary (Theory of the Absurd) and also
realize and employ its empowering potential (The Empowerment Theory). Their
actions and narratives often provide a clear picture of how they construct their defi-
nition of what is important, meaningful, funny, and enjoyable.
E. Loizou (*) · A. Michaelides

University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
e-mail: eloizou@ucy.ac.cy

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_5
78 E. Loizou and A. Michaelides
Children are social beings who have the need to communicate and they do
through playing, exploring, experimenting and telling stories which they discur-
sively co-construct with teachers and peers (Cremin et al. 2018).
5.2 Theories of Humor
Humor is a complex construct that is difficult to define as it entails: (a) production

and/or appreciation of an event, (b) multiple perspectives; children’s or adults’, and
(c) visual or narrative humorous elements. We use the framework of the Theory of
the Absurd and Empowerment Theory as developed by Loizou (2002) in consider-
ing humor as an incongruous and/or an empowering event, act, or situation. These
theories have evolved with the investigation of older children’s humor perspective,
in different contexts, to include the use of infant data. Additional studies have been
executed to support and expand the specific theories (Loizou 2005, 2006, 2007,
2011; Loizou et al. 2011; Loizou and Kyriakou 2016). The goal has been to see the
potential of the two theories for explaining how young children, moving from
infants to kindergarteners, define and understand humor, as well as examining mul-
tiple ways for studying how humor is produced and appreciated by young children,
including verbal and visual humor.
Loizou (2005) states:
The Theory of the Absurd defines humor as the ability of children to recognize or create
absurd situations that are a mismatch from their world, and smile and/or laugh about what
they are experiencing which is out of the ordinary. Empowerment Theory defines humor as
the ability to empower oneself by playfully violating or appreciating the violation of some-
one’s expectations and responding through smiles and/or laughter. (p. 47)
It is important to note that within these two theories, specific sub-categories have
been extracted on how children produce and appreciate humor. The following table
(Table 5.1) provides the categories which encompass the Theory of the Absurd as
they have developed through a series of studies.
In reference to the Empowerment Theory the two beginning categories were (a)
spontaneous intentional violation of expectations; a child purposefully violates the
Table 5.1 Examples of humorous events within the categories of the Theory of the Absurd
Categories Example
Incongruous use of A child uses materials not in the expected manner (e.g. using a bowl as
materials a hat)
Incongruous actions A child acts in an inappropriate way than the expected one (e.g.
climbing a slide upside down)
Funny words/sounds A child creates sounds and/or words which are odd (e.g.
mispronouncing the word chives)
Ηumorous symbols The use of a clown or elements of laughter and joking
Incongruous Elements such as color, shape, size being presented in an unsuitable
appearance manner
5 Young Children’s Humorous Stories: A Force for Positive Emotions 79
expectations of an adult or a peer (e.g. the teacher says that the children should walk
on the pavement and a child walks for a moment in the street laughing), and (b)
responsive-intentional violation of expectations; a child acts in a way that gets atten-
tion and reaction from the adult or a peer and because of that the child repeats her
action (e.g. a child mistakenly drops a book, a loud noise is heard and the teacher
reacts with a surprise and comments on the loud noise, the child enjoys the reaction
and repeats her actions). These categories have evolved into (a) Violence; a child
participates or describes someone else participating in or experiencing a violent
situation and (b) Violation of rules; where a child or another person purposefully
does not follow the rules of the event (Loizou 2007; Loizou and Kyriakou 2016).
Loizou et al. (2011) explored children’s abilities to produce simple and humor-
ous stories and have shown that children produce stories that are “story-teller cen-
tered”, “other people-centered” and/or “fairy-tale centered” (p.69–70). It is
suggested that in order to narrate a story, children employ personal or other people’s
experiences, as well as the knowledge they have from common fairy tales. In terms
of the humor aspects, the use of the theoretical framework of the Theory of the
Absurd and the Empowerment Theory is evident in children’s humorous stories.
Specifically, they included the following humor elements: incongruity, humor sym-
bols, violence and violation of rules.
In this chapter we present multiple humorous stories as narrated by children,
after being invited to do so, through a variety of modes as a means to highlight the
humorous aspects they choose to employ and the learning and development aspects
they share with us when doing so.
5.2.1 T
he Context and Rationale of Previous Studies
on Humor
In the following section, we provide data from multiple studies in order to describe
how children’s humorous stories exhibit their definition of humor and perspective
on funniness, while at the same time pointing to the realm of skills they are employ-
ing (e.g. socio-cognitive skills- agency, creativity and linguistic abilities) during the
process of sharing funny stories. Acknowledging the multimodality of texts (See
Chap. 4), we have in different studies invited children to use different modes of
expressing humorous stories, by narrating, storying, drawing or photographing.
Thus, our data include story texts, orally presented by the children, drawings, and
photographs taken by the children. The content of children’s stories in the different
modes mentioned earlier are seen through the lens of the Theory of the Absurd and
the Empowerment Theory. The content is placed within each theory and their cate-
gories elaborating both the elements that refer to children’s conceptualization of
humor as well as their learning and development.
5.3 Findings
This section is divided in three areas: (1) Types of humor development, (2) Tools
employed and (3) Learning and development connections in order to unfold the mul-
tiple elements contemplated in creating humorous stories through multiple modes.
5.3.1 Type of Humor Employed
In exploring young children’s humorous stories, it has been evident that children
employ themes from the Theory of the Absurd and the Empowerment theory.
Specifically, we see children creating scenes and narrating episodes which involve
some sort of incongruity thus those stories fall within the categories of the Theory
of the Absurd. In addition, children create stories which entail empowerment
aspects, especially focusing on violation of rules and violence, subcategories of the
Empowerment Theory. Table 5.2 presents the two theories and their categories as
these are noted in children’s humorous story productions. It should be noted chil-
dren narrated their stories in their native language, Greek, and were then translated
by the first author into English and then reviewed by the second author as well.
Children in their funny stories and drawings involve their characters-protagonists
in acting incongruously or even looking incongruous, thus violating the existing
schemata of their “audience” in terms of how their story characters are expected to
look and act depending on who, when, and where they are. In the same realm of
funniness, arising from incongruity, children at different times have their story char-
acters use materials in an “inappropriate,” incongruous way. Also, they have their
characters use funny gestures, positions, sounds or words in order to create a humor-
ous perspective in their story. At other times children employ humorous symbols
such as clowns, jokes and laughter in order to highlight the funniness of their story.
All of the above-mentioned elements of children’s humorous stories clearly suggest
that they fall within the Theory of the Absurd.
During a study of exploring children’s ability to produce and appreciate humor,
preschool children were invited to share a humorous story with the researchers and
explain the funniness of their narrative. The following stories as presented in oral
texts are examples which include elements placing them within the Theory of the
Absurd and its sub-categories.
Table 5.2 Humor theories and their subcategories as drawn from humorous stories
Theory of the Absurd The Empowerment Theory
Incongruous actions Violation of rules
Incongruous use of materials Violence
Funny gestures/positions/sounds/words
Humorous symbols
Incongruous appearance
Once upon a time there was a bee that had no wings and no eyes! And was crying. She told
the others that she had no wings and the others gave her the wings of a bird! But she did not
fly with the wings of the bird. She had no name. She looked for people to find her a name.
They all told her to find it alone. The end. (Theory of the Absurd- Incongruous appearance)
(B, 5 years old)
There was a man who had an animal, a little doggy. He did a lot of crazy and funny things!
Jumped and acted like a clown. And then after everyone saw him, they acted crazy as well.
The man felt crazy! Then it was night time and the little doggy rested. Then after it was
morning the same things happened, he did a lot of crazy things. (Theory of the Absurd-
Humorous Symbols) (B, 5 years old)
Also Figs. 5.1 and 5.2 present children’s funny drawings where again children are
employing the Theory of the Absurd. We can specifically note the subcategories of
Incongruous appearance (Fig. 5.1) since the child drew a turtle with five legs and
Incongruous actions, where the child drew a flying tree on which there is also a fly-
ing child (Fig. 5.2).
In previous studies (Loizou 2006; Loizou et al. 2011; Loizou and Kyriakou
2016) we have shown that children’s humorous story production, through oral texts,
mainly fall within the Empowerment Theory, specifically involving elements of
Violence and/or Violation of rules. Children narrate stories in which they have their
characters act in a way that violates specific rules, depending on the context-setting
that the story is being unfolded and also there are many examples during which
children have their story characters, these being animal or human figures, act in a
violent way which subsequently empowers them. It is evident in the following sto-
ries that the specific type of humor supports children’s socio-emotional development
by providing the space to express inner feelings they would not otherwise have the
opportunity or feel comfortable enough to express.
Fig. 5.1 Turtle with five

legs
Fig. 5.2 Flying tree
Fig. 5.3 Child hits head
Once upon a time there was a little duck that went to a party and some crabs started pinch-
ing it. (Empowerment Theory-Violence) (G, 4 years old)
Someone went into the pool with no shoes on, a cat came and ate him and the blood was
pouring and took him to the hospital. (Empowerment Theory-Violence) (B, 4 years old)
Children’s funny stories exhibit social norms which they might be considering or
social issues they themselves or other peers have experienced. Thus, they use their
own story character’s experience with these issues in fulfilling their own needs or
expressing their own worries.
When children produced funny drawings, they employed the Empowerment
Theory but less frequently since it is harder to exhibit on paper the violation of
someone’s expectations even though it was easier to show the violence one could be
facing as in the example presented below (Fig. 5.3) where the child runs and bangs
his head on the house.
5.3.2 Types of Stimuli
Loizou and Kyriakou (2016) suggest that the content of the story that children pro-
duce, and whether it falls within the Theory of the Absurd or the Empowerment
Theory, is affected by the type of stimulus provided.
The type of visual stimulus employed to initiate story narration can have an
impact on the choice and type of humorous events children chose to employ in their
story. For example, the first visual stimulus included multiple incongruities such as
a dressed man in a bathtub with water running over his clothes, the specific tap hav-
ing legs, inside the water of the tub and on the shower telephone there are frogs and
outside the bathtub there is a clothes bin with a flower pot on it. This provided chil-
dren with the opportunity to employ one or more of these incongruities when nar-
rating their funny story, structuring it in a way that falls under the Theory of the
Absurd. The two stories that follow are examples of what we are describing and at
the same time provide evidence of children’s abilities in terms of incongruity
appreciation.
Once upon a time there was a man who went into the bathroom with the clothes on and the
frogs turned on the faucets. The man started shouting “I will drown”. In the bathroom there
were two flower pots that were watered by the water that was coming out of the bathtub. In
the end the frogs turned off the water. The bathtub had feet, a trash can and a man who was
smoking. (B, 5 years old)
Once upon a time there was a man who wanted to take a bath but he was cold. He went in
(the bathroom), smoked and then opened the trash can and said “why is the trash can
here?” Then he saw flowers and put them on the trash can and I don’t know why he did it.
He then turned on the water, he turned on both faucets. The water was really hot until the
bathtub was full and water fell outside the bathtub, because he had turned on both faucets.
Then the frogs came because they thought it was a lake and they started playing. Then the
man smoked and the rain became steam. (G, 5 years old)
Also, another visual stimulus which involved a child in doing something challeng-
ing, exciting and/or dangerous; she was getting ready to climb up a ladder which
was placed on a tree that had a bed on its top.
This stimulus was purposefully employed in providing children with the oppor-
tunity to relate or not to the main character and thus create a story depending on
their perspective. In the specific visual, children noted the major incongruity which
involved “a bed on a tree” and chose to include the specific character within the
specific context. They then went a step further to elaborate on the outcome of the
situation, suggesting that their story character would experience a negative and/or
fierce event. In other words, the children considered the potential resolution of the
incongruity, “the girl would climb the ladder and fall down”, which led to the
empowerment of themselves, making them feel superior to their story character.
The following two stories are examples of such humorous stories, which involve
the character of the visual stimulus enacting incongruously and the child narrator
feeling empowered by describing the resolution of the incongruous situation, high-
lighting the violent event the character faces.
Once upon a time there was a girl and because she did not want to sleep in her house she
put a ladder on a tree and put her bed up there to be able to see far away. Then it was night
time; she put on her pajamas and went up the ladder to sleep but she slid down and fell on
the grass and started crying. Her mom came and took her to their house and slept with her.
(G, 4 years old)
The girl is called Maria. She did not like her house and she liked the tree so she wanted to
put her bed on the tree so that she can be alone and so that her siblings do not tease her.
And then she fell down and hit her knee. Then she never went back to the tree. (B, 4 years
old)
Also, in another project to ensure that children could relate to the character in the
visual stimulus, specific “humorous photos” were provided with both an adult and a
child acting in an incongruous way (Figs. 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, and 5.7). We wanted to
examine whether there was a relationship, positive or negative, between appreciat-
ing humor and developing feelings of empathy.
Figures 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, and 5.7 are part of an educational game titled: “Where is the
mistake” and they were chosen because they provide a distinct incongruity (e.g. a
woman writing with a banana, a child drinking from an apple), that children could
employ in their story. Also, the specific types of visual stimuli showed the characters
in the photos acting incongruously without their actions necessarily having any
direct negative impact on themselves; getting hurt or in trouble due to their actions.
The children had the opportunity to choose one of the four pictures or all of them in
creating a funny story. Most children chose to mention almost all of the pictures and
other than placing the characters in a specific setting (e.g. school, home) and per-
sonifying them (e.g. a teacher, myself) as they described the incongruity in the pic-
ture. Children did not differentiate between adult and child pictures and used both
in the same way when narrating their story.
Fig. 5.4 Visual stimulus 2

Once upon a time there was a teacher who forgot and wrote with the banana and she had a
husband who was holding the bottle upside down. The two of them had a child who was
writing with a brush. (G 4 years old)
One day, I took the bottle upside down and drank water and my mom saw me and was
laughing. (B, 4 years’ old)
In the same study children were asked to create a visual narrative (a funny drawing)
and talk about the elements that make their drawing funny. As seen in Fig. 5.8 the
child copied one of the visual stimuli and drew a child drinking juice from an apple
using a huge straw. Thus, we see how he adds to the existing stimulus an element of
incongruous appearance (the huge straw).
It is important to carefully consider the choice of visual stimulus when having chil-
dren narrate stories because it can affect their motivation in narrating a story and in
exhibiting their best possible abilities (Loizou and Kyriakou 2016). It seems that when
Fig. 5.8 Drinking from an

apple with a long straw
the visual stimulus exhibits someone whose incongruous actions might lead to a nega-
tive, empowering, violent situation the children create stories within the Empowerment
Theory because they emphasize that event. Whereas when there is no such potential they
tend to describe the incongruity they see and at times provide its resolution.
Furthermore, in another study children were read, in multiple ways (e.g. through
puppet show, reading a book, use of drama), different humorous stories (e.g. Walter
the farting dog by Kotzwinkle and Murray and illustrations by Colman) in order to
mentally place them in the necessary context, that of storytelling and humor. Then
we explored their ability to narrate humorous stories by using different items (e.g. a
book, a doll, a puppet) that were provided for them as a stimulus to begin their story.
During this process children:
(a) Chose characters from the story they were read to include in their story
(b) Used elements from a known fairy-tale and
(c) Created a completely new story
Children employed the specific items in three distinct ways:
1 . As one of the main characters of their story
2. As an item in their story or
3. Describing it in their story
These descriptions were highlighted by rule violation, violence and incongruous
actions as seen in the stories presented below which employed a puppet as the stim-
ulus of the story.
There were three cows, one was crazy, the other one was naughty and the last one was nice.
Their mother told them to stop and one day their father was upset with the naughty one
because she had an accident, but it was serious…then her father and mother took her to the
doctor… (Empowerment Theory-Violating the rules) (B, 5 years old)
Once upon a time there was a little frog, the little frog got out of the water and told his
friend to play. And then the dog while sleeping pooped on him. Then the frog was angry
and went back to his pond. Then he got out again and said “are we going to play?” and the
dog pooped him again. Then he went to the dog and punched him. Then the dog woke up,
saw the angry frog and told him he will not do it again. And they all played together.
(Empowerment Theory, Violence) (B, 5 years old)
Children use animals in their stories as well as events or settings from known stories
and fairy tales (Loizou 2011). Also, it seems as though children want to end their
story with a “lesson” where the good triumphs over evil. This is often the way teach-
ers and parents use stories and try to have children consider what is appropriate,
right and true by negating the alternative. As suggested earlier, it is important to note
that we need to be aware of the different points of view (children’s and adults’)
when exploring the humorous narrations of children. Children through the narration
of humorous stories form and/or practice an ethics stance suggesting that they might
choose to empathize with the character in a visual stimulus depending on the seri-
ousness and dangerousness of the event they are viewing. Also, children employ
incongruities and/or create empowering events while narrating humorous stories
and we need to consider the perspective which they take on. It is evident that adults
and children come from and have a different way of understanding and living life.
There is always a power negotiation where children feel disempowered towards the
adult world and rules. Narrating humor stories provide opportunities for children to
be empowered and make a statement in terms of how they feel or how they consider
the rules and restrictions that adults might be imposing on them.
Fig. 5.9 A dog with a tin

on his head
Fig. 5.10 A funny-shaped umbrella
Finally, as seen through this chapter and as supported in this book, children’s
stories can be presented in different modes (See Chap. 4). Adding to this we propose
that the mode chosen to exhibit one’s story can again have an impact on the type of
story they enact. For example, in a study where we asked children to use disposable
cameras to take photos of whatever they considered funny, children involved adults,
animals (Fig. 5.9) and items in their environments as the main characters of their
story, looking or acting incongruously. In addition, the children were involved in
staging a humorous scene in order to photograph it as in the case of Fig. 5.10. The
child asked his mother to hold the specific umbrella which had a duck for a head,
having an incongruous appearance, in order for him to photograph it (Loizou 2011).
5.3.3 Learning and Development Connections
Children develop their narrative competence and tend to use relevant story conven-
tions when narrating funny stories which refer to either personal experience, imagi-
nary situations or media/fairy-tale created scenes. Also, within their stories they
employ as main characters, humans (e.g. themselves or others), animals and fairy
tale heroes (e.g. superheroes or literature heroes) which participate in incongruous
and/or empowering events. To do so, children activate mental processes during
which they use existing information, ideas and actions in an alternative and creative
way. Children are bombarded with narratives in multimodal forms (e.g. children’s
movies, YouTube, storybooks, comics, advertisements, children’s T.V. programs)
and this becomes their pool of story characters and plot. In order to make their story
funny, the children tend to describe what their story characters are doing, how they
look and how they feel making these descriptions, which might fall under the
umbrella of the Theory of the Absurd or the Empowerment Theory, the essence of
their story’s funniness. It is evident that through this process children share their
“narrative voices” (Hohti and Karlsson 2014) thus expressing their feelings, under-
standing of the world, trying to question and construct ways of being and doing.
When analyzing children’s context of their stories, character actions and humorous
aspects allow the socio-emotional and cognitive areas of development to be further
elaborated and examined.
The following story is an example of a personal experience expressing a misfor-
tune which the child considers humorous as it involves himself having a negative
experience, where an apple falls on his head. This child is comfortable portraying
himself in a negative situation and being the object of humor in his story, suggesting
his advanced personal awareness.
One day I went to a garden that had apples and one of them fell on my head. Then we left
the garden, went to our home, had lunch, played with my brother then had dinner, washed
our teeth and went to sleep. (B, 4 years old)
The next story is an example where the impact of media and movies is apparent on
the child’s narrative, since the main and a second character of the story is Lightening
McQueen and Kung-Fu Panda, cartoon characters in popular films.
Once upon a time there was a flood and then the sun came out and smiled. As soon as the
sun came out, the fast McQueen came and saw a towel. It belonged to the monkey who
climbed up the chairs and the waterfall and they found a Kung-Fu panda. The funny part is
that McQueen fell into the flood. And then the monkey went for ice-cream. (B, 5 years old)
McQueen is a well-known powerful movie character, an anthropomorphic stock car,

whom the story narrator chooses to have him experience a negative event; he falls
into a flood. This choice may suggest that the child is feeling superior and empow-
ered by the misfortune of this fast racing car.
The narration of a humorous story enhances children’s socio-cognitive skills
since children learn to select specific information, employing certain schemata from
their social experiences to use and/or alter them in ways that portray and best sup-
port their feelings, needs and expectations of the world around them. As discussed
earlier, children choose animals from well-known fairy tales as the main characters
of their stories. The next story also highlights, once again the child’s capability to
react to power and be empowered by presenting a violent character being positive
and thus has the wolf helping the pig rather than eating it.
Once upon a time there was a pig and a wolf. While walking the pig fell on a rock and the
wolf saw it and helped it stand up. They then went to their mom and ate and then for a walk.
(G, 4 years old)
In the last story the child does not only have the mental skills to highlight the incon-
gruity shown in the visual stimuli presented to her but also explains why the specific
act is not appropriate in order to highlight the funniness of her story. Through her
humorous narrative she makes it clear that she understands how things work and the
expected rules to follow.
A teacher was holding a banana, instead of a marker and was writing on the board. In her
class she had a girl who was writing with a comb instead of a red maker and a boy who was
drinking from the apple with a straw, instead of drinking it the juice. And then the principal
came and he was drinking from a bottle but because he was holding it upside down he could
not drink. (G, 5 years old)
The examples above highlight the blended cognitive and socio-emotional skills
children employ in producing humorous stories but most importantly are a forum of
the children’s point of view. Projecting their own perspective and needs they refer to
the socially constructed rules, disapproving of or creating their violation.
Through the process of narrating stories children share their linguistic abilities in
terms of the use of oral language, as well as the structure of a story, important ele-
ments for expressive language during the early years. Moreover, providing children
with the opportunity to express themselves through a story, but especially a funny
story, we provide the space during which they share their understanding of the spe-
cific genre; thus, assessing their knowledge of story genre as well as story conven-
tions. The story conventions noted in children’s humorous stories, as also seen in the
multiple humorous stories presented earlier in this chapter, include (a) the use of
story characters (sometimes naming them as well), (b) the creation of different epi-
sodes, (c) setting description, focusing mainly on place and sometimes on time and
(d) a dilemma or a problem is highlighted as it often the aspect that makes their
story humorous. All of the above narrative elements are purposefully employed by
children in divergent ways in order to make their story humorous. So, in different
instances children use the characters of the story, or the setting, or the actions of the
protagonist in such ways that allows them to create a humorous narrative. It is sug-
gested that the aspect of humor can be a creative way to motivate children to con-
sider the narration of a story, an interesting and exciting activity. The cognitive
elements of the process children follow to produce humorous narratives involves
purposefully altering existing schemata in order to create an unexpected situation
during which the expectations of the listener are surprisingly violated (e.g. a power-
ful protagonist who is in trouble, a description of a setting that does not match the
story content). The production and resolution of incongruous events, these being the
elements of humorous narrations, involve divergent thinking and flexibility in pro-

cessing information, crucial cognitive elements. Moreover, creative skills such as
originality and flexibility are evident in children’s humorous stories as they choose
to elaborate on themes that vary from regular stories since the aspect of humor;
whether being an incongruous or empowering event, it entails some sort of
creativity.
Once upon a time there was a granny Wolf who was sick in the house of the grandmother of
Red Riding Hood! Grandfather Wolf was taking care of her; he gave her soup. She did not
like it so she threw it in the trash. She got more soup from the pot and added some sugar.
Then she got out of bed and dressed up as pajama heroine, sneezed really hard and was
found on the other end! (G, 5 years old)
Additionally, when children employ other modes of creating humorous stories than
oral texts, they use divergent thinking and are being creative while developing their
social context.
Rarely, children repeat jokes, a different humorous narrative, they have heard
from peers or older children and provide these jokes as examples of humorous sto-
ries by stating that they are sharing a joke, even though this is not as common with
kindergarteners. When using such a narration, they present their knowledge of con-
ventional humor: short narration with a punch line. Rather when asking children to
narrate a humorous story they provide a lot of information, which could be multiple
humorous-incongruous events, different punch lines within their story which textu-
ally it is different from jokes. In addition when asking children after they narrate a
story to say what is funny about their story they tend to provide a single answer
making reference to one punch line, even though their story could have more.
Therefore, it is important to be aware of how one’s data collection methods and
tools can have an impact on the outcomes of children’s humorous stories.
5.4 Discussion
5.4.1 H
umorous Story Narration: A Context That Permits
to Playfully Voice Reaction to Ideas, Power and Rules
When we consider humor as “a type of mental play involving a lighthearted, non-

serious attitude towards ideas and events” (Martin 2007, p.1) then we comprehend
how humorous story unlike simple narrative production provides a playful context
to react to ideas, power and rules. Thus, children use the production of humorous
stories as an emancipatory and liberating experience which permits any form of
oddity and/or criticism. Hohti and Karlsson (2014) aptly state that the narrator is in
a powerful position and even more so when the narrator is asked to create a funny
story. Children’s humorous story production in any form and mode can be consid-
ered as a “political act” since in this process children exhibit their understanding
and reaction to the power relationships, that of the powerful and the oppressed,
whether these are experienced by animal or human characters. “The encounter

between the strong and the weak has been repeated thousands of times in stories,
films and folk tales” (Hohti and Karlsson 2014, p. 556) providing access to the chil-
dren. Wright (2011) makes the same reference when analyzing children’s visual
narratives, commenting on how the themes they use in their drawings refer to binary
oppositions such “good vs bad” and “powerful vs powerless.” She also states that
children have in their hands “the fate of their characters” (p.168) and based on what
they think and how they feel they choose how to have them act and look in order to
respond to the humorous aspect of the artifact.
Moreover, through their own experiences, at different contexts (e.g. school,
home, community), children have developed the specific constructs in their minds
and perhaps have experienced it in ways they disapprove, so the deconstruction
through humorous stories or visuals is emancipatory. Moreover, “children do use
agency in their stories to imagine a better world” (Quintero 2010, p.374). Children’s
humorous narratives (stories and visuals) provide opportunities to describe their
understanding of the world, themselves and imagine how they these can be
different.
5.4.2 Humor Analysis
A resume of the analysis of children’s verbal and visual humorous production sug-
gests as previously stated (Loizou and Kyriakou 2016) an expanded framework of
children’s abilities and their perspective on humor. Specifically, it is suggested that
children produce stories and drawings that involve incongruous elements which fall
under the Theory of the Absurd but additionally children include elements of
empowerment in their funny stories. The production of a humorous narrative is
described as a basic level of humor production since it includes skills of recognizing
and thus employing an incongruity or an empowerment event through the choice of
specific characters. The narratives are framed according to the choices the narrators
make in reference to story or drawing characters, how they are expected to act, when
and how they are expected to look and what the issue at hand is. Therefore, children
are involved in a playful frame of mind when making the necessary choices which
will lead to the fulfilment of the expectation; the creation of humorous stories (ver-
bal or visual).
Data from children’s humorous stories have shown that children also act in a
more complex manner/advanced level of humor production (as in the case with the
girl who climbed up a ladder to sleep in her bed, which was on a tree, and ended up
falling down and hurting herself). This is the case when children create stories by
employing one or more incongruities and then comment on the resolution of these
incongruities which leads to the production of an empowerment event that is enjoyed
by the narrator or the story character. Thus, the resolution of the incongruity, as
presented in the story, creates an empowerment space where feelings of superiority
are evident by the narrator or her story protagonist. “In humor we can temporarily
break all the rules, playing with reality in a way that denies the normal physical and
social constraints and ignores the usual consequences of behavior” (Martin 2007,
p.48).
5.5 Practical Suggestions
Common naturalistic ways for children to express experiences, thoughts and feel-
ings include the production of stories (verbal or visual narratives) (Marjanovič-
Umek et al. 2012; Loizou and Kyriakou 2016). Thus, in order for teachers to access
children’s understanding of the world and unfold their abilities in organizing their
ideas they need to explore both verbal and visual production of narratives. Table 5.3
Table 5.3 Practical ideas for employing humor to support healthy development
Humor related
Activity Reference to learning and humor development materials
Read and tell Expand their understanding of different genres Stories with humorous
children stories on a content stories,
daily basis illustrations or
humorous language
E.g. text that rhymes
has more potential to
be enjoyed by children,
like limericks
Provide alternative Such experiences provide a motivating learning Funny photographs,
and creative space with ample flexibly that encourages shaped objects and
experiences such as children to share their own constructs of humor paintings
creative and in art and at the same time unfold their Artists such as Magritte
humorous stimuli knowledge of the world or Chagall, who
incorporate
incongruous elements
in their work
Encourage children Through the use of the fantastic binominal, Rodari’s (1996)
to tell their own when children are given two words with a very creative ideas of story
stories, personal and different meaning, and no connection what so creation in his book
fictional ever (e.g. moon and cactus) are expected to “The Grammar of
include both of them in creating a story Fantasy”
In this way children employ their imagination
and can thus produce humorous verbal
narratives enhancing further their creativity
Use props to spark Orally produce stories (play scenarios) and Puppets, dolls, cloths
ideas for children’s then enact them (pretend play/socio-dramatic and pretend play props
narratives and play or imaginative play) expanding on their
scenarios improvisation skills, flexibility and creativity.
Create open-ended Children become socially empowered to
play spaces in the develop together and share ideas
classroom
provides a set of practical suggestions (referring to activities and materials) to capi-

talize on humor to support children’s healthy development.
5.6 Conclusion
Teachers need to acknowledge the importance of humor, in children’s lives as

another form of expression of thoughts, feelings, and creativity. Playful, flexible and
creative means and actions is the appropriate framework on which teachers can sup-
port children’s humorous narratives (verbal and/or visual) in order to encourage
their creation of meaning. Humorous stories provide a challenging and interesting
opportunity for children to practice and express their divergent thinking, emotions
and their schemas about the world. Children’s humorous stories encourage healthy
development as they involve children in a realm of considering and expressing emo-
tions, social and ethical conventions as well as elaborating and challenging their
thought processes.
Note
The pictures (Figs. 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, and 5.7) are part of an educational game titled:
“Where is the mistake” available on the following website: www.akroseducational.
com
The photographs (Figs. 5.9 and 5.10) are part of the article: Loizou, E. (2011).
Disposable cameras, humor and children’s abilities. Contemporary Issues in Early
Childhood, 12 (2), 148–162.
References
Cremin, T., Flewitt, R., Swann, J., Faulkner, D., & Kucirkova, N. (2018). Storytelling and story-
acting: Co-construction in action. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 16(1), 3–17.
Harrett, J. (2004). Tell me another…speaking, listening and learning through storytelling. Royston:
United Kingdom Literacy Association.
Hohti, R., & Karlsson, L. (2014). Lollipop stories: Listening to children’s voices in the class-
room and narrative ethnographical research. Childhood, 21(4), 548–562. https://doi.
org/10.1177/0907568213496655.
Leicester, M. (2006). Early years stories for the foundation stage: Ideas and inspiration for active
learning. Abingdon: Routledge.
Loizou, E. (2002). Humorous minds and humorous bodies: Humor within the social context of an
infant child care setting. (Unpublished doctoral thesis). Teachers College-Columbia University,
New York.
Loizou, E. (2005). Humour: A different kind of play. European Early Childhood Education
Research Journal, 13(2), 97–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/13502930585209701.
Loizou, E. (2006). Young children’s explanation of pictorial humor. Early Childhood Education
Journal, 33(6), 425–431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-005-0053-z.
Loizou, E. (2007). Humor as a means of regulating one’s social self: Two infants with unique
humorous personas. Early Child Development and Care, 177(2), 195–205. https://doi.
org/10.1080/03004430500387526.
Loizou, E. (2011). Disposable cameras, humour and children’s abilities. Contemporary Issues in
Early Childhood, 12(2), 148–162. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2011.12.2.148.
Loizou, E., & Kyriakou, M. (2016). Young children’s appreciation and production of verbal and
visual humor. Humor, 29(1), 99–124. https://doi.org/10.1515/humor-2015-0131.
Loizou, E., Kyriakides, E., & Hadjicharalambous, M. (2011). Constructing stories in kindergarten:
children’s knowledge of genre. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 19(1),
63–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2011.548939.
Marjanovič-Umek, L., Fekonja-Peklaj, U., & Podlesek, A. (2012). Parental influence on the devel-
opment of children’s storytelling. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal,
20(3), 351–370.
Martin, R. A. (2007). The psychology of humor: An integrative approach. San Diego: Elsevier
Academic Press.
Pickard, A. (2005). The supremacy of story: Traditional tales and storytelling. In A. Lambirth
(Ed.), Planning creative literacy lessons. London: David Fulton.
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Trans.). New York: Teachers & Writers Collaborative.
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Exploring children’s creative narratives (pp. 157–176). London: Routledge.
Chapter 6
Story Circles: Supporting Boys’ Social
and Emotional Worlds in School
Erin Elizabeth Flynn
6.1 Introduction
Two weeks after beginning a weekly child-led storytelling activity in a Head Start class-
room, a teacher commented, “I used to think I knew what I could expect from children, but
now I’m not so sure. They can really do more than I thought.” The teacher was thinking of
a child in her class who rarely talked in the classroom but told long and involved stories
about his life at home when presented with the chance. Something so simple as adding a
child-led storytelling activity called story circles to the classroom once a week, signaled to
children that their out of school lives had a very important place in the classroom. Soon,
instructional exchanges between teachers and children that had previously consisted of
single word or short phrase answers on the children’s part began to shift to longer back and
forth dialogues with children frequently launching into stories to elaborate their points.
Lunch time conversations were peppered with children discussing the stories they had told
that day in the story circle. Children often used lunch time conversations to continue a story
they had told earlier in the day, adding more detail now that they had recaptured the teach-
er’s attention. Boys in the classroom began to use lunch time to talk about their fathers,
their favorite television and movie characters, and their weekly adventures at places they
valued like the park and the zoo. They talked of being strong, muscular, and fast, of growing
tall like other men in their families. In these simple exchanges, begun in the story circle and
continued throughout the classroom day, the boys measured themselves, carving out a
space for exploring masculinity in the classroom.
Importantly, now the exchange of ideas about valued ways to say, do, and be in
the world (Gee 1999) included the boys’ female teachers, rather than unfolding sur-
reptitiously throughout the school day. The teachers started to know the boys better,
hearing stories they had not heard before in the classroom, prompting one teacher to
comment throughout the school year that she was adjusting her expectations for the
E. E. Flynn (*)
Portland University, Portland, OR, USA
e-mail: flynn2@pdx.edu

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_6
98 E. E. Flynn
boys in her classroom as they continued to surprise her with what they had to say
and what they could do.
Changing teachers’ expectations for children can be critically important. Around
the world, boys have begun to fall behind. Their female counterparts have begun to
earn better grades, take on more challenging course work, and achieve stronger
results than boys in nearly every economically developed country (Hadjar and
Buchmann 2016). Boys of color in the U.S. and around the world require the atten-
tion of researchers because persistent gaps in school achievement exist between
boys of color and their White peers in the U.S. (Darling-Hammond 2010; Howard
and Navarro 2016; Bohrnstedt et al. 2015) and around the world (Bristol 2015).
Schools are complex social spaces dedicated to cultivating human potential, but
often constraining to the children they serve (Heitzig 2009), especially to the grow-
ing number of boys of color in classrooms (Schott Foundation for Public Education
2015; Witt 2007). In the U.S., only 59% of African American males and 65% of
Latino males complete their public school education with a high school diploma
(Schott Foundation for Public Education 2015). In comparison, 80% of White males
graduate from high school in the U.S.
Boys receive the message early that school can be an inhospitable place as dif-
ferential suspension and expulsion practices begin in children’s first years of public
schooling (U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights 2014;
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Education
2016; Weingarten 2016). Over three-fourths of the children suspended in public
preschools in the U.S. are boys (U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil
Rights 2014). Further, Latino and African American boys make up 46% of all boys
in U.S. preschools, but 66% of the boys suspended during preschool (U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Education 2016). Signs that
boys are struggling in our schools continue to emerge in kindergarten where 61% of
the children who are required to repeat kindergarten before moving onto first grade
are male (U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights 2014).
Differential suspension, expulsion, and retention are a matter of not just boys’
behavior in school settings, but school personnel’s perception of that behavior
(Davis 2003; Gilliam et al. 2016; McMillon and Edwards 2000; Okonofua and
Eberhardt 2015). As a recent study of 132 preschool teachers shows, when teachers
are primed to expect challenging behaviors, they examine the behavior of boys of
color more closely than other children (Gilliam et al. 2016). This was true even
when no challenging behavior occurred during play. Further, 76% of the teachers
reported that boys require the most time and attention in the classroom. Taken
together, the results show that early childhood teachers often have an expectation
that boys pose challenges in the classroom.
Boys often perceive school, itself, as a place where they do not belong (Deci and
Ryan 2002; McCombs 2010; McMillon and Edwards 2000). This type of alienation
from schooling has been documented around the world (Hadjar et al. 2015). Feelings
of frustration and disengagement can develop early (McMillon and Edwards 2000)
as alienation from schooling has been shown to begin in preschool (Hascher and
Hagenauer 2010). Children as young as elementary school report an awareness of
6 Story Circles: Supporting Boys’ Social and Emotional Worlds in School 99
and sensitivity to teachers’ perspectives, prejudices, and power in the classroom

(Sheets 2002). This sensitivity feeds the sense that “I am not a school kid,” a precur-
sor to acting out for young children who quickly feel that they “don’t fit” in school
(Sheets 2002, p. 111). Black boys, for instance, often feel “misunderstood and
wrongly judged because of how they look and act” (Davis 2003, p. 531). Across
countries and cultures, boys have been shown to feel more alienated from school
(Hascher and Hagenauer 2010) as boys’ needs are often not fulfilled by schools
(Hadjar et al. 2015).
Unspoken normative expectations for behavior underlie much of young chil-
dren’s early learning. Children are initiated not just into a world of ideas in school,
but into a narrow and highly regulated conception of what it means to successfully
give meaning to experience in forms privileged in schools (Genishi and Dyson
2009; Souto-Manning et al. 2016).
Disrupting this longstanding pattern requires creating space for children to define
themselves within the context of the school day (Flynn 2018a), and, in doing so,
expand teachers’ opportunities to consider children on their own terms. Indeed,
research shows that learning about people as individuals and having opportunities to
hear others’ perspectives both work as effective strategies for changing the kind of
unexamined expectations (Devine et al. 2012) held by many early childhood teach-
ers for boys of color (Gilliam et al. 2016).
6.2 Storying Boys’ Experience in Story Circles
This chapter examines the ideas raised in the stories of young, lower socioeconomic
status (SES) boys of color in the context of story circles. In keeping with the book’s
focus on the development of the whole child, this chapter highlights how stories can
bridge the world of the home and the world of the school as children develop social
and emotional skills in the service of academic learning.
Small, everyday opportunities can be radical acts which counter larger systemic
forces when they take seriously the perspectives and voices of children. Drawing on
this tenet, story circles invest in the social, emotional, and intellectual lives of boys
rather than trying to sort, control, or remediate children who are seen as posing
problems from the outset of school (Davis 2003; Okonofua and Eberhardt 2015;
Polite and Davis 1999; Slaughter-Defoe and Richards 1994). Story circles are a
small group storytelling activity in which children take turns telling a story of their
own choosing, while the adult and other children carefully listen. In the very first
week, the adult models the activity for children by telling a brief example story. In
subsequent weeks, the adult convenes the group of four or five children, helping
them listen to others, and take turns.
Story circles create a space for boys to determine what ideas, relationships, and
ways of being are significant and worthy of sharing in the classroom (Flynn 2016).
Opportunities to elevate their own social worlds and express an emotional range of
feelings can be sorely absent from increasingly academically packed early c hildhood
100 E. E. Flynn
classrooms (Dahlberg and Moss 2005; Kane 2016; Stipek 2006). When given the
time and space, young boys do have something to say. What they have to say offers
an important window into the ongoing concerns of children in need not just of an
education, but also in need of our care (Dahlberg and Moss 2005; Delpit 2006;
McCombs 2010).
6.3 Current Study
The current study took place in four Head Start classrooms serving lower SES,
multicultural children, aged 3 through 5. Head Start is a preschool program in the
U.S. which offers child-centered, play-based preschool which seeks to support the
whole child (Zigler and Bishop-Josef 2006). Head Start aims to reduce the effects
of poverty on a range of child outcomes through preschool targeted to lower SES
families. The classrooms in this study were located in a mixed income, urban neigh-
borhood in a Midwestern city in the U.S. Informed consent was obtained from all
individual participants included in the study. Pseudonyms are used for all children
included in the study.
6.3.1 Participants
A total of 49 children participated in this study. The children represented six differ-
ent ethnic groups per parent report: 57% Latino, 29% European American, 4%
African American, 4% Arab American, 4% Asian American, and 2% Mixed. A full
67% of the children spoke a language other than English as the primary language in
the home. Just over half (51%) of the children identified as male. The average age
of the sample was 4.5 years (SD = 6.8 months).
6.3.2 Data
The children participated in a 4-week storytelling activity called story circles. Story
circles consisted of small groups of four or five children who meet once a week to
take a turn telling stories of their own choosing. The story circles consisted of mixed
age, mixed ability groups of children who varied in their status as monolingual or
multilingual speakers. All story circles were audio recorded and transcribed.
Participation in the story circle activity resulted in 141 stories.
6.3.3 Analysis
All stories were analyzed using systemic functional linguistics (SFL) (Halliday and
Matthiessen 2004) to determine clause level ideas, story stages, story genres, and
interactive features of story. A detailed description of the linguistic analysis (Flynn
2018b) and interactive features (Flynn 2018a) is reported elsewhere.
Briefly, each story was parsed to show the configurations of participants, pro-
cesses, and circumstances used to construe experience through clause level ideas.
So, for example, in a simple narrative story told by Daniel (age: 5 years, 2 months
old; ethnicity: Latino), Lightning McQueen (participant) went (process) to the race
track (circumstance of location) (Table 6.1).
Stories were parsed into configurations of participants, processes, and circum-
stances in order to show patterns in the grammar and identify ideas that were con-
tinued across stories.
Stories unfold in patterned waves of information as stories, like all genres, are
staged and goal oriented. Story stages were determined through both grammatical
realization and functional purpose. Continuing with Daniel’s story, he next intro-
duced the story stage of a complicating event using the conjunction of contrast,
“but,” to signal the counter expectant event (grammatical realization) which sig-
naled the complication or trouble faced by the story’s primary participant (func-
tional purpose) (Table 6.2).
Each stage of the story was identified by its grammatical realization and func-
tional purpose. Daniel’s story consisted of the following stages (Table 6.3).
Story genre was determined based on the presence of a defining feature of each
type of story genre. The defining feature of a narrative story is the complicating
event. The defining feature of a recount story is a series of events. Observation sto-
ries are defined by describing and evaluating an event. Daniel’s story was classified
as a narrative story due to the presence of a complicating event.
Table 6.1 Lightning McQueen -story

Lighting McQueen went to the race track
Actor Doing Process Circumstance of Location
Table 6.2 The complicating event

But he crash with McGloin and losed it
Actor Doing Process Circumstance of Accompaniment Doing Process Range
Table 6.3 The structure of the story

This is the story of lightning McQueen Abstract
Lightning McQueen went to the race track Orientation
But he crash with McGloin and losed it Complicating event
The end Statement of conclusion
102 E. E. Flynn
For this study, patterns were identified in the participants, processes, and circum-
stances present in the stories of boys who participated in the story circle activity,
showing the ideas that boys chose to highlight in a child-led storytelling activity.
Each idea – the participants, processes, and circumstances of stories – was identi-
fied. Then, the stories were analyzed for the ideas which were repeated across sto-
ries. Representative examples of children’s stories are presented below.
6.4 Findings
In story circles, boys told stories that recounted their everyday and exceptional
experiences with family, dramatized real and imagined encounters with ferocious
animals, and retold the adventures of favorite action characters from television,
movies, and books. Through these stories, the boys explored ideas about vulnerabil-
ity and strength, storying who they are in the world and what they value.
6.4.1 Everyday and Exceptional Experiences with Family
A third of the boy’s stories recounted their experiences with family (31%), telling
about both mundane, everyday events and special, even fantastical, experiences. For
example, several of the children in the sample told stories about when they were
babies. Carlos (age: 5 years, 2 months old; ethnicity: Latino) told a series of stories
about his experiences when he was a baby. Each of his stories began by describing
a series of phenomena that Carlos associated with being a baby: being fed, crying
out in some way, and having a wet or dry diaper. In this story, Carlos concluded by
relaying a time when his father had a car accident when Carlos was in the car.
When I was a little baby. Um, I want someone to pick me up. Because my mommy get. He
wants to get me food. And he would give me food. And I was growl awl. And I was dry. And
then, my daddy was driving. (Carlos gestures with hands to the side and leans body over to
one side). And my dad. I was upside down. The end.
In this story, Carlos recounted the caregiving relationship between himself and his
parents in terms of their desires. Carlos wanted to be picked up; His mother wanted
to feed him. His needs were sated as he was fed and dry. Something unexpected
happened to disrupt this state of contentedness as Carlos was literally turned “upside
down” when his father was driving the car. The story at once conveyed the typical
and exceptional as Carlos elevated the caring relationship with his parents as worthy
of sharing while characterizing himself as someone to whom remarkable things
happen.
On occasion, children in these classrooms also described difficult situations and
painful feelings as was the case in Juan’s story about his family. Juan (age: 4 years,
6 months old; ethnicity: Latino) said:
My daddy, he hits his head. And he, I was crying. And, um, my daddy, he walks by. And my
mommy, she cry too. And my sister too. And she was sad. I was too. My sister find mi
mommy. And, ah, my family no fall. Mi family went in my house. And a, a shark, he eat my,
my mommy. And, my daddy and my sister.
As he moved fluidly between English and Spanish, what happened in Juan’s story is
confusing, but the overwhelming feeling of sadness is clear. His story concluded
with his family literally being consumed by a fearsome predator. In this case, given
the opportunity to story his experiences in the classroom, Juan expressed feelings
which often fall outside the range of happy and normalized portrayals which are
modeled and rewarded in classroom settings (Christie 2002). In doing so, he offered
an important glimpse into his experiences and feelings, benefiting both from
expressing private fears and from making teachers aware of the powerful feelings
with which he was grappling.
As the boys’ stories show, experiences with family can be comforting, unex-
pected, and at times painful and confusing. For the boys in these classrooms, experi-
ences with family were also when remarkable things occurred. For instance,
Francisco (age: 4 years, 3 months; ethnicity: Latino) told a story about a day at the
zoo when his father made the tigers roar.
My dad, my dad took me to the zoo. And my brother went there. My brother, and my sister,
and me. Then I, I, I met the monkey first. Then my dad was playing with him. He left. Then,
we met the, um, crocodile. Then I was crying. Because my dad, my dad carried me. Then we
went to the tigers. Then, I, I, I cleaned my, I cleaned my tears. Then, those was sleeping. My
dad woke him up. Then, they yelled
Most children in the classrooms began their stories like Francisco, situating events
in terms of time, location, and accompanying participants. For many boys, “dad” or
“papi” played a central role in the story as one of the main participants of interest.
Francisco’s story unfolded with a series of orienting events in which he met a
monkey, crocodile, and tigers. After each orienting event a small series of action
occurred: his dad played with the monkey till they left; Francisco cried and was car-
ried by his father; and finally, Francisco wiped his tears and his father woke the
sleeping tigers. In Francisco’s story, dad did it all. He was the instigator of play who
roused tigers from their slumber, initiating a roar.
6.4.2 Real and Imagined Encounters with Ferocious Animals
Dangerous animals like the shark in Juan’s story or the tiger in Francisco’s story
played a prominent role in the stories of boys who told about real and imagined
encounters with animals. A full 14% of the boys’ stories featured a predatory ani-
mal, often as the primary participant of interest. In a representative story, Michael
(age: 5 years, 3 months; ethnicity: Latino) told a story about escaping and defeating
a snake, a common type of story amongst this group of boys.
104 E. E. Flynn
When I was at the beach. And then, and then I saw a snake. And I thought it was dead. And
it wasn’t. And then it, wrap over my leg. And then, and then I fell in the water. And then I
float. And then, I went deep in the water. Um, and I swim, into the beach. And I made it. And
then, I saw the snake. And then I put it in the water.
The structure of Michael’s story reinforced the meaning of the story which is an
assertion of power. In this narrative story, Michael began his story in a state of vul-
nerability, using the complicating event of mistakenly thinking a snake was dead to
make a break from the usuality of everyday experience. He conveyed his strength
through resolving the complication, floating, diving deep, and finally swimming to
shore. Michael then reoriented the listener to the experiential starting point of his
story, literally returning to the beach and seeing the snake again. Only this time,
Michael resolved the issue by putting the snake in the water. Given the chance
again, he acted decisively to neutralize the danger. In doing so, he cast himself as the
hero of this narrative story.
The boys did not just story their real and imagined encounters with animals, they
also told stories about fearsome animals, reveling in the power of the animals them-
selves. For instance, in a representative story Diego (age: 4 years, 8 months; ethnic-
ity: Latino) told a story about a lion eating everything he encountered.
I’m going to tell a story about a lion. The lion it was this, roarrrr. And the lion scared the
giraffe. And the lion eat the giraffe. And the lion eat the fish. And, and the lion. No. And the
lion choked on the fish when he drinked the water. And that’s it.
Just as in Diego’s brief recount of a lion who scared and ate a giraffe, the boys in
this sample told stories about predatory animals like tigers, sharks, wolves, alliga-
tors, panthers, and spiders. The focal point of these stories was the animal’s capacity
to roar, capture, and consume people and other animals.
The ferocious animals offered another way for boys to consider strength and
power as well as vulnerability and fragility. Whether it was a family consumed by a
shark, a father who woke the tigers eliciting a yell, or a roaring lion who choked on
a fish, predatory animals served as a fulcrum for ideas about power and powerless-
ness. Stories of vulnerability and power may be particularly important for young
boys of color who are seeking to find a place in the school context. In preschool,
children are immersed in a complex social world outside the home. Just like the
family consumed by a shark, the boys are subject to outside forces, some of which
are beyond their control. Telling stories that reflect on what it means to be powerful
and vulnerable offers a way for boys to express and share these feelings in a safe
space.
6.4.3 A
dventures of Favorite Action Characters
from Television, Movies, and Books
The boys in the sample also used favorite characters to deliberate on vulnerability
and strength in their stories. In 15% of the stories, the main participants were favor-
ite characters from television, movies, or books. For instance, Benjie (age: 4 years,
8 months old; ethnicity: Filipino) told a common type of story when he retold a fight
scene involving superheroes.
Um, the police got the bad boy from me TV. And, um, Lola punched him in the face. And she
fight like this. Hough, hough, hough, hough (makes punching motions in the air). Then, um,
um a big monster come. And Batman come and punch him in the eye. And then two eyes
come off. And then it died. And that’s it.
In this story, Benjie began his story by telling about how the Asian character, Lola
Chong, fought the bad guy in a recently released Batman animated movie. Several
boys in the study told stories about ethnically related characters like when a Latino
boy told about the Power Ranger Antonio Garcia, a potentially important moment
of identification with important figures that look like the children themselves. The
favorite characters that boys told about were sources of positive identification for
the children who told about characters who were strong, fast, heroic, and at times
reflected the children’s own ethnic identity.
Benjie combined physical motion and sound effects to dramatize the way that
Lola fought, physically showing how she punched. Here, as in other stories, the
structure of the narrative story, itself, worked to reinforce the overarching meaning
of the story as “bad boys” were “got” and a “big monster” was successfully fought.
Benjie’s story construed experience as a battle between good and bad as the police,
Lola, and Batman teamed to defeat the “bad boys” and “big monster.”
The boys also made important meanings about power as they narrated stories
about racing and competition. For instance, Daniel (age: 5 years, 2 months old; eth-
nicity: Latino) began the circle with a story about a favorite character, Lightning
McQueen from the movie franchise Cars, who figured prominently in Daniel’s talk
and play throughout the day:
I’m going to tell the story. It’s this number. (Points to the numbers on his Lightning McQueen
shoe). I’m going to tell a story about the five and the six. This one is about Lightning
McQueen gots a trophy. And Ron Trisco was there. And there was a race. And Ron Trisco
went super fast. But Lightning McQueen went really fast. And, the end.
Stories about media characters drawn from popular movies and cartoons have long
vexed teachers uncertain about the potential negative effects of television, screen
time, and the quality of characters not drawn from literature (Dyson 1997; Paley
1984). However, stories drawn from popular culture serve as important tools for
children to explore a complicated range of ways of being in the world (Dyson 2002).
Such stories allow children to identify with heroes and villains, coming to under-
stand various social positions and situations in ways that go beyond their own direct
experiences (Paley 1990).
106 E. E. Flynn
In his story, Daniel revisited an ongoing theme of his stories as week to week he
meditated on winning and losing, who is fast and who is faster, and the complica-
tions of crashing and losing. Drawing on the stories of Lightning McQueen, Daniel
expressed ideas about what it is like to “crash with McGloin and lose it” and what
it is like to get “a trophy.” In his stories, Daniel explored ideas about competition,
matter-of-factly recounting the outcomes as if winning and losing was just part of
the race. The stories all involved male cars competing with other male cars, which
as Daniel told it can be rewarding and disappointing depending on the outcome.
6.4.4 Making Connections Through Story
Through the boys’ stories of everyday and exceptional experiences with family, real
and imagined encounters with ferocious animals, and adventures of favorite action
characters from television, movies, and books, the boys built important connections
with one another over shared ideas and values. In this respect, the boys used stories
in a dialogic exchange as the boys figured out together what it means to be a boy
who has important relationships with family, who has moments of real and imag-
ined vulnerability, but who also seeks to be strong and powerful. Each story circle
group exchanged and maintained its own ongoing ideas through story as repre-
sented in the following table (Table 6.4).
In a representative example, Joel (age: 4 years, 9 months old; ethnicity: Latino)
followed Daniel’s story with a different kind of five than Lightning McQueen’s rac-
ing number, telling a story about an unnamed boy who was 5 years old:
Um, there was a little boy named. And he was five. And he was even, and he hold his
blankie. And he likes to hold him. And he, and he talks. And he likes to drink anything he
wants. And, he likes, to do, play toys. The end.
Table 6.4 Ongoing ideas in story circles

Story circle group Ongoing ideas
Group 1 Ferocious animals; family in the home; getting new toys
Group 2 Ferocious animals; favorite characters; racing
Group 3 Ferocious animals; favorite characters; family pets
Group 4 Family in the home; family in favorite places
Group 5 Ferocious animals; favorite characters; family in the home;
racing
Group 6 Ferocious animals; favorite characters; family in the home;
racing
Group 7 Ferocious animals; family in favorite places
Group 8 Family in the home; scary stories
Group 9 Favorite characters; family in favorite places
Group 10 Favorite characters; family in the home; getting new toys
In this simple recount type story of a boy who likes to hold his blanket, talk, drink
anything he wants, and play with toys, Joel described the preschool age boy, strad-
dling the world of school and the world of home. Structurally, this story unfolded as
a series of events that characterize the unnamed boy, a significant departure from the
complications and resolutions of narrative stories which convey the underlying mes-
sage that disruptions can be solved, and difficulties overcome. His description of a
boy who likes to “hold his blankie” represented a tender turn from Daniel’s world
of competition.
Krzysztof (age: 4 years, 6 months old; ethnicity: Polish) followed Joel’s lead,
also telling about an unnamed boy, beginning his story: “This is the story of the little
boy cried. A little boy just cried, and really cried, really cried....” Krzysztof went on
to tell about a boy who was separated from his parents when they went to the gro-
cery store, leaving him with his grandmother. This account of an everyday separa-
tion experienced by many young children builds on Joel’s story in presenting a
probably personal experience of vulnerability as the more generalized experience of
an unnamed boy. While Joel described a boy in terms of what he likes, Krzysztof
described a boy in his relational world of family, grappling with the familiar drama
of being separated.
Daniel’s, Joel’s, and Krzysztof’s stories are literally linked by ideational threads
which are introduced and continued across stories (Flynn 2018a). Daniel introduced
the idea of five (Table 6.5).
Joel picked up and continued this thread, starting his story by introducing a
5 year old boy (Table 6.6).
Krzysztof responded to Joel’s story by picking up and continuing the idea of a
little boy, beginning his story (Table 6.7).
In this way, the boys in these classrooms not only constructed a world of a shared
ideas, they responded to one another’s stories, continuing, reinforcing, and varying
the ideas that held value to them.
Table 6.5 The introduction to a story by Daniel

I ’m going to tell a story about the five and the six
Sayer Saying process Verbiage Circumstance of Matter
Table 6.6 The introduction to as story by Joel

Um, there was a little boy named.
Being Process Existent
And he was five

Token Being Process Value
Table 6.7 The response to Joel’s story

This is the story of the little boy cried
Token Being Process Value Circumstance of Matter
108 E. E. Flynn
6.5 Discussion
In story circles we see lower SES, boys of color on the cusp of kindergarten exchang-
ing stories about the ideas, relationships, and ways of being that, from their perspec-
tive, are significant enough to share. Given the time and space, the children used
their stories to construct a world. In this world, boys compete. Boys like to hold
their blankie, drink whatever they want, and play with toys. Boys cry when sepa-
rated from parents. Sometimes, boys get to hear the tigers roar, when they spend the
day with dad. Boys’ worlds can also be fragile, threatened by dangerous forces and
sad feelings.
Sharing these ideas is important for boys of color because it helps them under-
stand and create relationships (Rinaldi 2006) as well as explore constructions of
masculinity (Davis 2003). Stories like these also help boys explore feelings like
sadness, loneliness, excitement, or joy. Legitimizing children’s feelings makes
school a place that values and supports dialogue, solidarity, and respect (Rinaldi
2006). Protecting spaces for boys of color to share their feelings also enhances their
sense of connectedness to teachers and peers, a critical component for social and
academic success (Davis 2003; McCombs 2010).
As the teachers’ informal comments in the classroom revealed, hearing boys’
stories changed their understanding of the boys in their classroom. The teachers
began to see the boys in their classroom as capable of more. They were surprised by
what the boys had to say and grateful to have the window into their world. The
teachers heard what boys think and value, making a space for such ideas to be shared
and legitimized as a routine part of schooling. Classrooms that provide support for
social and emotional understanding have been shown to reduce the kind of acting
out that leads to preschool suspension and expulsion, because children are supported
to express themselves in ways that are valued by teachers (Schindler et al. 2015).
6.6 Implications for Practice
The ideas, relationships, and ways of being expressed by lower SES, boys of color
in story circles would hardly surprise parents, teachers, and school leaders who are
intimately familiar with the lives of young boys. What is surprising is how infre-
quently schools have provided and protected opportunities for boys of color “to
make meaning of who they are at school” with peers (Davis 2003, p. 530).
Story circles are a relatively easy practice to implement in classrooms. Teachers
develop small groups of four or five children that are mixed in their experiences
with and ability with language. This way, children can support one another’s learn-
ing with students who are stronger with language modeling the activity for others.
Story circle groups meet once a week. In the beginning, these meetings can be quite
short, but as the activity continues, the story circle groups take longer with indi-
vidual circles taking sometimes up to 10 min each.
Procedurally, teachers begin the story circle by reminding children of the activity
and how to participate. For instance, the story circle was begun by saying, “This is
a story circle. In a story circle, you can tell a story about anything that you want.”
Turn-taking was aided by the use of a physical marker of whose turn it was to tell a
story. In these classrooms, children often held a small object like a small ball, stuffed
animal, or decorated turn-taking stick to signal the storyteller’s turn to hold the
floor. Story circles rest on the assumption that listening is as important as sharing.
To reinforce this idea, teachers frequently discussed the value of listening carefully,
noticing and encouraging children who listened attentively.
The teacher’s role in the story circle is to model a short story in the very first
circle. Then, the teacher assists children in taking turns and listening to others. In
the circle, the teacher’s primary task is to listen. Though children are sometimes
reluctant to tell stories at first. They quickly become accustomed to being listened
to and getting to share their ideas. This was evident in this study as storytelling
started to permeate the classroom and children sought out the teacher’s listening ear
throughout the school day.
Story circles play an important role in early education because oral storytelling
offers an important foundation for literacy and carves out space for boys to express
how they think and feel. For teachers eager to inject an ethic of justice and care into
schools, story circles offer a critical tool for children to express who they are, so
they can be understood on their own terms. When teachers listen to children, it
opens the space for the classroom to be a more mutually informed dialogue. Such
tools are sorely needed if we are to turn back the tide of early suspension and expul-
sion in early childhood education.
The benefit of this is twofold: boys of color have the opportunity to be seen and
heard as valuable members of the classroom community, and school personnel get
to know the boys in their schools more deeply. This opens the potential to not just
change boys’ behavior, but, more importantly, for teachers and school leaders to
perceive boys’ behavior differently. Opening spaces for boys to share their worlds
through story may seem like a small act, but as the boys’ stories show: small
moments can be deeply significant, connecting classroom instruction to moments
that provide personal meaning for children (Davis 2003; Delpit 2006).
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accor-
dance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research com-
mittee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or
comparable ethical standards.
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learning: How play motivates and enhances children’s cognitive and social-emotional growth
(pp. 15–35). New York: Oxford University Press.
Chapter 7
Action Telling Method: From Storytelling
to Crafting the Future
Jonna Kangas and Jyrki Reunamo
7.1 Introduction
A group of children in an Early Childhood classroom sit in rapt attention as their

teachers role play a scenario in which a child, Ipa, teases and interrupts another
child, Lela, in her play. Two teachers act out the storyline but change their actions
according to the children’s ideas about how Lela should behave to solve the dilem-
mas she faces in her kindergarten class.
The blue toy was Lela’s favorite in the classroom. She was building her own sea home
inside a little box. It helped with her sadness about being away from home. Lela put in there
all the finest belongings and most exciting treasures. Lela put some sand on the bottom of
the box because she liked sand most of all. A floor was not needed. What use would a floor
be to a fish? Lela’s own favorite place in her sea home was floating near the ceiling from
where she could see everything. The seaweed could scratch her tummy. Lela invited Hanna
to join her to play. They observe the sea shells as fish would do.
Suddenly, Ipa comes and disturbs Lela’s and Hanna’s play. Ipa tries to take away the
sea shells that Lela and Hanna are playing with. Lela cannot play peacefully when Ipa
keeps interrupting her play.”
One teacher is the storyteller and claps her hands to signify her role: What does Lela do
now? What do you think? The play is stopped just when it is at its best. Who can guess?
1st Child: I do not know.
2nd Child: Drive him out! (the child waves his hands in the air and seems to push Ipa
away).
The storyteller claps her hands again and the story continues following the child’s idea of
driving the bully away. Lela tries to push Ipa away. Happy play begins again, but after a
while Ipa comes back. This time he tickles Lela.
The storyteller claps her hands and the situation freezes: It did not help! Ipa comes again.
Child: Oh no.
J. Kangas (*) · J. Reunamo

University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
e-mail: jonna.kangas@helsinki.fi

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_7
114 J. Kangas and J. Reunamo
Child: Maybe we can make a plot …

Child: Lela can disturb him back …
Storyteller: Lela can disturb him back. With a clap of the hands, the story continues. Ipa
comes again to disrupt, but Lela stands up and goes after Ipa and teases Ipa.
The situation is becoming chaotic. Children scream in protest. The storyteller claps her
hands: It did not work. They begin to fight! What now?
Child: Have to ask: “Can you stop teasing me?”
Child: Ask him nicely.
The storyteller claps her hands: Ask him nicely.
Lela goes and tries to discuss nicely, but Ipa will not listen. Ipa shakes his head.
Many children stand up excitedly and give orders to Ipa and advice to Lela.
Storyteller: Oh boy, even that did not work. How can we stop the disruption?
Child: Lela must say that he can play with them.
Child: Yes!
Child: Ipa has nothing to do; he has no friends!
Child: They can play together!
These young children and their teachers are using the Action Telling method to
explore social relationships in their classroom. Consider the role of the children as
the Action Telling story unfolds. They have different ideas about what do, how to
solve the emerging problem. Children’s ideas are discussed; they are acted upon and
tested. Some of children’s ideas work well and some do not, but the development of
the storyline depends on the children’s initiatives. What do you do when you are
happily playing with your friend and someone comes to disturb and tease you? Each
child’s strategy and point of view has different consequences, and all are enacted
through the Action Telling method to help the children to explore different solutions
and their outcomes. When children’s ideas have consequences that they can see
acted upon, children learn diverse approaches to taking each other’s feelings into
account, solving problems, and influencing their everyday life in educational
settings.
In this chapter, the method of Action Telling is explained with its aim to under-
stand young children’s conceptions about the initiatives, interaction, decision-
making, and social dilemmas they face daily in Early Childhood Education settings.
Through the Action Telling method, children’s ideas can be considered when choos-
ing activities (Lastikka and Kangas 2017; Reunamo 2001). We begin by describing
the Action Telling method followed by its theoretical basis. Next, we discuss the
results of research with young children using the Action Telling method and describe
how this method was implemented in a pedagogical context by returning to the Lela
story used in the introduction. Finally, we describe a four-phase process for teachers
using Action Telling in the Early Childhood classroom.
7.2 The Action Telling Method
Research has shown that when children’s ideas are listened to and their initiatives
change the situation in pedagogical activities, they experience participation (see
Kangas 2016; Berthelsen 2009). Participation means that children realize their
7 Action Telling Method: From Storytelling to Crafting the Future 115
voices are heard and their interpretations can change the course of actions (Bae
2009; Woodhead 2006) Through participation, their agency develops as they learn
to take responsibility and join in shared decision-making processes (Kangas et al.
2015; Kumpulainen et al. 2011). To focus on children’s conceptions about the teach-
ers’ role as an enhancer of shared and common action, new methods of listening to
children’s conceptions and experiences of their daily life in educational settings are
required. For example, Karlsson (2012) suggests using the Storycrafting method, in
which value is given to stories freely crafted by children without adults interrupting.
In the Storycrafting method, children are encouraged to freely tell any story that
they want to share with teachers or their peers (see Chap. 3). In early education,
young children have experiences through actions and instead of verbal telling, they
communicate with actions and initiatives (Leinonen and Sintonen 2014).
The Action Telling method (Cheng et al. 2015; Reunamo 2001) is a method in
which a child is presented with everyday social situations through storytelling role
play, or with the help of pictures and images, and describes what he or she would do
in a similar situation. The method has been used since 1997 (cf. Reunamo 2001) and
was created to understand the perspectives of 3- to 7-year-old children in Early
Childhood Education settings. Younger children are also viewed as competent
actors in their toddler groups, but they may lack skills to verbalize their actions;
therefore, we do not suggest using the Action Telling method with them. In the
method, children’s views about their agency and their evaluation of the potential
change in the situation are connected with their actions. It has also been a valuable
tool for studying and understanding children’s participatory and other major orien-
tations like adaptation, dominance or withdrawal. The method is available to teach-
ers, social workers and researchers who wish to understand children’s actions in
classroom settings and through that, scaffold them to use their participatory skills
for success.
In the sample story about Lela and Ipa, the teacher/storyteller focused on chil-
dren’s initiatives, and by including them as part of the storyline, she gave the chil-
dren the experience of seeing how their actions might influence the outcome. In this
method, children’s narrations about their actions are considered as stories of their
everyday life. Through the Action Telling method, adults can scaffold children to
learn about the consequences of their actions.
For example, a child who is too shy to take action or independent initiative about
play with her peer can learn to express her ideas and initiatives to the teacher through
the storytelling. The teacher can support her to take the same action with her peers.
Thus, children’s views change the actions in the unfolding drama and create learn-
ing experiences about social actions and problem-solving situations. Social skills
are practiced and learned through interaction, but stories facilitate and model
children’s conceptions about appropriate social behavior (Bae 2009). Through sto-
ries, children can learn the consequences of good manners or unruly behavior.
Adults can support children to build bridges from experiences to stories and discuss
the outcome of positive social actions, such as sharing toys, being polite, or inviting
peers to join in play (Kumpulainen et al. 2011).
7.3 Theoretical Insights on the Action Telling Method
7.3.1 Image of a Child
The image of a child is a conception that is based on the values and beliefs of adults
who have children in their everyday life, such as parents and teachers. Brownlee
(2009) describes the values and beliefs that shape adults’ understanding of chil-
dren’s competence. It is based on an ontological understanding of childhood and
holistic learning. This viewpoint is known as the whole child approach (Slade and
Griffith 2013; Liew 2012) in which children are viewed as active learners, agents of
their lives, and interpreters and reproducers of culture (Corsaro 2011; Piaget 1976;
Rogoff et al. 1995). The guidelines for this whole child approach are introduced in
the sociological research; participation is considered from the point of view of deci-
sions and events of children’s lives (Corsaro 2011; Woodhead 2006). This approach
has been adopted widely in the research on Early Childhood Education since
Piaget’s (1976) and Vygotsky’s (1978) theories of learning and has found support in
other disciplines such as sociology (Corsaro 2011), developmental psychology and
cultural studies (see Berthelsen 2009). The aim of this approach is to study and
understand children as subjects of their own lives and not the object of education;
participation is considered as a dynamic and evolving concept of individual and
shared competence, rather than a child’s property or a stable status quo (Kangas
2016; Smith 2002). Thus, participation is related to a contextual social environment
and culture, including interaction, shared meaning-making, and everyday experi-
ences in children’s lives (Berthelsen 2009).
Children’s participation in their early years has been a research theme interna-
tionally during the past decade. Rather than viewing children as isolated actors in
their social and cultural environment, the more general view of participation consid-
ers children as active subjects interacting with other people and the environment
(Kangas 2016; Smith 2007). This view of children as competent actors and active
agents, rather than as needy and helpless beings (James and James 2012) has been
adopted as a part of educational ideology (Kronqvist and Kumpulainen 2011;
Berthelsen 2009). With this learning paradigm, the question of children’s participa-
tion is a key aspect of both education and research.
Young children’s participation in educational settings is a multidimensional
issue, where the key elements are well-being and active competence (Brownlee
2009; Sheridan and Pramling Samuelsson 2001). This research is based on the
knowledge of learning through the socio-cultural paradigm, in which children are
competent actors and active agents who construct their development path through
shaping, sharing, and reproducing their learning (Kronqvist and Kumpulainen
2011; Rogoff et al. 1995). The concept of learning in Early Childhood Education
can be viewed as a dynamic process through which children merge into the culture
of their society, its practices and values through active meaning making (Kumpulainen
et al. 2011). Further, children’s social skills and understanding of the consequences
of their actions develops.
However, children’s viewpoints are not considered enough in education or

research because of the lack of participatory methods for focusing on children’s
everyday experiences and views. For example, by interviewing 5- to 6-year-old pre-
schoolers or observing them in educational settings, Sheridan and Pramling
Samuelsson (2001) and Bae (2009) have found out that children face restrictions
based on adults’ beliefs and the cultural traditions of educational institutions.
Children’s chances to have influence or inform adults about their perspectives and
ideas have been also found to be limited and appear only in issues related to play-
based activities. Sheridan and Pramling Samuelsson (2001) point out that through
children’s experiences, it is possible to reach toward their world. Children have real
influence when they are seen and heard, and their intentions are interpreted by
adults who respect children (e.g., Venninen and Leinonen 2013). The goal of the
Action Telling method is to understand how children consider their own participa-
tion in learning practices, everyday activities, and joint meaning making.
7.3.2 Narrative Approach: Focus on the Experience
When children are regarded as the experts of their own lives, appropriate strategies
are required to understand and value their perceptions (Tay-Lim and Lim 2013).
The international discussion about finding and developing suitable methods for
understanding young children’s perceptions and creating learning experiences
based on children’s interests has been the topic of several studies focusing on listen-
ing to children (e.g., Karlsson 2012; Crivello et al. 2009). Clark (2011) states that in
the research about participatory methods, the debate has shifted from presenting
cases of listening to children’s perspectives towards supporting their involvement in
the learning processes.
The Action Telling method is based on the narrative approach through which the
world and knowledge are built through stories that describe the experiences from
the past and show intentions towards the future. Listening to and understanding
children’s conceptions about actions they would and could take in the form of sto-
ries is one way of acknowledging children as active agents of their life stories
(Clandinin et al. 2006). In this method, we view children’s conceptions through
their own past and future actions, ideas and aims in educational settings as shown
through their stories. These narrations, considered as representations of experience,
can be seen to give meaning to personal experiences and thus, to construct personal
relationships with others, the environment and educational settings (Ahn and
Filipenko 2007). Spakers and Smith (2008) have noted that through narration, chil-
dren can be supported to make their conceptions about their relationships, interac-
tions, and social skills with others visible. The narrations build the image of self,
support children in focusing on their competences and actions in everyday life and
help them and others to understand how they view their role and status in society
(Ahn and Filipenko 2007). Later, between similarities and differences of children’s
views and teachers’ conceptions, it is possible to create an understanding of chil-
dren’s roles in the classroom and reflect on the development needed to increase the
quality and wellbeing of children in Early Childhood Education settings. Through
the Action Telling method, the focus of practical education can be aimed towards
empowering participation and teachers can focus supporting children’s develop-
ment through participation and agency in decision making and shared meaning
making processes.
7.3.3 Research Outcomes of the Action Telling Method
Research with the Action Telling method focuses on children’s views, interpreta-
tions, and ideas as well as its effectiveness on enhancing participation in Early
Childhood settings.
For example, the Action Telling method described in this chapter was used as a
tool for collecting data in 2013 with 153 children aged 3.5–7 years and representing
9 Early Childhood Education classes in the Capital area of Finland. Through the use
of Action Telling, we strived to understand children’s conceptions about their
chances to participate, use power, and have influence in an educational institute. The
analysis of these data showed:
• Children’s participation grows when their needs are fulfilled;
• Participation can be experienced through independent initiatives;
• Children are provided with safety and care, but also opportunities to learn;
• Children can experience that the courage to express themselves has positive
effects on themselves and others;
• Participation is also making choices, taking responsibility, and taking part in
decision-making;
• Children are part of home, peer culture, society, and current events;
• Children have the right to enjoy themselves with others who enjoy their company
(Venninen and Leinonen 2013).
Based on the results of Venninen’s and Leinonen’s research (2013), we asked an
artist to draw pictures to express the issues of children’s participation in kindergar-
ten (age 7) for further use. Figure 7.1 is a representation of a situation in which a
child could make a choice and take responsibility.
These pictures were also tested (Leinonen 2013). We showed this picture
(Fig. 7.1) to children and by the guidelines of the Action Telling method asked
the child to describe his or her initiatives and actions by saying, “You are here;
what would you do?”
The analysis of the children’s ideas and interpretations based on this individual
picture showed that children used three different storylines. About 40% of the chil-
dren thought the boy in the front had had an argument with the girl in the back of
the picture. The girl was leaving, and the boy would like to solve the situation. The
children suggested that the boy could either ask for the teacher’s help or run to the
girl and apologize. The stories followed individual paths, and children added differ-
Fig. 7.1 Participation is also making choices and taking responsibility
ent items and events to form a holistic story about the picture. Children’s responses
were given in Finnish and translated into English by the researchers.
They have been playing together, but suddenly he notices that the others have gone away.
He feels bad about being alone but started to finish to a jigsaw puzzle that she has left
behind. But then she comes back and observes that her puzzle is ready. And she burst in
tears, because she would like to finish it herself. The boy feels bad and says: “Could we
make this puzzle again together?” and she smiles and says: “Yes, let’s do it!” and
they have made it up. (Peppa, 6 years and 5 months)
The other explanation (about 38% of the children) for this situation was that the
boy was playing here, while the girl came in and suddenly messed with his toys and
ran away. Children who had this interpretation agreed that the boy would feel bad
and the girl should come back, apologize, and help him to fix the toys. Some chil-
dren would add that after that, they could play together.
Once upon a time there was a happy boy called Oscar. He was playing with a puzzle.
Suddenly, a girl named Emily came in and kicked his puzzle and it was shattered around;
Oscar wondered why Emily did so. The teacher looked at Emily and asked, ‘Emily, why did
you kick the puzzle?’ ‘I want to play with Barbie dolls and Oscar’s puzzle was in my way’
said Emily. The teacher said that it was not nice behavior, but Emily did not care. She sat
down to read a book with Oscar, but Oscar was angry and shoved her, so that she fell down
on the big ball. Then the teacher said: ‘You are both behaving badly; please apologize to
each other so you can continue to play.’ Oscar would have agreed, but Emily said, ‘First, I
want to read this book with bunnies.’ (Irina, 5 years and 10 months)
This boy is building his puzzle when that girl there comes and messes with it, and the pieces
scatter all over the place. And then the girl went away with her doll and he thinks that he
must ask her to come back and apologize. Finally, he finds her, and she apologizes. (Mona,
5 years and 2 months)
The third storyline was from about 15% of the children who said that the boy
and the girl were playing together, but then the girl’s mom came, and she had to
leave for home. After that, the children either described how the boy had to clean
the mess by himself, or they suggested that he could ask the teacher to join the game
with him.
He felt that the puzzle was soooo difficult. Oh no, I can’t build this, he thought. He went to
ask the teacher, ‘Can you help me?’ The teacher smiled and answered, ‘How about if you
ask that girl who is also alone to help you?’ And so, he did and she joined him and helped
with the puzzle and it was easy peasy … And after that they read a book together and played
with toy cars and Barbie dolls. (Vera, 6 years and 9 months)
All the storylines highlight a positive viewpoint and outcome; children expressed
joy, a feeling of belonging and friendship towards their peers. They were also con-
sidering social rules that are important to follow to “not to make the other child feel
bad;” finally, children expressed a strong belief that the teachers listened to them
and were interested in their initiatives and willing to join their activities (see
Leinonen 2013). Children’s actions in the Early Childhood Education context are
guided by their understandings and beliefs. The question is not whether the children
have agency but how teachers can enter a dynamic process to help the child consider
how to react in social situations. Are they able to support children’s participation to
help them develop as competent agents? We believe that through the Action Telling
method, teachers and researchers can understand children’s views about their
actions; thus, they can create ways to scaffold children in their developing agency
and process of social development and participation.
7.4 Action Telling in an Early Childhood Classroom
The Action Telling method can be used to listen to children’s ideas and make room
for them to influence their everyday activities. In Lela’s story (the introductory
story), Lela’s responses were determined by the children; their ideas affected the
plot of the drama and the outcome of the story. Children’s ideas and interpretations
have an effect on peers and adults around them as well as on everyday activities in
their lives.
In this section, we present interpretations of the children’s responses to Lela’s
story and how these interpretations can inform teachers about children’s social and
emotion development levels and needs. Our aim is to highlight how the communica-
tion within the story relates to real life. Children’s comments about their ideas are
associated with their everyday activities and interactions with other children. Thus,
children’s descriptions can influence activities as they occur, such as conflict resolu-
tion in the classroom. The introductory story includes only a sampling of children’s
comments and does not represent all the ideas and responses of children that
emerged during our Action Telling research.
Children’s ideas through the Action Telling method are connected to their actions
(see, for example, Reunamo et al. 2016). In Lela’s story, children could express dif-
ferent ideas about the actions they would have taken towards teasing by a peer in the
classroom. The research findings suggest that most of the children’s ideas can be
classified as “participatory,” meaning that they tried to resolve the conflict by com-
municating with other children and adults. We learned that experiences of participa-
tion increased with age, and that girls expressed more (73%) participatory
descriptions than boys (68%). Participatory ideas in the Lela story were:
Again, I tell the teacher.
“Could you stop, please?”
You have to tell your friend.
I say “Stop, this is not funny.”
“Do not run after me.”
I say, “Don’t do that; I will start to feel bad.”
Children who gave participatory ideas were observed to play more role plays
with their peers. This indicates that creating and interpreting imaginary worlds and
settings (i.e., participating in role play) may also relate to constructive participation
in another context (i.e., from constructing solutions to problem-solving situations
and social dilemmas). Children whose ideas were classified as participatory attended
toward another child, initiating more social contact with others. However, the more
open and dynamic the situation was, the more teasing experiences happened
(Reunamo et al. 2016). This indicates that young children are not yet able to avoid
conflicts; therefore, the Action Telling method offers parents, teachers, and other
adults a window on children’s play and peer relations and enables them to support
children to become more empowered with their social skills through stories.
Some of children’s ideas for the dilemma in Lela’s situation were classified as
“withdrawn” ideas. Overall, Action Telling situations demonstrating teasing or bul-
lying between children had more instances of withdrawal than other situations. In
withdrawn ideas, children do not try to change the bully’s behavior, but rather
choose to exit the situation themselves, as in the following examples:
I will go away and tell the teacher.
I have to leave.
I will be by myself.
I will run away.
I will go to mother. I will go to an adult.
I will play alone.
In these examples of withdrawal, the children do not process the situation; rather,
they avoid it. Withdrawn ideas are more common among younger children, while
older children are eager to solve the situation. Children with withdrawn ideas also
tended to describe other situations in a more withdrawn manner, indicating a gen-
eral mode used to consider issues or challenges by withdrawing (Reunamo et al.
2016). With withdrawn children, the Action Telling method offers an opportunity to
practice social and participatory actions toward others. By repeating the situation
with children and suggesting different responses, a teacher can encourage a child
with withdrawn ideas to become more confident and practice other ways of solving
some social problems with peers.
Some children had dominant descriptions in which they expressed teasing back
or forcing the bully to change behavior:
I would push him far away.
Then I would tease him back.
I would hit him.
If Hans hit me; I would tease Hans.
I would fight.
I would tease him.
In the dominant descriptions, children describe their ideas about changing the
bully’s behavior. Only 5.1% of the descriptions were dominant, although dominant
ideas decreased as children aged. Boys described more dominant actions than girls
(Reunamo et al. 2016). It may be that the dominant strategy is maladaptive. Children
with dominant descriptions attended less non-socially and more towards other
children.
In the study, children rarely described an accommodative response where they
did not find any solution to the conflict in the Lela story:
I do not care.
But in reality, it does not hurt. It does not look like he is hitting.
I do not fight back
Then he will always tease me.
Then I will be in stupid clothes.
I will be left in peace
Accommodation is sometimes a positive strategy or idea towards a situation and

represents sensitivity and flexibility, but in the teasing situation, as in the Lela story,
it may result in passivity and inactivity. Considering age, children’s strategies tended
to become more adaptive as they matured. At the same time, their agency for seek-
ing alternate solutions increased. The general trend moved from enduring the
unpleasant situation to seeking alternatives. Younger children in particular may only
see the option to obey (Reunamo and Hällström 2013).
Children’s ideas do change the course of events and in different activities in
which they take part during their everyday life. Children also learn during these
activities; therefore, it is worthwhile to embed children’s ideas in the unfolding
story through Action Telling. Stories are not just stories; they may also give teachers
insight into children’s development. When a child is asked, “If somebody comes to
tease you, what do you do?”, the child’s response should not be considered in the
axis of a right or wrong answer; it should be used to learn the options the child con-
siders. When teachers understand children’s thinking, they can support them in
developing more effective social and emotional responses.
7.5 I mplementing Action Telling Method in the Early

Childhood Classroom
In the Action Telling process, children are invited to tell about their conceptions
regarding everyday interactions and problem-solving situations. This storytelling
process is guided with role play or simple pictures and the problems are related to
everyday situations where bad behavior, arguments or disagreements can exist.
Through storytelling, children use their competence and social knowledge about
good manners, friendship, problem-solving and joint meaning-making to find suit-
able solutions to the presented problem. From these stories it is possible to discover
children’s understanding about their competence to solve problems, skills to do so,
and conceptions about belonging and interacting with others (peers and teachers) by
following how the children describe their roles and the roles of others. The answer
also describes the consequences of the children’s strategies in various social
situations.
Next, we will describe the phases of the Action Telling (Fig. 7.2) practice for
using the method in the classroom.
7.5.1 First Phase: Select the Scenario and Prepare Materials
Determine the social situation or problem to be explored with the children and pre-
pare the needed materials. These materials might include a picture depicting a situ-
ation (See Picture 7.1) or a problem to be acted out like the conflict between Lela
and Ipa depicted at the beginning of the chapter. Pictures can be drawn or printed
from free online resources and storylines can be created based on children’s needs.
Determine whether to use the method with a group of children or individually.
Review the storyline and consider which questions you are going to ask to
encourage children to tell their ideas and interpretations. Avoid questions that allow
children to give only one kind of answer and questions that allow ‘yes’ or ‘no’
responses. Remember that you want to listen to children’s ideas and honor their
personal interpretations.
Fig. 7.2 The Action telling method phases

7.5.2 Second Phase: Conduct the Action Telling
The Action Telling should take place in a peaceful environment that is appropriate
for the child’s age, language ability, and personality; for example, some children
may need more time or different ways to express themselves to understand and
answer the questions. We have found out that some children feel uncomfortable at
the start of the Action Telling situation, if they are not used to the notion that an
adult really wants to hear their thoughts and ideas. In this case, ask the child to come
and play with you for a few minutes before beginning the Action Telling process. In
our experience, through play, children felt more relaxed and began to describe their
everyday life (see Lastikka and Kangas 2017).
If you are using pictures, sit with the child side by side and look at the pictures
together and say: “I would like to read a book, which is about you. This book is
unfinished; all the words are missing, and I need your help in completing the story.
Could you help me?” With each picture, the adult asks the child to explain any
action he or she would take in that situation: “If you were the child in the picture,
what would you do? I would like you to tell me what you would do on each page
and I will write it down for you. Are you ready to begin?” This question aims the
child’s focus at solving the presented problem of a challenging situation. The child
answers by telling a story, which is recorded.
While asking children to tell their story about the picture, questions such as
“What happened?” should not be used. All the children who participated in the
Action telling research in 2012 interpreted ‘happened’ to indicate rule breaking and
other negative issues in kindergarten. Therefore, it was important to use verbs like
‘do’ and ‘make.’ “What are you doing here?” was always a gentle encouragement
towards the child’s action.
Teachers also should not provide examples or otherwise ask leading questions
during the Action Telling process. It is also important that they never complete chil-
dren’s responses in a sentence. If the child answers with one word, or the answer is
incomplete, they should ask again, “What will you do?” or “Tell me more of what
you are doing.”
Sometimes the child does not describe his or her action but focuses more on
describing the picture. The adult could then ask again; for example, if the child says,
“The teacher is angry,” the interviewer can say, “OK, the teacher is angry; what do
you do then?”
The approximate time for the discussion about the pictures is usually between 7
and 15 min. Most of the children in our studies were not willing to continue much
longer than that. A child’s first answer describing his or her action should be written
down immediately. However, sometimes the child is telling a story about what hap-
pens first and what follows (see Lastikka and Kangas 2017). A child can be gently
encouraged to continue describing ideas and interpretation of the situations in the
pictures.
If you choose to use teacher role play with a story such as the Lela and Ipa con-
flict narrated at the beginning of the chapter, children may sit in a circle on the floor.
When the storyline creates a chance for a discussion or you are asking the children
for their ideas, put down any materials you are using to express that you are ready
to listen to their interpretation and are not in a hurry to continue the story.
For a longer storyline, avoid bringing too many situations to children during one
Action Telling moment. Let the children focus on one or a maximum of two situa-
tions at a time. You can continue Action Telling with the familiar characters (such as
Lela); thus, you will facilitate children’s ideas and telling in a long-term process.
It is important to include both individual and group activities to the Action
Telling method. When children can mix their own ideas with others in a shared
process, an enlarged zone of proximal development occurs (Vygotsky 1978); thus,
children may join in a shared meaning-making process that is essential for socio-
cultural learning (see Kumpulainen et al. 2011). Furthermore, their learning will be
scaffolded (Kangas 2016).
Some children need encouragement to answer. For example, if the child says, “I
don’t know,” the situation can be described in other words. In the end, if after
encouragement, the child still says, “I don’t know,” that is also an acceptable
response and it is written down. Children who do not find ways to use participatory
descriptions in the Action Telling situations can face challenges joining play activi-
ties or making joint decisions with their peers; they may need support by parents or
teachers to learn new strategies and skills.
Finally, we have incorporated a package for teachers and parents to test the
Action Telling method. The package is available for parents and teachers online (see
Reunamo 2015) and it includes 13 different scenarios that can be used as platforms
for participatory storytelling.
7.5.3 T
hird Phase: Make a Picture About the Children’s
Conceptions
After the storyline or picture assignment, it is time to compose a summary of the

children’s stories to understand what kind of conceptions about social actions have
been presented in your class. Read all the children’s stories and take notes about the
competence of children to solve problems. Are there some children who are more
advanced in social interaction in your class? How about those children who lack
skills to regulate their actions, are withdrawn, accommodative, or dominant? Can
you find key elements that would describe those lacking skills, or are there social
issues (like teasing) occurring? Remember that each child’s story is valuable and
presents chances for the development of their social skills and competencies.
Recreate a storyline using children’s ideas and interpretations.
7.5.4 F
ourth Phase: Involve Children Through Participatory
Learning
Finally, it is time to represent the recreated storyline to the children. Remember to

tell them that this story is conducted by them. Read the children’s stories to them.
Leave time for discussion and open-ended stories, that children can test their con-
ceptions about solving the problem in joint decision-making. Use the storyline cre-
ated by joint meaning-making to support children’s development in social situations.
Through the story, you can better understand their conceptions and strategies, and
you can follow-up with children who do not consider peaceful problem-solving
skills, or who withdraw themselves from challenging situations.
7.6 Conclusion
In this chapter, we have discussed the Action Telling method to open children’s
views of what they do and how they act with peers and teachers. Early Childhood
educators can use the Action Telling method to create a participatory environment
to support active agency. In our examples, we have used the method in both research
and pedagogy. Children’s ideas about how to respond in social situations are keys to
children’s social competence. We focus on the agentive nature of children’s views
and urge all adults to take children’s stories seriously and process them together
with the young child. Sometimes, adults have difficulty understanding children’s
strategies and conceptions of their actions. Therefore, it is important for teachers to
support children’s development in participatory skills, such as making independent
initiatives, taking part in negotiations, and solving-problems Children’s identity as
competent and capable actors in their social surroundings and later in the society are
not the status quo but consist of skills that can be practiced and learned with peers
and adults (see Kangas 2016; Sinclair 2004).
It has been shown by Göncu et al. (2009) that these independent skills and com-
petences are not typically part of official school curricula. Children don’t produce
the learning by using a curriculum or other official documents themselves. Children’s
agentive power is situated in their relentless and ingenious production of everyday
interaction within education practices. Therefore, teachers should support children’s
development in participatory skills, such as making independent initiatives, taking
part in negotiations, and solving problems (Venninen and Leinonen 2013). The
Action Telling method is useful in understanding children’s views through stories
and makes it possible for children’s voices to be heard directly, without adults filter-
ing their responses, especially if the stories they tell are written down and repeated.
Finally, the Action Telling method is a tool that creates paths from past to future
for children and teachers. When focusing on a story based on lived experience, chil-
dren can be seen constructing it anew and creating new meanings (Clandinin et al.
2006). When children’s ideas have different consequences for the action, children
learn diverse approaches to take other’s feelings into account, solve problems, and
influence their everyday life in educational settings. It is essential that there are dif-
ferent options to solve the problem. Within a shared process, the children can nego-
tiate the situation and try to learn to get along with others. Eventually they develop
a dynamic understanding of the world and society through this shared meaning
making process (see Kangas 2016; Berthelsen 2009). In this process, the Action
Telling method can be considered as a path to understanding children’s perspectives
and agency.
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Part II
Recognizing and Applying Stories
Chapter 8
Understanding Stories as Multimodal
Experiences in Young Children’s
Development
Marilyn J. Narey
8.1 Introduction
Over the past decades, multimodality and multiliteracies (New London Group
1996) have garnered increased attention across the literacy education community
(Collier and Kendrick 2016; Mills 2015; Siegel 2012). Pushing against monomodal
views of literacy that emphasize decoding of written language, numerous literacy
scholars, researchers, and educators argue for an expanded perspective of literacy,
one that “attends to meaning as it is made through the situated configurations across
image, gesture, gaze, body posture, sound, writing, music, speech, and so on. From
a multimodal perspective, image, action, and so forth are referred to as modes, as
organized sets of semiotic resources for meaning making” (Jewitt 2008, p. 246).
Thus, moving forward into the twenty-first century, “literacy” is viewed as meaning
making through multiple modes (Narey 2017a), and “literature” is the embodiment
of our human stories across diverse textual forms.
Such an encompassing construct of literacy and literature is not an entirely “new”
concept. Throughout history, we humans have attempted to make meaning through
our varied sensory modalities. Cave-drawings, ancient ballads, talking drums, medi-
eval stained-glass windows, and ritual dances are among the many examples of
textual forms for multimodal meaning making across time and culture. Over time,
these sensory-based textual forms were pushed to the periphery as reading and writ-
ing printed words became the exclusive focus of curricula in many countries
(Handerhan 1993). Accountability measures that began in the 1980s exacerbated
this privileging of verbal literacy as standardized test scores became a concern
(Barton and Baguley 2014).
M. J. Narey (*)
Narey Educational Consulting, Pittsburgh, PA, USA

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_8
132 M. J. Narey
Although verbal literacy instruction remains at the center of schooling in many

countries including the United States, there has been a growing surge of interest in
multimodality and multiliteracies (Siegel 2012). I propose that this awareness has
been prompted largely by an overarching sense of urgency to respond to the ever-
expanding number of technological products and processes that permeate our lives.
Across societies and time, “beliefs and values influence textual production and con-
sumption as needs and purposes are set against resources, technologies, and access.
Over time, inevitable cultural shifts precipitate changes in textual forms and func-
tional modalities for making meaning” (Narey 2017a, p. 4).
In our current digital culture, tablets, smartphones, and the Internet are highly
valued as indispensible to daily life. Therefore, while written verbal language has
held a privileged position in many cultures throughout previous decades, the influx
of images and sounds so readily available to the public through new technologies
has caused a shift in how non-verbal languages are valued in general society. It may
be argued, then, multimodal meaning making is not new; it is merely that our re-
awakening to it in this digital age has caused us to re-evaluate prevailing monomo-
dal views of literacy in light of our extensive use of new technologies. Just as the
introduction of radio and television influenced everyday literacy practices, the pro-
liferation of mobile devices used within our current culture has significantly changed
where, when, and how we are able to engage in literacy events (Arrow and Finch
2013; Bako 2016). New technologies allow us to access information or entertain-
ment through a variety of platforms and networks virtually anytime and anywhere.
Not only do we have seemingly unlimited access to read, hear, and/or view stories,
real or imagined, but also, the development of user-friendly devices that require
minimal technical skills allow us to create and disseminate our own story produc-
tions through websites like YouTube or applications such as Instagram.
As we focus in on the topic of this volume: the strength of stories in young chil-
dren’s lives, we acknowledge that the opportunity to engage with the creation or
consumption of stories in new ways has encouraged many to entertain a broader
view of literacy that extends beyond decoding printed words on a page. However,
we must also acknowledge that this surge of interest is precipitated, in part, by the
expansion of new technologies. Therefore, we need to ensure that our fascination
with the bells and whistles of these technological tools does not overshadow the
more substantive aspects of why and how we critically use the technology for a
particular purpose with children and stories. Just as over-focus on decoding skills
(e.g., alphabet letters, word recognition) at the expense of meaning making becomes
problematic in verbal literacy, multimodal literacy efforts are also subject to misdi-
rection (Narey 2017a). Too often multimodal literacy initiatives are targeted to
developing practical technology skills, rather than the multimodal literacy that is so
critical to education for the new millennium (Wolfe and Flewitt 2010). As Cope and
Kalantzis (2009) point out: “Literacy teaching is not about skills and competence; it
is aimed at creating a kind of person, an active designer of meaning, with a sensibil-
ity open to differences, change and innovation” (p. 175).
8 Understanding Stories as Multimodal Experiences in Young Children’s Development 133
As I underscore in this chapter, the strength of stories in young children’s devel-

opment does not rely upon utilizing any one particular medium, whether alone or in
combination. Rather, the strength of stories emerges from the intentional and cre-
ative process of choice and use of a medium or media in relation to the story, the
purpose, and the participants within a given time, place, and culture. Thus, ulti-
mately, the strength of stories in supporting development relies substantively upon
the adult’s intentional and creative engagement with the child through understand-
ing and enacting multiple modalities across the story event.
With this in mind, although I will discuss digital textual forms elsewhere in this
chapter, I begin with a personal story about a home literacy event that is not centered
on any new technologies, but rather, is focused on a traditional picture book. This
introductory vignette will demonstrate basic understandings of how stories can
function as multimodal events in young children’s development as well as highlight
the importance of the adult’s intentional and creative engagement. I follow this
introductory vignette with further elaboration of how stories function as multimodal
experiences as I deconstruct the father-son interaction in my story. In the next sec-
tion, I explain the theoretical frame for strength of stories in children’s lives as a
creative process, compare multimodal aspects of stories produced and/or compre-
hended in traditional and new media, and review the critical importance of the
adult’s intentional and creative engagement. I end the chapter with a section that
includes suggestions for parents as they consider how stories function as multi-
modal experiences that support young children’s development.
8.2 “ Pickle!”: An Introductory Vignette of Multiple Modes

and Varied “Texts”
As noted, multiliteracies and multimodality have garnered renewed attention with

the recent advent of new technologies and, often, are exclusively associated with
digital texts. This limited view does not provide a full understanding of the range of
multimodal experiences that bring meaning to a literacy event. The following intro-
ductory vignette is a personal story that took place in a home environment in north-
eastern United States in the late 1980s. The two participants in the multimodal
literacy event described in the introductory vignette are my youngest son, Nathan,
then, age 3, and his father, my husband.
My intentional selection of this vignette as an informal case allows me to dem-
onstrate some basic understandings regarding multimodal literacy that is disen-
gaged from digital technologies. These basic understandings will set the groundwork
for my later discussion of multimodal experiences with stories produced and shared
through traditional forms and new technologies.
134 M. J. Narey
8.2.1 Introductory Vignette
The section of floor under the arched doorway affords an open space with easy
access to the toys and books stored nearby and this area between the small living
room and dining room had become a favored spot for indoor play. Selection of toys
or books during at-home play was typically directed by Nathan’s interest, but his
play partner might also suggest a choice. On this particular evening, father and son
have been playing with blocks and cars for about 20 min. Sensing his toddler’s wan-
ing attention, Nathan’s father prompts, “Let’s read Postman Pig,” and Nathan, read-
ily agreeing, runs to retrieve it from the pile of picture books on the window seat and
hops back to his father on the carpet, accentuating each hop by chanting “post-man-
pig” and making the book he holds in his two hands keep rhythm with his hops. He
hands the book to his father, saying, “Mail for Mr. Daddy—222 Maple Avenue!” He
then plops down on all fours, and wiggles in close to his father who is propped up
on his elbows with the picture book on the floor in front of them waiting to begin.
Nathan’s father studies the cover of the picture book that has become a favorite
selection for the pair, reading aloud: “Postman Pig and His Busy Neighbors by
Richard Scarry.” He points to the image of Postman Pig and comments on the details
illustrated on the cover: “Oh my! Postman Pig has lots of letters to deliver! Look at
this envelope he is holding—there is a stamp in the corner like when we get mail. It
has an address too. Who is it for? You’re right! He needs to deliver it to Lowly
Worm. And look at the buildings on the street. Here is the Post Office. Oh, look!
Here is the Candy Store right next to it.” At this point Nathan, who is very familiar
with the story looks slyly at his father and whispers dramatically, “Uh, oh! Pickle!”
as he points to the pickle near the bottom of the cover. The retelling of the parallel
story has begun in this episode of the ongoing game of finding the pickles that
appear in all sorts of unusual places: on the police chief’s desk, at the top of the
dentist’s drill, or on top of the barber pole.
Nathan’s father adapts Scarry’s text as he “reads” the main story of Postman Pig.
The story is focused upon presenting varied members of the Busytown community.
In the story, told through written text and complex images, the main character,
Postman Pig, distributes the mail to the occupants of the buildings along the street,
including the baker and the dentist, and greets or comments on others, like the meter
maid and the taxi driver who he passes on his route. Scarry’s story also includes
commentary from the main character’s point of view, such as noting that he likes to
deliver mail to all of the office workers because it is fun to ride up and down in the
elevator, and occasionally, Postman Pig purchases items from the shops or stops to
have a hot dog for lunch.
Nathan’s father spends a great deal of time examining the images with his young
son as illustrations of the many storefront windows and cutaways of buildings pro-
vide views of the many characters in action as well as the infrastructure. The view-
ing of the complex pages is interspersed with pointing and gesture as the pair
comments and questions and traces the route of Postman Pig and other characters or
vehicles. The father interjects the reading (or adaptations) of the written text at
v arious times, sometimes as soon as the page is turned, and sometimes while the
images are studied.
Simultaneously, the parallel story of pickles that show up in mysterious places is
followed as Nathan gleefully points them out on the pages. The source of the pickles
is never mentioned in the verbal story but rather is shown just past midway through
the picture book where a truck bearing the label, “Pickle Peter’s Pickle Works”
rounds the corner of Main and New Street right past the Busytown Bank. In the
image, a lid is flying off of one of the pickle barrels and pickles are jolted into the
air apparently landing all over Busytown as evidenced over many pages. This paral-
lel story is told in images only and is a source of much delight with each very active
sharing of this favorite text. The story ends with Postman Pig returning home to a
birthday celebration where he opens a package he delivered to himself. Nathan and
his father sing, “Happy Birthday to you…” as they close the picture book.
8.3 D
econstructing the “Texts” of the Parent-Child Literacy
Event
What is a text? Typically, many of us initially think of a text as a book, or some sort
of collection of written words. Yet, throughout various fields of study, we find schol-
ars challenging this limited notion of “text.” In semiotics, Saussure (1966, p. 67)
defines “text” as a system of “signifiers” which make a reference to a set of “signi-
fieds.” This broadens the construct beyond written words to align with expanded
definitions of literacy (Gee 2004; Lankshear and Knobel 2011). Signs, as Daniel
Chandler (2007) points out, “take the form of words, images, sounds, odours, fla-
vours, acts or objects” (p. 13) and when invested with meaning, can be read. He
proposes that since “text” as a “term is used to refer to anything which can be ‘read’
for meaning; to some theorists, the world is ‘social text’” (p. 263). One’s “environ-
ment becomes a text to be read like any other text” (Nichols 1981, p. 26).
This chapter promotes the broad understanding of texts as “objects, actions, or
events that can be created and interpreted. This definition broadens the construct to
include dance, photographs, or web pages as textual forms. Further, within this defi-
nition, a classroom or a teaching episode may be viewed as a ‘text’” (Narey 2017a,
p. 3), thus, we also can view common parent-child interactions as “texts” that are
created by the adult and the child within a particular time and space that both the
participants and others can interpret. In essence, the introductory vignette featuring
Nathan and his father serves as a “text” both as the creative interaction of the father
and son in real time, as well as retold in print here by me. I, as the story teller and
you, the reader, attempt to make meaning as we examine relationships among the
participants, context, the story, the purpose, the medium and modes of engagement,
and we tease out how the multimodal experience of story might contribute to chil-
dren’s development.
136 M. J. Narey
8.4 T
exts Available for Analysis in an Expanded Notion
of a Literacy Event
The term “literacy event” was originally put forth by Heath (1982) who defined it as
“any action sequence, involving one or more persons, in which the production and/
or comprehension of print plays a role…a literacy event has certain interactional
rules and demands particular interpretive competencies on the part of participants.
Some aspects of reading and/or writing are required by at least one party, and cer-
tain types of speech events are appropriate within certain literacy events” (p. 93).
While Heath designed this term and definition as a unit of analysis around “print”
or written text, and highlights “reading and writing” and “speech events,” the con-
struct of a literacy event can be extended to accommodate broader notions of “text”
relevant to this chapter. Here I move beyond Heath’s “production and/or compre-
hension of print” to suggest that literacy events can be centered upon production
and/or comprehension of any textual form and for the purpose of this chapter,
include story (presented in any mode or combination of modes), participant inter-
pretation, and participant response.
When viewing such a literacy event through the multimodal lens, we can analyze
the production and/or comprehension (meaning-making) of the story and the child’s
development across domains by examining sensory aspects of three potential texts:
1. the physical textual form of the story (book, film, app)
2. the episodic “text” enacted by participants (interpreting/performing/experienc-
ing the story),
3. the varied texts of participants’ responses to the story
In the introductory vignette, the physical textual form of the story is a paperback
picture book. Sensory aspects of this textual form available for analysis of meaning-
making potential include typography and graphics; colors, shapes, lines, textures,
media, style, and content of images; the materials used for the cover and pages of
the picture book; and movement through the physical textual form. The episodic
text in the vignette is Nathan’s and his father’s enactment of the story. Focus of
analysis for meaning-making is observation of what the toddler and parent bring to
the literacy event and how they experience, interpret, and/or perform the story
encountered in the picture book. This episodic text is shaped by context and pur-
pose. Finally, there are the varied possible and on-going texts of the participants’
responses. Here, analysis of meaning-making are choices of textual forms for
responses and sensory aspects within those forms that the participant(s) enlist for
making meaning of the story.
8.5 A
nalysis of Sensory Aspects Inherent in Physical Textual
Form of Story
Postman Pig and His Busy Neighbors is a softcover picture book written and illus-
trated by popular children’s author and illustrator, Richard Scarry. As a softcover
picture book, the 32 pages are medium-weight paper with a heavier stock for the
slick-surfaced cover. The complex illustrations depict animal characters that repre-
sent various roles in the Busytown community (e.g., policemen, construction work-
ers, and teachers), as well as the buildings, sidewalks, streets, and vehicles in the
town. Written text is inserted among the illustrations; used as labels for some of the
images; and incorporated as part of the image.
Typically, image and print are the dominant modes in the picture book physical
textual form. Additional modes inherent in picture books include both tactile and
gesture/movement due to the physical turning of the pages required for progressing
through the story. Specific to this particular picture book, Postman Pig and His Busy
Neighbors, visual movement is strong in the page composition and the game-like
play inspired by the mysterious pickles encourages physical movement (tracing,
pointing, gesture).
8.5.1 The Image-Text Relations of the Picture Book Medium
As we examine this textual form that combines modes of image and print, it is use-
ful to examine relationships between the modes. “Picture book is a highly aesthetic
genre, which weaves words and pictures together to tell a story. Meanings in picture
books are inextricably constructed by art and text” (Wu 2014, p. 1415). Wu argues
against viewing pictures “as a mere prop to the verbal story” (p. 1419), and delin-
eates McCloud’s (1994) image-text relations as:
a. word specific, where pictures illustrate but do not significantly add to a largely complete
text;
b. picture specific, where the picture dominates and words do not add significantly to the
meaning of the image;
c. duo specific, where words and pictures send essentially the same message;
d. additive – words amplify or elaborate on an image or vice versa;
e. parallel – words/image follow different courses without intersecting;
f. montage – words are treated as integral parts of the picture;
g. interdependent – image/words together convey an idea that neither could convey alone.
(p. 1416)
Richard Scarry’s illustrations in Postman Pig and his Busy Neighbors exempli-
fies both an additive relation as well as a parallel relation. The reader/viewer finds
that the written text often provides specific information beyond the image and the
138 M. J. Narey
complex images offer views, specific details, and figures-in-action that offer further
elaboration. The parallel “story” of the mysterious pickles emerges without any
mention in the written text and is left to the reader/viewer to discover and explore
through images alone.
8.5.2 H
ow Multimodality Within the Physical Textual Form
Supports Development
The layout of many of the pages mimic typical town streets and sidewalks lined
with shops and businesses as Scarry carries illustrations across the top and bottom
in full page bleeds (illustrations that are carried to the edge across two pages of open
book). He often reinforces the impression of walking through an actual town by
breaking the line of storefronts with a corner and side street with characters walking
and driving vehicles turned toward the viewer, as outlined in diagram of this type of
layout (see Fig. 8.1).
The illustrations are painted in bright watercolor outlined in pen and the color
placement is carefully planned. This is particularly important considering the com-
plexity of the illustrations: while the colors attract the child’s interest, the well-
designed distribution of color contributes to a cohesive composition that supports
the child’s viewing of the detailed drawings without the potential distraction that
might be provoked by a more chaotic influx of color.
Scarry’s skillfully designed compositions promote the child’s extended viewing
of the rich visual stories. Developmentally, this builds the child’s observation skills
and promotes inquiry, both critical to the child’s cognitive growth. The child’s lit-
eracy and language development also is enhanced through this early visual literacy
Fig. 8.1 Diagram showing analysis of Scarry’s illustration of a Busytown street

practice of interpreting the pictures. Further, drawing upon Paivio’s (1986) Dual
Coding theory, the child’s experience of the story through images and words leaves
a deeper memory trace and works to support acquisition. Finally, relative to the
father’s intended purpose of enriching his son’s understanding of community roles
and structure (described in the following analysis of the episodic text), the multi-
modal presentation of the informational content within the story supports both cog-
nitive development as well as aspects of social/moral development as visual and
verbal elements reveal nuances of meaning that could not be communicated through
one mode alone.
8.6 A
nalysis of the Episodic Text of Participants’ Enactment
of Story
As posited at the outset, stories are multimodal experiences in young children’s

development. Of particular importance to understanding this is the recognition that
the critical multimodal aspects of stories are not limited to the languages explicitly
represented in the material medium. Meanings are made (as well as shared, inter-
preted, and remade) through numerous and varied representational and communica-
tional resources (Kress and van Leeuwen 1996, 2001). While the multimodal
properties of the physical textual form of Postman Pig offer substantive support for
the child’s development, we need to be aware of the modes at play beyond the mate-
rial medium. Whether the medium is a picture book, a video, or an interactive digital
story, modes not explicit in the medium may be introduced by the participants
within the context that contribute to the meaning that is made.
8.6.1 Sensory Aspects of the Episodic Text
Beyond the visual and verbal modes of images and printed words offered through
the material pages of the picture book, participants bring other modes for meaning
making that enhance the strength of story in children’s lives. These include modes
of sound (aural), gesture/movement (kinesic), and space (proxemics). Further, the
adult and the child play a significant role in mediating the various modes within the
literacy event. Thus, the strength of story does not rely on the medium (author’s
text) alone, but rather on the interplay of adult and child mediation of a multiplicity
of modes that affect meaning making in the literacy event.
In the introductory vignette, the picture book exists as a medium that incorpo-
rates a visual mode (illustrations) with a verbal mode (printed words). Most chil-
dren of Nathan’s age would not be able to access meaning in the verbal written
mode alone, but the written text portions also serve as visual shapes and recogniz-
able signs and signifiers that can convey meaning without decoding the actual print
140 M. J. Narey
(e.g., a postal address on the envelope). When the father creatively and intentionally
engages with the child in the words and illustrations in the picture book, other
modes come into play, including aural modes of speech and sound (e.g., intonation),
as well as gestural modes (e.g., pointing, tracing, facial expression), action modes
(e.g., mimetic, behavioral response), and spatial/proxemics modes (e.g., cuddling).
As Golden and Gerber (1990) write:
In the picture story book, the potential sign, the network of cue systems available to the
reader/listener, is characterized by dual sign systems of verbal language and the language
of the image. Author and illustrator (who may or may not be synonymous) contribute verbal
and visual cues which interconnect in various ways to convey story information. Because
the picture book is often read by an adult to a child who is in the process of acquiring skills
for constructing texts, the adult’s rendition of the written text provides another type of cue
which guides the child listener. The reader/performer interprets the text through a variety of
paralinguistic, kinesic, and proxemic cues reflecting his or her own interpretation of the text
for a particular audience. Thus, performed text integrates the reader’s oral text, the author’s
written text, and the illustrator’s visual text. From this view, the narrow conception of text
as author’s text is thus extended into the sphere of the social context of the reading event
where the text is a display of author’s, illustrator’s, and performer’s cues. (p. 204)
Expanding this analysis of sensory aspects of the episodic text of the literacy
event, I now consider the context and purpose, what the child and parent bring to the
literacy event, and the modes observed in the pair’s interpretation/ experience/per-
formance of the story,
8.6.2 Context and Purpose of the Story
“Since the beginning of time, stories have been used to entertain, pass on informa-
tion, values and culture, and nourish the spirit” (Russell-Bowie 2009, p. 236).
Stories serve multiple purposes, however, there is typically one primary goal that
initiates and/or sustains participants’ engagement with the story. In the introductory
vignette, the primary purpose for the participants’ engagement was entertainment.
In this home, picture books were among the typical items that might be selected for
periods of play, particularly when adult family members were involved. Nathan’s
father, offering the suggestion, “Let’s read Postman Pig,” was one segment in a
longer session of playing with his son. His offering and the toddler’s ascent con-
firmed that engaging with the picture book story would be a fun or entertaining
thing to do. This aligns with Kenney’s (2016) premise that play and adult-child
storybook reading are demonstrated to be beneficial to overall development and
rather than approaching each in isolation, notes “integrating play and storybook
reading is advantageous for both children and adults” (p. 161).
Although the primary purpose that day was to entertain his very active toddler
(and himself), Nathan’s father believed that reading, generally, was valuable to his
son’s cognitive development. The father also deemed that the story he selected
would be important information for his young son to learn. “Because it is

predominantly parents who choose books for their young children, parents’ own
interest in a particular genre may influence the choices they make regarding which
books to share with their children” (Robertson and Reese 2017, p. 5). With a college
minor in urban planning and employment in public service in emergency manage-
ment, the father had an interest in, and valued, the kind of information outlined in
Richard Scarry’s story that focused upon community functioning in Busytown and
the illustrations that showed some of the infrastructure. Thus, the secondary purpose
addressed through the selection of this story was “to pass on information, values and
culture” (Russell-Bowie 2009, p. 236) to the toddler. Finally, Nathan’s father sought
to promote his son’s already developing sense of humor observed in his daily inter-
actions. Thus, father’s engagement with Richard Scarry’s humorous distribution of
the pickles in the illustrations, also addressed the third purpose of stories cited by
Russell-Bowie: “nourish[ing] the spirit” through humor.
8.6.3 Multiple Modes of Father and Child’s Story Enactment
Examining the episodic text of Nathan and his father during the literacy event, we
observe aural modes of speech and sound (e.g., intonation), as well as gestural
modes (e.g., pointing, tracing, facial expression), and spatial/proxemics modes
(e.g., cuddling).
8.6.3.1 Aural Mode
Nathan’s father varied aural qualities of his storytelling using intonation, stress,
pausing, rhythm, volume, and other prosodic variations. These qualities within the
mode of sound of human speech may support, exaggerate, or even contradict the
story author’s intent for story (Golden and Gerber 1990). As evidenced in Nathan’s
dramatic whisper, “Uh, oh! Pickle!” the young child contributes to this aural
experience.
8.6.3.2 Gestural Modes
Throughout the literacy event, the adult’s facial expressions portray the emotions
prevalent in the interpretation of the story: shifting from surprise to seriousness to
wonder. These are accompanied by gestures or pointing to various parts of the illus-
trations to accompany explanations, discoveries, and questioning by both the child
and the father.
142 M. J. Narey
8.6.3.3 Spatial/Proxemics Modes
The context for the literacy event provided an opportunity for closeness between
parent and child as Nathan cuddled on the carpet next to his father.
8.6.4 H
ow Multimodality Enacted During the Episodic Text
Supports Development
Nathan’s father was not a professional educator with extensive knowledge of child
development theory, yet his interactions demonstrate his ability to effectively sup-
port his son’s development. This is primarily attributed to intimate knowledge of the
child that is afforded to adults in close relationships with the children in their care
(Bus 2002). Knowing that his toddler preferred active engagement with stories,
Nathan’s father skillfully utilized modes of sound, image, and movement when he
read to his son. Richard Scarry’s Postman Pig and His Busy Neighbors offered
broad opportunities for multimodal interactions that not only could entertain but
would also encourage Nathan’s development across multiple areas of purpose,
including cognitive, social, and moral development associated with the concept of
community put forth in the story. “In the early stages of book reading, children
enjoy interaction with adults more than the book; they need adults to narrow the gap
between their everyday world and the world of the book” (Smeets and Bus 2013,
p. 185). Additionally, cuddling next to his father on the carpet during the literacy
event advanced the child’s feelings of pleasure and security leading to his further
social and emotional development.
Lastly, engaging in the parallel story of finding the unexpected pickles promoted
the child’s sense of humor. Ergül (2017) maintains, “inclusion of humor elements in
children’s books are important in that they make children happy and contribute to
the development of skill of humor use” (p. 15). Appreciation of humor contributes
to the child’s cognitive and emotional development as it utilizes “a wide range of
brain areas, which differentially activate as a function of distinct humor-inducing
stimulus modalities and task requirements. Nonetheless, all these auxiliary mecha-
nisms seem to converge towards two core processes of humor appreciation: incon-
gruity detection and resolution (the cognitive component); and a feeling of mirth or
reward (the emotional component)” (Ergül 2017, p. 17).
8.7 A
nalysis of the Textual Form Selections and Sensory
Qualities of Participants’ Responses to Story
“Consequently, any given mode is contingent on fluid and dynamic resources of

meaning, rather than static skill replication and use. These modes are constantly
transformed by their users in response to the communicative needs of communities,
institutions, and societies: New modes are created, and existing modes are trans-
formed” (Jewitt 2008, p. 247). As the introductory vignette is a description of a lit-
eracy event observed within a defined time period, it provides only a glimpse of the
child’s on-going responses to the story on other days and in other contexts. Within
and beyond the time period of the literacy event recorded in the introductory
vignette, the child responds to the story with aural modes of speech and sound as
well as gestural modes, action modes, visual modes, and spatial/proxemics modes.
These include:
• the child’s initial hopping and syllabic, repetitive chanting “post-man-pig” as he
retrieves a favorite book
• the child’s deepening the pitch of his voice and serious intonation as he “deliv-
ers” the book as “Mail for Mr. Daddy—222 Maple Avenue!”
• the child’s scribbling on scraps of paper with a green crayon, placing these in
odd places, and searching for these pretend pickles with his stuffed animals
• the child’s block building that includes block “pipes” and other attempts to por-
tray “infrastructure.”
8.7.1 H
ow Participants’ Multimodal Responses to Story
Promotes Development
“Stories are how people make sense of themselves and their worlds. In young chil-
dren’s spontaneous stories that they act out as they play, we can see how they believe
people relate to one another, who they hope to become, and how they will behave”
(Shannon 1995, p. xi). Nathan’s varied responses to the story over time demonstrate
cognitive, social/emotional, language/literacy, and movement/motor skill
development.
8.8 E
ngaging in a Broad Spectrum of Multimodal
Experience: Creativity and Transformation
in the Literacy Event
The strength of stories in young children’s lives emerges across developmental

domains through the dynamic, transformative process of making meaning through
multiple modes. In this section I draw upon New London Group’s (1996) Pedagogy
of Mutiliteracies and a model of dimensions of creativity (Narey 2008) to under-
score not only the critical importance of recognizing and intentionally engaging
with multiple modalities, but also the integral role of creativity in this transforma-
tive process of the meaning making (Narey 2017b) that undergirds children’s devel-
opment through these multimodal experiences of story.
144 M. J. Narey
8.8.1 Pedagogy of Multiliteracies and Dimensions of Creativity
Cope and Kalantzis (2013) provide the theoretical basis for a Pedagogy of
Multiliteracies as a transformative, recursive process: “Available Designs (found
representational forms); the Designing one does (the work you do when you make
meaning, how you appropriate and revoice and transform Available Designs); and
The Redesigned (how, through the act of Designing, the world and the person are
transformed)” (p. 116). As we endeavor to support young children in making sense
of self and the world, adults must realize their role in this development and acknowl-
edge this as a creative process distinguished by distinct dimensions of the phenom-
enon (Narey 2017b). How these dimensions of creativity: seeing the need for
change, formulating ideas for change, and enacting change (Narey 2008) are
aligned with Multiliteracies Theory provide the basis for adult’s reflection on the
multimodal experience of story.
8.8.2 E
ngaging Creatively with Multimodality Across the Texts
of Literacy Events
“Available Designs are the texts we encounter (seeing need for change). In
Designing, we actively select and make meaning of the text (formulating ideas for
change). The Redesigned is the text we produce in the act of designing that trans-
forms the Available Design as well as the designer (enacting change). The
Redesigned then becomes an Available Design for others to encounter, or for us to
“re”-encounter” (Narey 2017b, p. 326). As demonstrated previously in my decon-
struction of the introductory vignette, parents can support children’s development
through story by recognizing and creatively and intentionally engaging with three
major aspects of the narrative:
1. the multimodal/sensory qualities inherent in the physical text selected;
2. the modes implemented in interpreting/experiencing/performing the story (epi-
sodic text) within a specific context and purpose;
3. the varied multimodal responses to the story.
Within the muliliteracies and dimensions of creativity theoretical frameworks,
the physical textual form selected is the “Available Design” to be acted upon by the
participants in the literacy event as the creativity dimension seeing the need for
change becomes evident. At this point the adult and child formulate ideas for change
and engage in “Designing” as they interpret/ perform/experience the story through
multiple modes of meaning making during the episodic event. Finally, as they enact
change, their responses to the story exist as the “Redesigned” and become new sto-
ries (Available Designs).
As we consider how the father and child engaged in the multimodal experience
of story, we see how this theoretical frame works in real life. Within the broad
s pectrum of potential literacy events in this twenty-first century, parents encounter

an ever-growing list of textual forms and are often uncertain which are best for their
children: the familiar traditional textual forms or the newer electronic and digital
forms. There are numerous pros and cons for using any particular form. Following
a brief discussion of the multimodal properties of a traditional and a newer form, I
discuss how understandings from the introductory vignette may assist parents in
resolving the dilemma.
8.9 M
ultimodal Properties of Traditional Picture Books
and Story Apps
Listing all of the varied physical textual forms that stories may take and noting the
multimodal affordances within these forms is beyond the scope of this writing. As
pointed out at the start of this chapter, many textual forms passed down from earlier
cultural and/or historic traditions present in a range of sensory modes. While not
considered primary textual forms in our current twenty-first century society, such
multimodal texts (e.g., ballads, puppet shows, campfire renditions) remain a viable
means of sharing stories with children.
Many of these historical/cultural forms continue to be reinvented in versions
adapted to on-going technological advances. Even the traditional print picture book
that many people exclusively associate with stories for children has evolved over
time with numerous changes in its variant textual forms (e.g., audio books, eBooks,
apps) and accompanying modal affordances. As pointed out, many adults associate
children and stories with picture books, and multimodality is frequently conflated
with technology. Therefore, rather than provide an extensive inventory of available
multimodal physical textual form variations, in this section, I attempt to extend
understandings of the multimodal affordances inherent in various textual forms by
comparing traditional picture books with the newly popular story apps. I then review
the importance of the adult’s intentional and creative engagement with any textual
form as we continue to reflect upon the strength of story in supporting children’s
development.
As discussed in earlier sections of this chapter, traditional picture books present
the verbal mode of written text and the visual mode of the illustrations. An excep-
tion to this is the wordless picture book in which the story is presented only through
images. Beyond the visual and verbal modes most frequently encountered, and the
relatively minor role of the tactile mode in touching and turning the paper pages,
some variations on the picture book textual form are designed to explicitly engage
other sensory modalities.
Among classic examples of these is Pat the Bunny (Kunhardt 1940), one of the
earliest and best-selling “multisensory” books for children. The multimodal fea-
tures as described by Kundhardt’s son in a New York Times article on the book’s 50th
anniversary include “a fluffy little cottontail to pat, a peekaboo cloth to pick up and
146 M. J. Narey
peep behind, a red ball that squeaked, a shiny mirror to look into, a daddy’s scratchy
beard to feel, a miniature book about a bunny with pages to turn and a mother’s
wedding ring to stick a finger through” (http://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/23/
books/the-original-touchy-feely-pat-the-bunny-turns-50.html). There is also a
scented page with a picture of flowers to be smelled.
Other classics that feature properties designed to tap into children’s additional
modalities are Eric Carle’s The Very Busy Spider and The Very Hungry Caterpillar
(tactile and movement) and The Very Quiet Cricket (aural). Currently, there are
numerous tactile traditional picture books produced, particularly for babies and a
number of “interactive” books that encourage movement of manipulating book
components as part of the story. Traditional picture books that appeal to other
modalities with scents or sounds are not as readily available.
The recent advent and popularity of story apps are a continuation of the on-
going influence of technological advances that affect parent/child literacy prac-
tices. As Takacs et al. (2015) point out, “children can watch a narrative on television,
on the computer using a CD-ROM or DVD, or on the Internet; and more recently,
they can use a tablet or a smartphone (e.g., apps on the iPad or the iPhone) to access
stories” (p. 698). Takacs, et.al continue, noting the multimodal features of these
newer textual forms:
Television only allows for multimedia features (like animated illustrations in
addition to music and sound effects); in contrast, it is possible for stories on the
computer or tablets to involve the child in the story through interactive features such
as questions, dictionaries, games, animations, or sounds to be activated by clicking
on or touching a spot in an illustration (often indicated as hotspots) (p. 698).
Story apps are used on mobile devices like iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. As is
often the case when presenting stories through other electronic and digital textual
forms, creators of story apps frequently use stories originally designed for tradi-
tional picture books. In order to further explore multimodality in story, it is useful
to examine a story that has been produced in both of these physical textual forms.
Therefore, for this discussion of story apps, I focus upon the previously mentioned
story, Pat the Bunny (Kunhardt 1940) as it has been redesigned as a story app.
The story of Pat the Bunny is about two children, Judy and Paul who explore
their world through their senses of touch, gesture, action, and smell. As the simple
story evolves, the text provides explanation through printed text and images of what
the characters are doing on a page (i.e., “Judy can pat the bunny.”), and on the fol-
lowing page, the written text is a direction for the reader to do the same (i.e., “Now
YOU pat the bunny.”). Per the earlier description provided by the author’s son when
recounting the original picture book, the multimodal experience of touching the soft
fur, or smelling the scent embedded in the perforated page with the illustration of
flowers is integral to the story as originally conceived.
The Pat the Bunny story app incorporates the style and color of the traditional
picture book so the two versions are visually similar, however the other modal expe-
riences available to the child are quite different. Although a tactile component exists
with the touch screen for manipulation of the “pages” and functions of the story app,
there is no textural element like the fur of the bunny or olfactory component to smell
like the scent of flowers to explore as part of the story. Action, such as lifting the
cloth from Paul’s face is accomplished by screen swipe rather than physically lift-
ing. A built in aural component not only replaces the parent’s voice, but also intro-
duces sound effects. Gestures of pressing and swiping activate functions and
additional performed action of animations.
As with many reviews of story apps and computer-based textual forms, new fea-
tures are lauded for the interactivity they promote, with some early research show-
ing that aspects of technology have some small positive effect on literacy
development (Masataka 2014; Takacs et al. 2015). Yet, there are concerns about the
value of these features regarding the story meaning.
Constant switching between two different tasks, understanding the story on the one hand
and exploring games and hotpots on the other, might place too much extraneous load on the
working memory of young children and decrease their performance on both tasks… Even
interactive features that are relevant, to the story may disturb story comprehension and
language learning. (Takacs et al. 2015, p. 701)
Parents must ask what else is lost when the story is lost in favor of the manipula-
tion of the technology? This is a concern not only of the new textual forms, but also
can apply to traditional textual forms, like picture books. For instance, we could
also question what is the value of the aural feature in Carle’s The Very Quiet Cricket?
Does the chirping cricket sound contribute to the meaning made or is it merely a
novelty?
8.10 I mportance of the Adult’s Intentional and Creative

Engagement
A central thesis of this chapter is that the strength of stories in supporting develop-
ment relies substantively upon the adult’s intentional and creative engagement with
the child through understanding and enacting multiple modalities across the literacy
event. Therefore, adults are encouraged to refrain from becoming overly concerned
with the fluctuating “pros and cons’ of new media vs traditional textual forms or the
type and quantity of modal affordances found in the various textual forms.
Instead, parents might reflect upon the introductory vignette: the intentional and
creative process of choice and use of multimodalities in relation to the story, the
purpose, the participants and the context across the literacy event. If adults apply
understandings of multimodality and approach any textual form as one component
of the intentional and creative process of making meaning, they will realize that
traditional or new, neither is consistently better for all children in all contexts for all
purposes. In the final section that follows, I offer some suggestions for parents.
148 M. J. Narey
8.11 S
tories, Multimodality, and Children’s Development:
Suggestions for Parents
Stories are multimodal experiences in young children’s development. When parents

intentionally and creatively build upon this understanding, they enrich children’s
development across domains. To this end, I offer the following suggestions.
8.11.1 E
xplore Modalities and Multiple Modes of Language
Across Childhood Experiences
Building upon infants’ and toddlers’ innate curiosity by talking, or oral storytelling
about everyday occurrences is important (Cutspec 2006). All children should be
encouraged to explore multimodality with “particular emphasis on developing their
awareness about the dynamic interaction between the various modes, and their
awareness that all modes are constantly changing in their interaction with other
modes; and through the sign-maker’s use” (Kress 1997/2005, p. 155).
Parents who draw attention to the crunch sound of walking on dried fallen leaves,
the lines made by footprints in sand or snow, the smell of an orange or freshly-
picked herbs, or the taste of various foods are intentionally and creatively establish-
ing patterns of rich early multimodal literacy experiences.
8.11.2 S
elect Stories That Focus on the Child’s and the Adult’s
Interests
“A key factor in high quality storybook reading may be the way in which adults
mediate the reading experience in response to children’s interests, personal experi-
ences, conceptions, and knowledge” (Bus 2002, p. 188). Consider how the father in
the introductory vignette selected the story that is particularly suited to the child as
well as to the father’s interests. Innate interest promotes creative engagement of
both child and adult.
8.11.3 Share Stories Represented in a Variety of Media
As discussed in the chapter, traditional picture books and more recently, story apps
tend to be among the most widely utilized textual forms that parents select for shar-
ing stories with young children. Other popular forms are finger plays, songs,
videos, and live performances. Within these forms, parents can, and should, offer
varied selections and ensure that a variety of historical and cultural forms are
included as well.
8.11.4 Create Stories Using a Variety of Media
Parents and children can create their own personal stories using a variety of modes
and modalities. Drawing, acting, and photographs can become the physical textual
forms for ideas. New media provides opportunities to design stories on computers
or iPads. Adults should not only encourage their children to create stories but should
also model creating stories.
8.11.5 E
ngage the Child to Examine All Modes for Meaning
Represented in a Story Medium
In the introductory vignette, the father and son spent a great deal of time interpreting
the images. Parents need to remember that meaning is made in many modes and
draw attention to what may be lesser considered modes such as the music and move-
ment when watching a video-taped story or to the different type variations and
speech balloons in comics and graphic novels to consider how these contribute to
the meaning.
8.11.6 E
ncourage the Child to Critically Compare the Effects
of Representing a Story Through Different Media
George E. Forman, well-known for his research with Reggio Emilia, writes:
Each medium … orients children to different aspects of the subject matter. Each medium
makes certain questions more askable than other questions. And in order to eventually find
the solution to any problem, children have to ask of the event many different types of ques-
tions. Thus, by using a variety of media to represent a single phenomenon, we are helping
children ask better questions. (Forman 1996, p. 57)
Even very young children can begin to understand how stories change as the medium
changes.
150 M. J. Narey
8.12 Conclusion
Parents and other educational stakeholders recognize the impact of technological

change upon society and many express concerns that young children must be pre-
pared to survive, grow, and advance in an increasingly digital world. In this chapter,
I have underscored that it is crucial that this technological preparation emerges from
the understanding that the contemporary technological environment is multimodal
and, therefore, digital literacy means the ability to demonstrate critical thinking
across modalities. Further, understandings of child development are generally
accepted to include a broad range of modal functions, and I have argued that adults
must not only acknowledge these multimodal aspects but also advocate for support-
ing learning through and across multiple modalities as important for children’s
growth and well-being.
Viewing these concerns through the lens of story, I have pointed out that stories
are multimodal experiences. Whether these tales are presented in traditional or
newer digital forms, these adult-child literacy events demonstrate numerous possi-
ble configurations of combined sensory and perceptual elements: visual, aural, kin-
esthetic, etc. that may be manipulated within the event. This inherent multimodality
of story was illustrated in the analysis of The Postman Pig story vignette as well as
evidenced in the contrasting versions of Pat the Bunny story. Underscoring that
stories are innately multimodal experiences, I have cautioned that merely ensuring
that a number of different modalities be present in the story sharing is insufficient
and, thus clearly, the multiplicity of modes is not the main point. Rather, from a
multimodal standpoint, the strength of stories in supporting children’s development
emerges from the intentional and creative process of thoughtfully utilizing and
building upon numerous aspects of these multimodal opportunities including the
participants’ choices in emphasis and uses of modes and media in relation to the
story, the purposes, and the participants within a given time, place, and culture.
Stories are multimodal experiences and parents and other adults must learn to criti-
cally assess the modal opportunities offered by literacy events when preparing for,
engaging in, and following up story-sharing experiences with young children.
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Chapter 9
Scaffolding Children’s Narrative
Comprehension Skills in Early Education
and Home Settings
Anu Kajamies, Janne Lepola, and Aino Mattinen
9.1 Introduction
I have always considered stories extremely important for the children. It’s such a treasure
you can have even if you are very poor. If you learn to understand books, you can find won-
derful joy for yourself from the library. When we think from the viewpoint of learning, the
better language skills you have, the easier it will be to do well at school and move forward
in your life. While reading exciting or lovely stories, it is a charming feeling that you can
travel anywhere in your mind. This kind of emotional involvement is so important in many
ways. (Quote from an early educator – Bunny Stories intervention)
The early educator Sari,1 who provided the interview quote shown above, is 1 of
55 early educators who participated in our Bunny stories intervention. At the begin-
ning of the intervention, every early educator emphasized the importance of reading
stories to children in child care and at home. Sari’s answer beautifully captured the
many benefits of stories for children’s development and well-being. Beginning from
this shared understanding of the strength of stories in early childhood development,
we first describe research on the development and scaffolding of children’s story
comprehension. Second, we outline the principles, phases and practices of two
effective dialogic story reading models: Bunny Stories (Mattinen et al. 2014) and
7-Minutes-to-Stories (Orvasto and Levola 2010). We have designed these long-term
learning environments to scaffold young children’s story comprehension in early
education and home settings. We will describe both successes and challenges in
creating high-quality adult–child interactions based on our experiences of imple-
menting these interventions together with early educators and parents. Our goal is
The names of all participants have been changed to preserve anonymity.

1
A. Kajamies (*) · J. Lepola · A. Mattinen

University of Turku, Turku, Finland
e-mail: anu.kajamies@utu.fi

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_9
154 A. Kajamies et al.
to support early childhood educators in understanding and developing ways to opti-

mally scaffold children’s early skills and insightful attitudes toward literacy. The
same principles, phases and practices we have used in our interventions can be eas-
ily applied with any children’s book to support children’s story comprehension even
though the specific stories we have used in our studies are currently published only
in Finnish and Swedish. At the end of the chapter, we will summarize practical tips
for both early educators and parents.
9.2 Optimal Scaffolding of Children’s Learning
Scaffolding—a concept already emphasized in the title of this chapter—is a fre-

quently used concept in educational research (review by Van de Pol et al. 2010).
Scaffolding is typically defined as carefully calibrated support that creates opportu-
nities for children to achieve learning goals beyond what would be possible without
such support (Muhonen et al. 2016; Steenbeek et al. 2012; Wood et al. 1976). This
definition highlights that, to be optimal, support must be carefully calibrated to
children’s learning. Mastering long-term goals, such as skilled story comprehen-
sion, calls for optimal scaffolding over an extended period of time (Kajamies 2017;
Mercer and Dawes 2014). Figure 9.1 depicts children’s learning, adult’s2 support,
and support from the learning environment as intertwined elements of scaffolding
interactions. Gears are used to illustrate these core elements and highlight that both
adult support and support from the learning environment must be dynamically cali-
brated to children’s learning. Ongoing calibration of both gears is vital for pursuing
and achieving learning goals. If the calibration of the support fails, children’s mas-
tery of learning goals is threatened. This chapter aims to deepen educators’ under-
standing of these gears and the dynamics of their calibration process in scaffolding
children’s story comprehension in early education and home settings.
In order to carefully calibrate support, such as for story comprehension, a deep
understanding of the precursors and levels of achieving current learning goals is
necessary. Furthermore, to constantly adapt support to children’s individual needs,
adults must have the skills to diagnose children’s learning potential with sufficient
depth and accuracy (Herppich et al. 2013; Palincsar 1986). Adults’ diagnostic skills
are especially important for identifying those children who struggle to achieve cur-
rent learning goals without optimal scaffolding. When these children are identified,
diagnostic skills are needed to follow up on the children’s learning dynamics for the
relevant subskills during scaffolding. The calibration of support from the learning
environment is also important, since, for example, different kinds of intervention
environments can be carefully calibrated to fit children’s needs. In this chapter, we
will use the Bunny Stories and 7-Minutes-to-Stories interventions as examples of
learning environment support structures. To establish a theoretical basis for the opti-
mal scaffolding of young children’s story comprehension, we will next point out
In this chapter, the term ‘adult’ is used to refer to both early educators and parents.
2
9 Scaffolding Children’s Narrative Comprehension Skills in Early Education… 155
Fig. 9.1 Core elements of

scaffolding interactions
and the dynamic
calibration of support for
children’s learning.
(Adapted from Kajamies
2017)
studies outlining the levels and subskills involved in skilled story comprehension.
We will focus on cognitive aspects but will also consider the metacognitive and
motivational aspects considered essential in skilled story comprehension.
9.3 C
ognitive Precursors and Levels of Story
Comprehension
From a cognitive point of view, comprehending a story requires children to con-

struct a coherent mental representation of the text or material as they listen, view or
read it. According to the multicomponent model, which is applied to understand
reading acquisition, a number of cognitive processes are at work at the word, sen-
tence, and text levels (Oakhill and Cain 2007; Perfetti et al. 2005). For example, the
child should be able to derive the meanings of words and integrate these word mean-
ings to understand sentences. At the text level, high-level metacognitive skills, such
as inference-making, comprehension monitoring, and understanding narrative text
structure, are needed (Kim and Phillips 2014; Oakhill et al. 2015). Recent studies
have shown that these low- and high-level skills are developmentally related to one
another in children as young as 4 years old (Lepola et al. 2012) and are strongly
related to students’ reading comprehension 5 years later. Thus, scaffolding story
comprehension is important even before a child can decode.
The notions about story comprehension proposed, for instance, by Aebli (1961)
and Bruner (1990) are important as we attempt to scaffold children’s story compre-
hension. According to Aebli (1961), story comprehension is, first, related to the
extent to which a child is able to construct and integrate adequate representations of
characters, actions, objects and places in the text (also see Golden and Rumelhart
1993). Second, this integrated, coherent story representation should be associated
with the child’s prior knowledge. This schema-based approach to story comprehen-
sion is linked to Piagetian theory, which outlines how new information is assimi-
lated into previous understanding and emphasizes the role of prior experiences in
constructing new meanings (see Paris and Paris 2003). Aebli (1961) also stresses the
transactional nature of the adult who tells or reads the story and the children who
listen to or view it. Even when a story is told or read as carefully as possible, differ-
ent children may not comprehend it in the same way. The obvious mismatch between
an actual story and the memory of it can be attributed to differences in our prior
experiences. Therefore, discussing with children about their prior experiences of a
story’s topics is essential. Children may also benefit from the model and interpreta-
tions provided by their peers when trying to match their earlier experiences with
new perspectives introduced by the story.
Bruner’s pioneering work both in scaffolding (Wood et al. 1976) and in narrative
thinking and children’s language (Bruner 1990) is also relevant for understanding
children’s pathways toward skilled story comprehension. Bruner (1990) stresses
how a narrative mode of thinking allows children to make sense of their world.
According to him, a child’s narrative thinking is based on her/his innate abilities
(e.g., interest in social interactions, sequencing events, perspective-taking, etc.),
which guide the child to discover differences in everyday life. Regarding the scaf-
folding of a child’s story comprehension, it may also be helpful to consider the dual
patterns of a story outlined and examined by Feldman et al. (1996). They suggest
that stories involve two landscapes: a landscape of action and a landscape of con-
sciousness. While the landscape of action involves story events, which are typically
temporally and causally sequenced, the landscape of consciousness involves char-
acters’ thoughts, feelings, and intentions. Understanding landscapes of action seems
to be the first milestone for children. Understanding characters’ psychological states
and motives, and the story’s moral is the next step (van den Broek et al. 2005). Full
understanding of a story taps both landscapes. This progression in thinking should
be taken into account when scaffolding children’s step-by-step progress toward
understanding. Next, we summarize important studies outlining the role of early
skills in the development of story comprehension.
9.4 Early Skills Involved in Skilled Story Comprehension
There are a number of foundational language and text-level skills that have been
found to be important for grasping a story’s landscapes. Those include skills related
to vocabulary, working memory, inference-making, comprehension monitoring
(Florit et al. 2011; Kim and Phillips 2014; Lepola et al. 2012), and theory of mind,
which allows children to infer others’ thoughts and beliefs (Cartwright and
Guajardo 2015).
9.4.1 Foundational Language Skills
Extensive evidence shows that knowledge of word meanings plays at least a facili-
tating role in story comprehension (Florit et al. 2011). Because spoken words func-
tion as principal carriers for meaning, understanding the literal information in a
story requires mastery of a core vocabulary. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal
studies have delineated the contributions of vocabulary to story comprehension
among preschool-age children. For example, Florit et al. (2014) showed that both
receptive and expressive vocabulary predict later listening story comprehension
among 4- and 5-year-old children, even when controlling for the effects of prior
story comprehension and other text-level skills, such as inference-making. Silva and
Cain (2015) contributed to our understanding of the relations between foundational
language skills and text-level skills among 4 to 6-year-old children by showing that
vocabulary is more important than verbal memory for inference-making. Silva and
Cain (2015) also showed that both inference-making and the literal comprehension
of a picture-book mediate the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and later
reading comprehension. Similarly, Lepola et al. (2012) suggested that inference-
making and vocabulary are developmentally related. Thus, the more skilled children
are in inference-making at age 4, the better their expressive vocabulary is likely to
be at age 5. Both of these skills, in turn, support children’s listening story compre-
hension. Taken together, numerous longitudinal studies illustrate the importance of
scaffolding young children’s vocabulary and inference-making skills.
9.4.2 Text-Level Skills
Regarding text-level skills, studies have shown that children’s skills to identify and
infer, in particular, causal and referential relations among story events are positively
associated with their later listening and reading comprehension (Oakhill and Cain
2012), as well as their comprehension of stories in other media, such as television
(Kendeou et al. 2008) or iPads (Filiatrault-Veilleux et al. 2016). Thus, regardless of
whether a child is listening to or viewing a story, he or she draws on the same under-
lying comprehension processes (Lynch et al. 2008). The skill to draw inferences is
important for children’s (reading) comprehension because inference-making not
only facilitates the formation of a mental model of the text, but also strengthens the
memory of the text (Kintsch 1998).
Pre-readers are able to generate a variety of inferences after listening to a story,
viewing television, looking at a picture book, or using an iPad. Four- to five-year-old
children have even been shown to make inferences while looking at and narrating a
wordless story-book (Tompkins et al. 2013). Tompkins et al. (2013) found that chil-
dren’s interpretations were most often related to characters’ activities and states (e.g.,
how a goal was achieved; characters’ thoughts, traits, and physical characteristics)
and their emotions and dialogue. Causal antecedent and consequence inferences
were less common. Importantly, the children’s inferences uniquely predicted their
comprehension of an unfamiliar story, again pointing out the value of discussion
about children’s inferences while reading a story.
Our longitudinal studies among Finnish-speaking children have also shed light
on the causal role of inference-making in story comprehension and the impact of
children’s motivation on the development of early oral language comprehension and
later reading comprehension (Lepola et al. 2012, 2016). Lepola et al. (2012) ana-
lyzed the development of phonological awareness, vocabulary, verbal memory,
story comprehension, and inference-making skills among 130 children aged
4–6 years old. Inference-making, which was based on children’s answers to ques-
tions about characters’ feelings, causal relations, dialogue, predictions, and themes
of pictorial stories, contributed both concurrently and longitudinally to story com-
prehension. The path analysis also revealed a reciprocal relation between inference-
making and listening comprehension, suggesting that inference-making supports
listening comprehension during preschool-years. However, the design we used did
not enable us to evaluate the role of early inference-making in later reading compe-
tence in school and/or the importance of non-cognitive factors, such as motivation,
in the formation of later reading skills.
To address the above-mentioned knowledge gaps, we further followed 90
Finnish-speaking children until the end of grade 3 and assessed their reading pre-
cursors (letter knowledge, phonological awareness), oral language comprehension
(inference-making, listening comprehension, vocabulary), and task-oriented behav-
ior (concentration on task, challenge-seeking, planning) at ages 4, 6, and 9 (grade
3). We also evaluated the children’s reading comprehension and text reading fluency
in grade 3. Of importance to scaffolding early comprehension skills, our results
showed that individual differences in oral language comprehension were conspicu-
ously stable from age 4 to age 9, and that oral language comprehension was the
strongest predictor of reading comprehension in grade 3. Our findings also indi-
cated that we should not overlook children’s motivation or attitudes toward learning
challenges because task orientation at age 4 was indirectly related to reading com-
prehension 5 years later (for greater detail, see Lepola et al. 2016). This latter find-
ing supports recent studies by Kim and colleagues (Kim and Phillips 2016; Tompkins
et al. 2013) showing how early inhibitory control (i.e., the ability to suppress irrel-
evant stimuli), which reflects a child’s ability to focus her or his attention on linguis-
tic information, is beneficial in story comprehension.
9.4.3 Other High-Level Skills
It is well-known from earlier studies of older students that skilled story comprehen-
sion involves also other high-level metacognitive skills than inference-making.
These skills include, for instance, comprehension monitoring and the theory of
mind (ToM, understanding individuals’ ability to infer others’ mental states and
perspectives). Comprehension monitoring is usually evaluated using inconsistency

detection tasks that tap children’s metacognition in action (Cartwright and Guajardo
2015; Perfetti et al. 2005).
Straesser and del Rio (2013) found that Spanish-speaking preschoolers aged
from 4 years, 5 months to 6 years, 10 months are able to monitor their understanding
while listening to stories. Furthermore, they found that individual differences in
comprehension monitoring are unique predictors of pictorial story comprehension,
even when vocabulary, attention, inference-making, and ToM are taken into account.
Similarly, using data from English-speaking kindergarten and grade 1 children
attending high-poverty schools, Kim and Phillips (2014) showed that, in addition to
vocabulary and inhibitory control, both comprehension monitoring and ToM con-
tribute significantly to story comprehension. Thus, both ToM and the skills to moni-
tor and evaluate (in)consistencies in a story are critical foundations for story
comprehension. More recently, Kim and Phillips (2016) showed that pre-
kindergartners’ comprehension monitoring can be supported in story comprehen-
sion context. Specifically, they showed that comprehension monitoring instruction
given 5 min a day, 4 days a week for 8 weeks significantly improved young chil-
dren’s skills to detect inconsistencies in short stories. Together, these studies high-
light the importance of scaffolding young children to develop their ToM and
comprehension monitoring. Figure 9.2 summarizes the above-described cognitive,
metacognitive, and motivational determinants of story comprehension in young
children.
Fig. 9.2 Determinants of story comprehension in young children

9.5 Toward Optimal Scaffolding of Story Comprehension
Ample evidence shows that preschoolers develop considerably in their skills to con-
struct coherent representations of stories before they are able to read (Kendeou et al.
2009). Furthermore, studies show that a number of children have difficulties in early
story comprehension (Kajamies et al. 2014; Lepola et al. 2012). If early comprehen-
sion skills are not scaffolded optimally and sufficiently early, these children are at
risk for later reading comprehension and motivational difficulties (Lepola et al.
2016). However, optimal scaffolding of at-risk children is an elusive goal in educa-
tional research and practice (Kajamies 2017; Van de Pol and Elbers 2013). To
understand and develop ways to optimally scaffold all children’s early skills, we
will next provide principles and concrete examples of scaffolding for story compre-
hension based on our experiences while implementing Bunny Stories (Mattinen
et al. 2014) and 7-Minutes-to-Stories (Orvasto and Levola 2010) interventions
together with early educators and parents.
9.5.1 Dialogic Reading: Promises and Pitfalls
Bunny Stories and 7-Minutes-to-Stories are models for preschool and kindergarten
classrooms and parents to scaffold children’s story comprehension by following the
principles and practices of dialogic reading (Whitehurst et al. 1994; Zevenbergen
and Whitehurst 2003), text talk (McKeown and Beck 2006), and recent intervention
studies on text-level comprehension strategies (Bianco et al. 2010; DeBruin-Parecki
and Pribesh 2015; Paris and Paris 2007). These prior studies have emphasized
adult–child interactivity during reading sessions as a crucial component of scaffold-
ing story comprehension. By moving the focus from the adult to the dynamic inter-
actions between the adult and the child, dialogic reading emphasizes the importance
of responsibility, sensitivity, and flexibility on the part of the adult and active par-
ticipation on the part of the child, both of which are necessary to create scaffolding
interactions that help the child grasp the meaning of any story.
During dialogic reading, the adult is responsible for systematically creating new
opportunities for children to achieve higher levels of story comprehension (Kajamies
2017). An adult with high sensitivity to the children’s learning—that is, an ability to
notice and interpret meaningful patterns in their learning—will fade scaffolding at
a lower level when children have demonstrated sufficient learning (Hayden et al.
2013; Salonen et al. 2005; Schäfer and Seidel 2015). After scaffolding has declined,
strengthening it again at a higher level reveals an adult’s flexibility to adapt the scaf-
folding to the children’s learning needs within their zones of proximal development
(Muhonen et al. 2016; Rodgers et al. 2016; Vygotsky 1978). Such careful calibra-
tion of scaffolding toward new learning goals is evident, for example, when the
adult decreases the scaffolding of foundational language skills (see Fig. 9.2) and
gradually strengthens scaffolding of inference-making skills after noticing that a

child has sufficient vocabulary.
To practice story comprehension, children are encouraged to participate actively
in the discussion of stories during dialogic reading (Dickinson et al. 2012; Lever
and Sénéchal 2011; Whitehurst and Lonigan 1998). Adults can use evocative tech-
niques (e.g. closed and open-ended questions or tasks, like prompts to continue the
story or fill gaps in the story) and encouraging, informative feedback to encourage
children’s participation and help children understand the connections between what
they have said and the perspectives of the story. Children actively participate in co-
constructing understanding when they ask questions and/or make other kinds of
initiatives, such as sharing their earlier experiences (Hamre and Pianta 2007;
Kajamies 2017; Muhonen et al. 2016). It is critical for adults to take up these child-
created opportunities and join them in interactions directed toward their current
learning goals.
A meta-analysis (Mol et al. 2008) demonstrated that improving the dialogue
between parents and children strengthens the effects of book reading. Parents who
read dialogically increase their children’s vocabularies significantly more than
control-group parents, who read books as they always had. However, adults tend to
struggle in their new roles as sensitive and flexible facilitators (Vauras et al. 2013),
and children are typically not used to being positioned as active participants in co-
constructing high-level understanding (Fredricks 2014). Thus, to make dialogic
reading sessions enjoyable moments that optimally scaffold children’s learning,
both adults and children must be appropriately supported.
9.5.2 Professional Development
Despite the 30 years of research on dialogic reading (Dickinson et al. 2012;
Whitehurst and Lonigan 1998), this approach was to some extent new for the adults
who implemented the Bunny Stories and 7-Minutes-to-Stories interventions.
Guidebooks, scripted stories, materials, and professional development programs
were provided for the early educators, who were not used to discussing a story with
children before, during, and after reading. This need for professional development
has also been observed in earlier studies (e.g. Mol et al. 2008). The Bunny Stories
guidebooks included a carefully designed structure and tasks for each session to
support progress toward the aims of the intervention. Adults were instructed to
pause their reading to ask both literal and inferential questions. Using scripted
examples, we aimed to encourage discussions of characters’ feelings, thoughts, and
actions, which, in turn, were expected to encourage children to participate actively
and construct their own understandings of the stories.
We implemented professional development programs to help the early educators
apply theoretical principles in complex real-life scaffolding. Selected video clips of
interactions that occurred during the interventions were confidentially used in
Bunny Stories and 7-Minutes-to-Stories professional development sessions to cre-

ate opportunities for the early educators in each intervention group to collabora-
tively scrutinize and reflect on the relevant aspects of scaffolding practices (cf.
Borko et al. 2014; Kajamies 2017; Pehmer et al. 2015). An important goal of these
video-based discussions was to increase the early educators’ sensitivity and flexibil-
ity in continuous decision-making based on opportunities created by the children.
It is interesting to note that the early educators were surprised when we empha-
sized the importance of interactions during reading. Before the Bunny Stories inter-
vention, they asked the following questions: “Is it not the goal to teach the children
to sit quietly and listen carefully when I’m reading?” “Should I allow the children
to interrupt my reading with their questions?” After the intervention, they were able
to reflect upon their professional development. The interview excerpts below illus-
trate their thoughts following the intervention.
Dialogic reading is a very different reading method than what I was taught in my student
days. I have always first read the story and after that asked some questions or explained
some words. At the beginning of the intervention, I was nervous that the whole story would
be discontinued, because children have so many exciting questions. (Quote from Tiia)
I’m really shocked that we’ve for many years made children sit quietly when adults are
reading. When we’ve read the book, we’ve put it away and gone to have lunch. I really have
started to wonder if anybody actually got something out of that kind of reading. Now my
ears are more open to the questions and comments of the children. I’m more careful to
grasp them. If a child starts to say something, I’ve learned to wait, regardless of whether it
will turn back to the story. (Quote from Petra)
Before, I used to say again and again: sit quietly now. But it’s a waste of time, because it
prevents you from finding out how the child has understood the story. Now I think listening
to children helps me to notice when I need to explain something again to support their
understanding. (Quote from Elisa)
As the interview excerpts above illustrate, it was an important first step for the
early educators’ professional development to give up the old traditions they had fol-
lowed while reading to children before the intervention. Moving the emphasis from
children’s silence toward their active contributions to the interaction, highlighted
the adult’s role as a sensitive listener who flexibly takes into account the children’s
perspectives.
9.5.3 The Child’s Perspective and Adults’ Sensitive Listening
The dialogic reading offered adults opportunities to see the stories from the perspec-
tives of the children and helped them utilize the children’s experiences to deepen
their understanding of the stories (cf. Aebli 1961; Bruner 1990; Muhonen et al.
2016). As shown above, dialogic reading also made the early educators more aware
of the potential of scaffolding children’s story comprehension. Thus, they started to

understand the importance of the social interactions that take place around the sto-
ries. This change is illustrated below in the interview answers from the early educa-
tors in the Bunny Stories intervention.
I try to pay attention to the child so that she/he can tell her/his ideas to the end. I try to avoid
saying too quickly that “Let’s continue reading” when the child is still saying something.
(Quote from Tiia)
Children want to share so many of their own experiences, but sometimes I feel that it takes
too much time. However, if their experiences are connected to the story, I want to give space
for it. (Quote from Sini)
Sometimes, the children give very good comments and turn the reading situation into dia-
logic reading. Then it is not only that the adult is reading and the children are only listening.
I hope that we will have even more discussions during the reading sessions. I also hope that
I can be more sensitive towards children’s comments and be able to listen to their thoughts
more than now. (Quote from Riitta)
It is important that you don’t look at the watch thinking that you should be somewhere else.
You need to be able to change your plans. (Quote from Saija)
During interventions, the early educators learned to be sensitive when observing

the children’s participation. Developing their sensitivity to the children’s behaviors
and verbal utterances supported the early educators in reflecting on how they had
succeeded in scaffolding the children’s comprehension skills toward new learning
goals (cf. Schäfer and Seidel 2015). The early educators faced several challenges:
learning to listen to the children, to understand their questions, and to expand on
their ideas. However, they developed their skills to grasp the children’s thinking in
order to scaffold each child individually to support optimal development of her/his
comprehension skills. They learned to understand the children’s questions and ini-
tiatives as important signs of issues that children found interesting or unclear, and
that were, therefore, essential to notice and elaborate. The interview answers below
highlight some of the opportunities and challenges the early educators experienced
during the Bunny Stories intervention.
I have learned to discuss with children more and more. In the future, I should listen even
more carefully to what they want to say. The children learned to ask questions during the
story reading and asked more questions than before about the meanings of the words.
(Quote from Saana)
If you have your own idea of where you want to lead the discussion and the child says
something different, it’s very difficult to change. I’ve noticed it now, when I have watched
videos from my reading sessions. I have not really listened to the child, but have only con-
centrated on helping the child answer in my way. It is very challenging to listen to the child
even when you think that you are doing so. For example, non-verbally, you can deliver a
message that the child should stop. (Quote from Leena)
9.5.4 Multifaceted Scaffolding
Earlier intervention studies have shown the benefits in multifaceted training of cog-
nitive, metacognitive, and motivational aspects of scaffolding at-risk children
(Guthrie and Klauda 2014; Kajamies 2017; Lehtinen et al. 1995). Also, in the story
comprehension context, scaffolding should focus on the cognitive, metacognitive,
and motivational aspects of comprehension skills (see Fig. 9.2). In studies of scaf-
folding young children’s learning, the focus typically has been on scaffolding their
foundational language skills, such as their vocabulary (Mol et al. 2008; Whitehurst
and Lonigan 1998). However, some studies have also highlighted the importance of
scaffolding young children’s text-level skills, especially inference-making (Lepola
et al. 2012; Oakhill and Cain 2012; Vauras et al. 2013).
During the interventions, we observed that it was often challenging for the chil-
dren to make inferences related to the stories to which they were listening.
Unfortunately, it was also challenging for the early educators to provide the multi-
faceted scaffolding necessary to support this inference-making. Occasionally, how-
ever, the early educators were successful in asking inference demanding questions
(e.g. Why and How questions) and giving sufficient time and support to allow the
children to reflect on and make inferences related to the stories’ events. This kind of
need for multifaceted scaffolding of inference making skills has been emphasized in
earlier studies (e.g. Guthrie and Klauda 2014; Kajamies 2017). The following
extract highlights an interaction that occurred during the Bunny Stories intervention
in which the early educator (Sari) grasped an experience introduced by a child
(Anna) and scaffolds the children to make inferences about the story.
Sari reads the story: After the mother bunny had watched the landscape for a long time, she
suddenly noticed that the landscape had turned white.
Sari: Do you know why the landscape was white?
Anna: Because it…
Iida: Because it turned so.
Sari: Why it turned white?
Anna: Because…
Iida: Because she slept and then it turned.
Sari: And why everything turned white?
Anna: There can be also white clouds.
Sari (encouraging): Clouds.
Anna (pointing to snow behind the window): There!
Sari (satisfied): There are white clouds and the landscape has turned white. Why has it
turned white?
Anna: Because the snow is white!
Sari (delighted): Yes, because the snow is white!
Iida (pointing to the paper in Sari’s hand): This kind of color!
Sari: Yes, it is white. This paper is white, and the snow is white. It has been snowing, and
there—outside, in our landscape—we can see snow. That’s why the landscape is white.
In the above interaction, the early educator clearly demonstrates motivational

support by persistently continuing the interaction and scaffolding the children’s
inference-making by speaking in encouraging, satisfied, and delighted ways. In
both interventions, children were attracted by elements of the learning environment,
such as the adventure story structure and a continuous plot. Also, the early educa-
tor’s emotionally supportive and engaged reading style was emphasized (Kajamies
et al. 2016). All stories were read in small groups (from two to seven children) to
encourage the children to be brave enough to actively participate and practice new
skills in peer groups (cf. Blatchford et al. 2011). The interview answers below high-
light opportunities and challenges the early educators experienced during the Bunny
Stories intervention in multifaceted scaffolding in small groups.
The small group gives a feeling of emotional support and trust, a sense of closeness. We can
sit near each other and view the book together side by side on the sofa. I have such a good
feeling sitting with them, and they also might feel it to be nice and lovely. (Quote from
Anneli)
I wonder how to encourage children so that they’ll have the courage to express their opin-
ions and how to make the situation so safe that they’ll be able to say something which opens
the opportunity for the discussion. Of course, I also hope that every child would find some
joy from the stories. (Quote from Merja)
9.5.5 Parents as Partners
Both interventions are models for scaffolding children’s story comprehension in

partnership with parents. During the Bunny Stories interventions, parents typically
felt reading at home to be both useful and enjoyable. However, we also observed
that parents differed in their willingness to read stories at home. For some parents,
dialogic reading was a new and rewarding activity. In the interviews after the inter-
vention, these parents highlighted the nice and warm interactions they had when
reading and discussing the stories with their children. They were very eager to fol-
low our instructions on how to discuss and ask questions and explain the meanings
of new words in the stories. The interview answer below describes how one of the
parents changed his way of reading stories after participating in the Bunny Stories
intervention.
When I became familiar with dialogic reading, I started to use questions and explain the
words in every reading situation. Now, I’m also able to concentrate on difficult words, and
it will lead me and my son to interesting discussions. I have noticed that there are so many
words which Niko did not know but has learned to know while discussing the Bunny Stories.
Discussions before, during and after the story, have made a clear change to our everyday
reading and interaction. (Quote from Niko’s father)
There were also parents who found the reading at home to be too demanding. In
particular, some parents were disturbed by the questions asked by their children
during the reading. These experiences highlight a need to emphasize to parents the
importance of children’s questions and resulting discussions for their development.
Early educators must be sensitive to differences in parents’ willingness and daily
resources, particularly with respect to the opportunities and challenges observed in
building collaborations with parents. Based on their careful observations, early edu-
cators must be flexible in working together with each parent to find optimal ways to
scaffold the child’s learning. It is worth noting that parents who show interest in
story reading at child care are already contributing to their children’s learning,
maybe even more so than if they read stories with their children at home in a com-
pulsive manner. Therefore, dialogic reading in child care is especially important for
those children whose parents do not engage in dialogic reading at home.
9.6 Practical Models to Support Story Comprehension
Next, we provide descriptions of the phases and practices included in Bunny Stories
and 7-Minutes-to-Stories interventions to support children’s story comprehension.
These phases and practices can be easily applied with any children’s book to sup-
port children’s story comprehension with dialogic reading.
9.6.1 Bunny Stories
Bunny Stories (Mattinen et al. 2014) is an intervention designed to support the sys-
tematic and long-term scaffolding of 4-year-old children who struggle with story
comprehension. The scaffolding of these at-risk children was chosen as the focus of
the intervention because previous studies have revealed that early educators and
teachers face challenges in the optimal scaffolding of these children’s learning
(Kajamies 2017; Mercer and Dawes 2014; Palincsar 1986). The model of the Bunny
Stories intervention is presented in Fig. 9.3. During the intervention, the Bunny
Stories serve as the focus of the shared attention and interest (Tomasello 1995) of all
the children and adults in the child care group and at home. First, the early educator
reads and discusses each story in a small group of two children with story compre-
hension difficulties. Then, these children participate again when the same story is
read and discussed with the whole child care group. After the dialogic reading is
completed in the child care, the story is sent to the child’s parents so that they can
read it with their child at home. Practicing story comprehension in different phases
is considered important for maximizing opportunities to repeat, variate, and transfer
the skills to be learned (cf. Ashman and Conway 1989; Marton and Booth 1997).
The Bunny Stories program also includes guidelines for early educators on how to
build partnerships with parents to scaffold story comprehension together.
Altogether, the intervention program includes 20 stories to scaffold children’s
story comprehension over the course of 20 weeks (approximately 15 min/session).
Stories are written in the format of letters from a mother bunny to a little bunny who
stays with the children in the child care while the mother bunny is on a trip. Each
dialogic reading session includes discussions and activities to be completed before,
during, and after reading (cf. Dickinson and Smith 1994). Before reading, the chil-
dren are scaffolded to recall the story they have heard before and to orientate toward
the story that will be read. During the reading, the children are encouraged to play
Fig. 9.3 Phases and practices of the Bunny Stories intervention
an active role by asking questions and discussing the story, while the adult scaffolds
the children’s understanding by modelling the story’s events, asking questions, and
clarifying the story’s meanings. Some concrete guidelines for the adults are inte-
grated into the letters to support scaffolding during reading. After the reading, chil-
dren are scaffolded to retell the story in their own words. Then, they are given a
photo and are asked to explain how it is connected to the story. Every story includes
a challenging word that the children are asked to explain and use in suitable forms
in different sentences. Children are also encouraged to find connections between the
story and their own experiences by explaining, investigating, and playing the events
of the story, as well as bridging the events to their daily activities.
9.6.2 7-Minutes-to-Stories
7-Minutes-to-Stories (Orvasto and Levola 2010) is an intervention designed specifi-

cally to add to the limited materials available for early educators and parents to
work together to support children’s learning (cf. Brannon et al. 2013). Altogether
Fig. 9.4 Phases and practices of the 7-Minutes-to-Stories intervention. (Adapted from Orvasto
and Levola 2010)
the intervention program includes 29 stories (1 story/week) about 2 children Pyry

(Snowstorm, the first grader) and Pouta (Sunshine, who just started kindergarten);
their puppet (Marionette); and their family members, who have a summer house on
an island. The stories follow the lives of the children from fall until summer.
The model for the 7-Minutes-to-Stories intervention is presented in Fig. 9.4. The
model comprises five phases, which we have applied to study 5-year-old children,
their early educators, and their parents (Lepola 2017). First, early educators were
instructed by the scripted examples to engage in deeper discussions about the ele-
ments (i.e. the characters, setting, and events) of the previous story before reading
the new one. Second, early educators were asked to scaffold children’s story com-
prehension during the story reading by asking questions. In the third phase, the early
educators discussed with each child individually and asked questions about the
story. In the fourth phase, the children colored a picture of the story. In the fifth
phase, the story was sent home, and the parents were asked to re-read the story and
discuss it with their child. The next week, the early educator began the lesson by
discussing the previous story (read at home and in child care the prior week), and
then moving on to the next story. Parents were asked to devote no more than about
7 min to reading each story at home. However, in the child care, each story session
took approximately 45 min. The different phases of the model were designed to
increase the early educators’ awareness of children’s story comprehension skills
and to encourage them to monitor the children’s progress in story comprehension
throughout the preschool year. Each child’s storybook was used in parental meet-
ings throughout the year, and when the year was over, the children each received
their own storybooks for kindergarten.
9.7 Practical Tips for Early Educators and Parents
Next, we summarize practical tips for adults to support young children’s story com-
prehension. Special care should be taken to organize time and resources for dialogic
reading sessions in both early education and home settings, since dialogic reading
is an effective way to scaffold the development of young children’s story compre-
hension (Kajamies et al. 2014; Lepola 2017). If reading stories with children is not
prioritized, the strength of stories is not utilized effectively in supporting children’s
development and well-being. To support interactivity, adults need to encourage chil-
dren to participate actively in discussions of story events. Furthermore, to increase
children’s participation, it is important to provide information about topics in which
they are interested. For example, adults should select books that inspire children to
contribute and deepen their understanding by connecting story topics to the chil-
dren’s earlier experiences. Selecting interesting books helps to create learning envi-
ronments which support children’s engagement and learning.
Adults also need to develop greater sensitivity and flexibility toward children’s
contributions to scaffold the children’s comprehension skills toward new levels.
Children’s initiatives are golden opportunities to notice what children know and
further elaborate on their understanding. The importance of the shared joy during
reading sessions that occurs when adults and children spend time together and when
adults provide encouraging feedback to children cannot be overemphasized.
Furthermore, it is important for adults to scaffold both vocabulary and inference-
making skills and to gradually strengthen the scaffolding of inference-making skills
as children master core vocabulary. Early educators and parents can best use the
power of stories to scaffold young children’s development if they work as partners.
Early educators can facilitate this partnership by sensitively empowering parents to
use dialogic reading at home.
Acknowledgements We warmly thank the participating early educators, parents and children.
The study was supported by the Grants 26080363 and 26080539 from the Academy of Finland to
PI Minna Hannula-Sormunen, Center for Research on Learning and Instruction, Department of
Teacher Education, and Turku Institute for Advanced Studies from University of Turku, and Niilo
Mäki Institute from Jyväskylä, Finland.
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Chapter 10
Historical Thinking in the Early Years:
The Power of Image and Narrative
Laura Arias-Ferrer, Alejandro Egea-Vivancos, and Linda S. Levstik
10.1 Introduction
On a Wednesday morning in a Spanish High School, a group of 13- and 14 year-olds listen
politely, but their teacher’s lecture fails to spark any interest in the European “Middle
Ages,” or the concept of a feudal domain. The teacher, Mr. Alvarez, explains that the castles
that dot so much of Europe once controlled as well as defended feudal territories, but the
students still seem indifferent. In desperation, Mr. Alvarez asks students to imagine a medi-
eval castle complete with huge walls and a defensive moat, able to resist long sieges and to
keep enemies at bay. He thinks he sees a spark of interest! Finally, one student, clearly
puzzled, interrupts: “Why didn’t they use a helicopter to move around during the Middle
Ages?”
‘Why didn’t they use a helicopter to move around during the Middle Ages?’
Children’s discussion of history never ceases to surprise us, but questions such as
this, coming from a 13-year-old student, give us pause. In this instance, the student
was encountering his second sustained experience with historical study and was still
struggling to build a chronology that would allow him to make more evidence-based
interpretations of the past. Unfortunately, he had very little historical background to
draw on, at least in part because his prior schooling included little attention to learn-
ing meaningfully about the past.
Traditional content related to first-order concepts (dates, facts, personalities,
etc.) still has a place in teaching and learning history, but current research suggests
that introducing disciplinary content through active, analytic and reflexive strategies
develop elements of historical thinking skills such as significance, locating and
L. Arias-Ferrer (*) · A. Egea-Vivancos

University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
e-mail: larias@um.es; alexegea@um.es
L. S. Levstik
University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_10
176 L. Arias-Ferrer et al.
evaluating evidence, continuity and change, causes and consequences, historical

perspectives and agency (see, for instance, Seixas and Morton 2013). Wineburg
(1999, 2001, 2007) described these elements of historical thinking as unnatural acts
that are “neither a natural process nor something that springs automatically from
psychological development” (see p. 491 in Wineburg 1999) so must be part of the
teaching-learning process. A considerable body of research addresses ways in which
this might be accomplished from early adolescence (10- to 11-year-olds) through
the secondary years (ages 12-18) (Lévesque 2008; Levstik and Barton 2015; Seixas
and Morton 2013; Seixas and Peck 2004; VanSledright 2011, 2014; Wineburg
2001). It is less clear how younger children develop ideas about the past.
Until the 1980s, some scholars used Piagetian theories to suggest that young
children could not understand history because the discipline and its related skills
were beyond their cognitive abilities (Hallam 1971; Jahoda 1963; Lello 1980; Poster
1973; Zaccaria 1978). More recent research focusing on young students (6–10 year-
olds) suggests challenges rather than barriers to young children’s historical thinking
but little is known about pre-school or early primary-age children (De Groot-
Reuvekamp et al. 2014; Harnett 1993; Lee and Ashby 2000; Lee et al. 1997; Levstik
and Barton 2008; Levstik and Pappas 1987; Solé 2009; VanSledright and Brophy
1992; West 1981).
Harnett’s (1993) research represents one early study to include attention to the
development of young children’s observational skills and their ability in sequencing
and dating when handling visual materials. Although 5-year-old children in this
study showed great difficulties in each area, they did possess some historical knowl-
edge related to individual experiences and interests. Barton and Levstik (1996) also
observed that 5- to 7-year-old children were able to analyze a set of images and
make distinctions between past and present by using qualitative descriptions of
time. Similar results were found by Hoodless (1996) in the context of learning expe-
riences designed specifically for 3- to 7-year-old children.
The most obvious challenge for early history education relates to young chil-
dren’s short history—they have a relatively brief experience with change over time,
and a fairly restricted language to bring to bear in explaining the experiences they
have had. Further, despite evidence that young children develop ideas about per-
spective (Levstik 2013) and multi-causality in their daily interactions in formal and
informal educational setting, little formal instruction focuses on helping them con-
nect these understandings to historical concepts, skills or understandings (Cooper
2002). Nonetheless, some scholars have focused their attention on emergent history,
analyzing teaching resources and strategies that encourage the development of his-
torical understandings from the early years, often with special attention to the role
of narratives, stories and storytelling strategies in this learning process (Bage 1999;
Cooper 2002; Wood and Holden 1995). We underline the term emergent in relation,
first, to the process of becoming historically literate in formal and informal contexts,
with different levels of support from families, caregivers, and educators, and with
varying experiences with public and private expression of the past through media,
museums, and material culture, and second, in relation to civic education (Levstik
and Thornton 2018).
10 Historical Thinking in the Early Years: The Power of Image and Narrative 177
At present there is increasing attention to the processes by which young children

build an awareness of the historical tools that might help them understand them-
selves (and others) as citizens of a diverse and ever-changing democracy (Barton
and Levstik 2004; Levstik 2013). We hypothesized that the selection of content is
key to history’s contribution to civic education. For example, children might inves-
tigate a range of scenarios (geographically and temporally) that allow them to con-
sider the ways in which the present is the result of decisions made by humans in
very different times and places, but with an emphasis on developing a sense of
otherness that encourages perspective recognition as well as historical empathy
(Barton and Levstik 2004).
Both these aims, the development of historical thinking skills and the promotion
of civic education, rely on the ability to ask historical questions, select and analyze
sources and develop evidence-based historical interpretations that in turn support
informed civic engagement.
Although studies show that secondary students benefit from work with historical
sources in this regard (Chapman 2011; Lévesque 2008; Seixas and Morton 2013),
especially as they engage in cognitive strategies such as identifying important infor-
mation, making inferences and summarizing (Schraw and Gutierrez 2002), consid-
erably less is known about emergent understandings of historical evidence. As a
result, we focused on this aspect of young children’s historical thinking. Our most
immediate challenge, then, involved identifying accessible sources for children who
were beginning readers and had little historical background from which to draw.
We hypothesized that the gradual introduction of carefully crafted analytical
exercises might better scaffold children’s emergent historical thinking than the more
common haphazard approach that marks what little attention history receives in
early childhood settings. Cooper describes “embryonic historical thinking” in young
children (3-5-year-olds) (see p. 39 in Cooper 2002), arguing that open-ended ques-
tions, discussion, sharing ideas, and interactive strategies develop young children’s
understanding of chronological sequence, duration, cause and effect, change over
time, and differences between past and present, while also incentivizing deductive
reasoning in the construction of interpretations. As a result, careful selection of
sources was crucial in this context. In this case, we focused on the possibilities that
a picture-based narrative might have when used as a context for interpreting the
past. Specifically, we designed an intervention based on an Ancient Egyptian liter-
ary source, The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant.
Stories (and storytelling) exhibit considerable potential in the development of
concepts associated with historical thinking in children (Alastair 2012; Bage 1999,
2013; Cooper 2002; Harrett 2009; Wright 1995). Not only do they introduce a wide
range of times and places, but also the strength of narration and the rhythms inher-
ent to stories help create an affective bond between reader/listener and text (Egan
1988). Moreover, stories provide temporal scaffolding that supports important ele-
ments of historical thinking, including concepts of succession, simultaneity, dura-
tion, cause and consequence, and perspective (Cooper 2014; Levstik 2013; Temple
2016). After all, historians impose a narrative order on the disorderly array of facts
available to them. They decide when the historical story begins and ends, and the
order and significance of events in between (Andrea 1991; Dean 2008). Their nar-
ratives are not random arrangements of the past, but attempts at causal explanations
that include elements familiar in other forms of story: a setting, actors, agents, goals
and cultural tools that are related chronologically (Barton and Levstik 2004).
There is also evidence that stories represented through visual images can be par-
ticularly effective instructional resources (Coonrod et al. 1991; Cooper 2002; Elder
2012; Libresco et al. 2011; Serafini 2013; Wood and Holden 1995). Serafini (2013),
for instance, argues that wordless picture books or picture-based narratives present
a more open-ended resource than written texts, as the viewer has to create the mean-
ing of the narration by interpreting the visual elements. In inviting such interpreta-
tion, wordless stories invite attention to the ways in which aesthetic details offer
information and emotion that encourage analytical thinking. But reading visual
images is not a spontaneous learning process. Rather, the introduction of strategies
for reading images has been shown to be especially beneficial for young children for
whom written texts remain a partially alien element or involve significant decoding
challenges (Maine 2015). This is not to suggest that reading an image requires no
instructional intervention. Rather, that images are more accessible sources for chil-
dren who are not yet fluent readers of written texts. Nonetheless, decoding the
underlying information of a visual resource requires learning how to look, “to
detect, to discriminate, to interpret, and to make decisions about what is being seen”
(see p. 199 in Thompson 1973).
As Eilam (2012) notes, the use of images in educational contexts generally
involves representational, organizational and interpretational roles, usually linked to
a text (oral or written). Although these are beneficial for learning, they generally
serve to enhance the recall of content in an associated text and the sequence of
actions related to that text. For emergent readers, however, limiting images to illus-
trations of texts is counterproductive, especially as images can be rich historical
sources in their own right (Fines 2008).
In order for this instructional potential to be realized, however, stories and
picture-based narratives must be accompanied by concrete actions that require atten-
tion to the images’ historical context. Current scholarship focusing on the develop-
ment of analytical, critical and historical thinking skills through stories share one
critical finding: the importance of the introduction of an appropriate interrogative
strategy that encourages children to share and discuss their thinking (Arias et al.
2013; Coonrod et al. 1991; Corral et al. 2013; Farmer and Heeley 2004; Langley-
Hamel 2003; Libresco et al. 2011; Screech 2010; Wood and Holden 1995). Cooper
(2002), for instance, describes the impact that images and stories have in generating
open dialogues that support the creation of multiple hypothesis and points of view.
Bage (1999) further highlights the capacity of stories and images to stir curiosity,
communicate information, and encourage thinking. In particular, images could be
used to generate questions for future inquiries (Elder 2012) and boost learning
related to the historical content of the images (Bage 2013). Levstik (1993) argues for
the importance of offering different ways of discovering and interpreting any narra-
tion or question, as well as the opportunity for children to share their findings or
hypotheses about them. Because children’s interpretations draw on their background
Fig. 10.1 The tale of the Eloquent Peasant. Created for this study by Cristian López
knowledge and experiences, Levstik and Barton (2008) point out that “a picture may
be worth a thousand words, but it is much less clear what these ‘thousand words’
mean to any individual child” (see p. 119 in Levstik and Barton 2008). As a result,
Maine (2015) describes the benefits of reading visual images as a group, favoring
dialogic and constructive learning. In this way, children construct meaning coopera-
tively, contrast their answers with their classmates’ assessment, rethink their inter-
pretations and, ultimately, reevaluate their knowledge (Pappas et al. 1990).
Taking these factors into account, we decided a wordless picture book, providing
visual information about time, place and character, might prove an accessible source
for children analysis. We then adapted an ancient Egyptian tale, The Tale of the
Eloquent Peasant, to a wordless format (Fig. 10.1), planned a work sequence
encouraging children’s dialogue and interaction as they constructed an accompany-
ing narrative. In this way, we hoped to answer the key question that frames this
research: What are the analytical and argumentation capacities of 4- and 5-year-old
children when they deal with picture-based narratives of the past? The children’s
responses and interactions are the basis of the analysis we carried out.
10.2 Methodology
The strategy and programmed sequence of activities using The Eloquent Peasant
illustrations was piloted in an informal learning context, the Science and Technology
Week (2014) of Murcia (Spain) in collaboration with the Centro de Estudios del
Próximo Oriente Antiguo (CEPOAT).1 Twenty-three participants were divided into

two sessions. Each group was highly heterogeneous with children representing
diverse backgrounds.2 Hence, prior knowledge of the participants varied consider-
ably, as did their interactions and responses to questions and the proposed situations.
At the same time, the non-formal context involved voluntary participation and some
level of initial motivation that led to enthusiastic participation, even within such a
mixed crowd, and allowed us to pilot test our procedures and assess initial results.
Based on participants’ responses in an informal setting, we implemented the
study in formal teaching situations. Five classroom interventions were performed in
two public schools with a total of 116 participating children, whose ages ranged
between 4 and 5 years old. The two schools were selected based on teachers’ inter-
est in the project, on their plans for developing a classroom project on Egypt, and on
their willingness to use our intervention as the closing activity within their own
projects. Initial school selection, then, was purposive. The choice of these two
schools also allowed us to collect data from two completely different geographic,
social and cultural contexts.
Center 1 (CE 1) is located in a rural area. Due to the prevalence of the agricul-
tural sector, its population is largely immigrant, primarily of Moroccan and
Ecuadorian origins. Social diversity, therefore, is the norm in classrooms from this
center. The activity was developed in two groups (CE 1.1 and CE 1.2), with 25 stu-
dents in the first group and 20 in the second.
Center 2 (CE 2) is located within the northern outskirts of the city of Murcia.
Although in the past its economy was largely agricultural, it is now home to an
upper-middle class residential area; mostly professionals working in the service
sector live in this area. The social context of the school can be classified as upper-
middle class, and having very limited social diversity. The activity was developed in
three groups (CE 2.1, CE 2.2 and CE 2.3) with 23, 25 and 23 students,
respectively.
10.2.2 Design of the Intervention
The period of choice was indisputable from the very beginning: Ancient Egypt. This
period provokes interest amongst the general public (both children and adults) and
the stylistic and cultural wealth surrounding it imbues it, to a certain extent, with an
aura of mystery and fascination. Further, this topic is important in Spanish schools.
In our interviews with Kindergarten Education teachers prior to designing this
research, for instance, Ancient Egypt was a topic of study in almost one fourth of
their classes in the last 5 years. The gradual incorporation of a Project-based
Further information: www.um.es/cepoat

1
The groups were diverse in terms of gender (female/male) and origin (Spaniards, Moroccan and
2
Ecuadorian).
learning methodology in preschool levels has also led to overwhelming attention to

Ancient Egypt in textbooks and, as a result, in classrooms.
Given this attention to Ancient Egypt, we sought a resource that was accessible
to young children (4- and 5-year-olds) and would allow us to access their historical
thinking. As we noted earlier, we wanted to investigate the analytical skills of 4- and
5-year-old children as they read images and interpreted picture-based narratives.
Such a task had to be intriguing enough to encourage interaction, discussion and a
variety of responses, unfamiliar enough to avoid possible reiteration of information
heard elsewhere, and sensitive to children’s cognitive maturity. Furthermore, it was
important that the resource was historically credible. It was thus necessary to
arrange a source within a historical and geographical context; a source that consti-
tuted the foundation or basis upon which the whole sequence was developed; a
source that was adaptable for our public without losing its essence.
The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant is a literary work preserved in four different
papyrus, dated c. 1800 BC (Middle Kingdom). Three of the copies are in Berlin, and
the fourth one is in the British Museum and it is one of the few examples of Egyptian
fiction that have survived unabridged (Lichtheim 1973).3 The story centers on a
simple peasant from the Wadi al-Natrûn oasis who teaches a lesson to the powers-
that-be (Parkinson 1992). The peasant’s donkey and goods had been stolen on his
way to Heracleopolis. His complaints about this robbery before a governor were so
eloquent that the governor held him longer so that his pleas could be written down
and sent to the pharaoh. After nine speeches, the peasant was absolutely exhausted,
justice was served, and he was showered with presents (Gardiner 1961). Because
the emphasis on eloquence, the art of persuasion, and the importance of appropriate
and informed speech are familiar themes when working with schoolchildren, this
story fit our criteria for accessibility. Further, we thought the story of a simple peas-
ant confronting the powerful governor and pharaoh would be intriguing.
With the text selected, we transformed and adapted its contents to a wordless
picture-book format. Alterations to the primary source were not made randomly.
The necessity of reducing, simplifying and depicting the original source met the
needs of our audience, taking into account that it was going to be their first approach
to a source. As Wineburg and Martin affirm “‘tampering’ with sources allows all
students, not just those ready and able to digest difficult text, to enter a world where
the study of the past is raucous, engaging, complex, and often ambiguous” (see
p. 216 in Wineburg and Martin 2009). In this specific case, the sequence of events
in the story is clear, but the vocabulary used and the length and complexity of the
peasant’s speeches pose difficulties. In this story, the term ‘eloquent’ accurately
describes an elaborate turn of phrase that could jeopardize student comprehension.
We streamlined content and vocabulary and provided graphical support to accom-
pany the story. It was also necessary to make the narrative more dynamic and to
incorporate questioning strategies that encouraged young children’s active partici-
pation in making sense of the story, thus allowing us to access their historical
3
P. Berlin 3023 (Bl), P. Berlin 3025 (B2), P. Berlin 10499 (R), P. Butler 527=P. British Museum
EA10274.
thinking as well as their facility with historical discussion. Despite these changes,
we retained narrative sequence and the ultimate lesson: the irony that surrounds the
character of the peasant, lower-class yet with great eloquence and dialectic ability,
in contrast to the corruption and arbitrariness of justice as displayed by the powerful
in that time period.
Given the importance of graphical support in this study, the design of an icono-
graphic apparatus illustrating the selected story was a crucial step for the introduc-
tion of this activity. The design had to possess a narrative structure itself, where the
represented subjects and objects were put together in order to create actions or
events (Serafini 2013). Therefore, based on the final narrative sequence, seven
images that illustrated each one of the narrated events were designed. Along with
these, a first image dominating and framing the ensemble was also included. The
density of information in the images could not be high in this first exercise, as we
did not want to overwhelm such a young audience. As a result, only significant ele-
ments for the understanding of history, that were key to its interpretation, were
incorporated in each image (Fig. 10.1).
10.2.3 Teaching Sequences and Materials
The teaching sequence was between 35 and 45 min long, depending on the level of
interaction among participants. It was developed in four stages (introduction and
motivation, development, consolidation and assessment), with a specific educa-
tional and research functionality and which demanded a different interaction with
and among the children. This research focused its attention on the answers of the
students during the second phase (development) where the children analyzed the
designed images, interpreted the sequence and created their own narratives. The
sequence of images was shown to the students and hung on the blackboard in order.
The last two images of the depicted narrative were not shown to the children until
the end of this stage, to encourage them to create their own end to the story.
To facilitate this interaction, the space configuration and the proximity to the
resource to be used are of great importance. For this reason, it was necessary to cre-
ate an atmosphere of trust and cordiality, where children felt free and comfortable
to engage in the created dialogue and discussion. The group meeting area in each
classroom was the perfect place for this, as young children assumed a participatory
role, very appropriate for the scheduled intervention. Once the activity was com-
pleted, children carried out an individual activity during which they drew the aspect
of the story they liked the most or anything else that caught their attention. During
the preparation of their drawings, children often discussed aloud or among them-
selves the meaning of their representation, and these discussions constituted excel-
lent feedback on the extent of their historical understanding.
10.2.4 Research Procedure
The research process was developed in various phases. An initial assessment of the
existing literature preceded the development of a draft design. This draft was then
reviewed by a panel of experts, consisting of a pre-school teacher with ten years of
professional experience and two members of the Department of Social Sciences
Teaching at the University of Murcia and then piloted in an informal education
context (Science and Technology Week). The final, refined design was then imple-
mented in two schools at different locations in the Region of Murcia, each with
different socioeconomic characteristics. During its implementation, we proceeded
to the collection of information, for which audio and video recordings were made.
The recordings, which allowed us to take stock of detailed information, were sup-
plemented by conducting a record of observations about aspects related to the con-
text, development, incidents, motivation, and general instructional issues in each
classroom. The study followed a qualitative research methodology, based on empir-
ical material obtained by means of participant interviews, video and audio record-
ings and naturalistic observation.
Two categories of data (transcriptions of audio and video recordings, and field
notes) formed the basis for within and between case analyses (Have 1999). As part
of that process, different coding units within transcriptions were created and their
contents were categorized by their attributes and position in the conversation
(Strauss and Corbin 1998). Despite the relative lack of complexity in children’s
constructions and the shortness of speech units (typical for young children), we
were able to analyze the content (or lexical words) and the function words most
frequently used by the children (Gee 2005). This codification task allowed us to
create different analytical units to address the research questions related to: (a)
Element identification; (b) Reading strategies and observation skills; (c) Perspective,
(d) Argumentation and (e) use of evidence. Each of these elements are addressed in
the discussion that follows.
Regarding the data anonymization, all children's names have been replaced with
pseudonyms to protect their privacy. Therefore, the names used differ from the orig-
inal ones and express the gender and origin of the student.
10.3 Analysis of the Results
Element identification. Did the students assign meaning to the iconographic

representation?
In order to read the images (Fig. 10.1), children had to identify discrete elements
of each image. This process began with the title character, the Eloquent Peasant.
Size relationships presented young children with an initial quandary: Did size signal
the introduction of the main character? Initially, one child took up this stance, asso-
ciating the proportion of the figures with their significance in the story. But this
option was challenged by her classmates, who identified other attributes that sug-
gested the largest figure was the pharaoh, rather than a peasant. Having ruled out
size as evidence of narrative significance (at least in this image), children turned to
the action depicted, noting that it was more likely for the figure who “has picked up
a little wheat” (Claudia)4 to be a peasant. The children’s discussion at this point also
indicated some misconceptions, as Rodrigo explained that peasants “picked up food
for Egypt’s supermarkets”.
Similarly, the staff held by the pharaoh suggested to some children that he might
be a peasant carrying a cane. Ismael, for instance, misunderstood the term peasant
as indicating a royal figure until his classmates disagreed. They pointed out that “the
pharaoh, the king” had a crown as well as colors, bracelets and gold. At the end of
this discussion the narrator of the story asked if a pharaoh could be a peasant, and
Ismael was quick to declare this impossible. At this point he suggested that a differ-
ent figure was the peasant because “he is picking up wheat” (Fig. 10.2).
In all other groups, the participants’ identification of the pharaoh was immediate,
based on the crown that differentiated him from the remaining characters. Other
differentiating elements included the presence of golden jewelry or the size of the
character. Children also drew on previous knowledge to identify the characters
depicted in the story. Maria, for instance, noted that the pharaoh was “wearing a
skirt” and when the narrator commented that “everyone is wearing a skirt” students
began elaborating on their observations (pharaoh’s bracelets were golden; others
wore black jewelry), finally concluding that the large figure was “wearing pharaoh’s
things” (“flip-flops”, a cane, a bracelet, a golden crown “with a snake”) and “he has
treasures”. They also concluded that other figures in the image were either servants
or slaves, as Miguel and Juan stated, “because they are not wearing crowns” (Javier).
We observed how young children incorporated their own background information
into their answers. For instance, they specified that the pharaoh’s crown was
“golden with snakes” [CE1.2] even though this detail was not noticeable in the
representation, or they explained that Egyptians used to wear “flip-flops”, as they
had seen in other representations used in class, even though they were depicted
with bare feet in the images. Sometimes, too, children searched for clues in the
next images to help them make sense of an earlier composition.
[CE2.1] Ramiro: He is a pharaoh because there [he points at the following image] he is on
a throne.
All children’s names have been replaced with pseudonyms to protect their privacy.
4
Fig. 10.2 Figure of the Pharaoh. Created for this

study by Cristian López
The figure of the administrator who fools the peasant also challenged the chil-
dren. The administrator was not represented with any special attributes, so initially
students could not discern any specific function for this character until the fifth
image when they declared him “the bad man”. In the excerpt that follows, children
began by misidentifying the administrator as “an ordinary guy” (Jaime) and merely
“an Egyptian man” (Javier), until Javier noted that “the peasant is crying”:
Narrator: Why?
Ginés: Because that other man took his stick.
Narrator: Did he take anything else?
Various: The donkeys.
Diego: He is left with nothing.
Javier: He [the administrator] is bad.
Álvaro: And he is laughing (said that with a serious expression).
This example showed that young children had little trouble following a story
depicted in a series of images, even though every stylized character is represented
in each image from different perspectives and in different attitudes. In only one
group did we observe students present a reading in which they were not sure that
characters remained the same from image to image [CE1.1]:
[CE1.1] Narrator: And what happens here? Is it the same person?
Several students: No.
Alejandro: The hair and the face are the same. Eh! There are three similar ones: the one
with the pony tail.
Only in the fourth image did this group begin to identify a sequence of actions
that connected representations of characters from one image to the next. As far as
the characters’ actions were concerned, children’s readings were quite descriptive,
including the incorporation of imagined dialogues.
[CE2.3] Guillermo: And the Egyptian is telling him to stand up.
Javier: The man is telling him ‘eat, eat’ (he points at image 4 and changes his pitch, imitat-
ing an adult and serious voice).
The identification of emotions in the characters’ gestures also helped children to
interpret the action. For instance, students associated crying with something bad
happening, and used that to make sense of the shift in the administrator’s attitude.
Reading strategies and observation skills. How did the students interact with the
source?
The interaction with the resource varied as the activity progressed. Initially, the
children waited to be called on by an adult and then provided rather succinct obser-
vations. These early observations focused more on details, were more descriptive
and less interpretative. By the time the children reached the fourth and fifth images,
however, they offered a thicker narration in which they sought to explain and con-
nect subsequent to previous images. One of the groups fast-forwarded the autono-
mous reading to the third image, resorting to subsequent images to generate the
underlying argument of the representation. When this occurred, the narrator focused
on questions that elicited interpretive discussion rather than a more didactic reading
of a particular image (Fig. 10.3).
[CE2.2] Narrator: Let’s move to the next image. What do you see?
Several students (without distinction): Pyramids / a crocodile / Nile River
Narrator: Who else is there?
Santiago: The peasant.
Narrator: The same one?
Several students: Yes, it’s the peasant.
Andrés: He is meeting someone... is that a pharaoh?
Samuel: The pharaoh is wearing a crown and he is not, he only has a ponytail and he can
be another peasant.
Ricardo: It’s another peasant. The other peasant steals his donkeys.
Matías: Why is he stealing his donkeys?
Narrator: Why do you think he is stealing his donkeys?
Ricardo: Because he wants to do the same things he does.
Laura: Why is he mean? (noticeable interrogative intonation).
Ricardo: Don’t you see he is crying over there?

Narrator: It’s true, he is crying.
Blanca: Because he’s taking the baby donkey.
Ricardo: And he also stole his cane.
Lucas: He is going to tell the pharaoh.
In the excerpt above, young children’s recognition of narrative sequence aided
their interpretation of the images. Indeed, when the resource was presented, many
of the children referred to the fact that there is no end, and they tried to point out
how many images were missing in the story.
[CE1.1] (the image is presented)
Narrator: I have a problem.
Alejandro: It’s missing! It’s missing!
Narrator: The picture has one part missing.
Alejandro: It’s missing two... or three parts.
This capacity for understanding the spatial distribution of the resource is also
observed when locating the elements that are shown. One child in one of the groups
set up the guidelines for this organization, pointing out numerically the place where
the elements he wanted to talk about were located. From that moment on, his class-
mates alluded to the images in the same fashion.
[CE1.2] Miguel: Eh! I see a crocodile in the third part.
Narrator: Where?
Miguel: In the third part, up there. And also in the fourth.
Perspective. Were the elements and actions introduced by the students contempo-
rary to the historical context or the students’ reality?
The children participating in this study had little background to bring to the inter-
pretation of some of the objects depicted in the story’s illustrations. This lack did
not deter them from making hypotheses based on an objects’ color or shape, rather
Fig. 10.3 Figure for

didactic reading. Created
for this study by Cristian
López
than its historical context. Asked about a white object, children suggested every-
thing from flour, water, sugar, spoons and coins to a lamp or light bulb. When faced
with the limits of their own vocabulary, students resorted to words they use daily,
applying them consciously to other contexts.
[CE2.1] Narrator: But what do peasants do for a living?
Rodrigo: They pick up food for the supermarkets in Egypt.
Aware that these terms may not be quite right, children discussed whether the
terms they employed were historically or geographically plausible. This self-
reflection suggests their recognition of cultural and technological changes over
time, even as they acknowledge their lack of knowledge about the specifics of these
changes. During these discussions, students also generated new speculations when
trying to find a greater temporal [CE2.1, CE2.3] or geographical [CE.1.2]
coherence:
[CE2.1] Ramiro: Clothes didn’t exist, so they made skirts out of leaves.
[CE2.3] Guillermo: They bought Christmas ornaments.
Diego: No, they didn’t have Christmas.
[CE2.3] Julio: … he [the pharaoh] is going to punish him.
Natalia: To jail.
Guillermo: No, they didn’t have jail then, did they?
[CE1.2] Narrator: Could it be that the peasant picked his food from the land?
Miguel: Yes, because they didn’t have supermarkets there, because peasants live in moun-
tains and they don’t have cities.
As the excerpt below suggests, young children’s understanding of dates has some
limits at this stage (Barton and Levstik 1996).
[CE1.1] Narrator: How old do you think this papyrus is?
Several students (without distinction): Two, one thousand, forty thousand, one hundred,
fifty, eight thousand three hundred forty thousand, one hundred, one hundred and four-
teen, fourteen hundred.
Consistent with findings in earlier studies (Barton and Levstik 1996; Levstik and
Barton 2008), young children also expressed great amazement when told the papy-
rus was 4000 years old, even though they had claimed even higher numbers.
[CE1.2] Narrator: It says that this story was found written in an over 4000 year-old
papyrus.
Miguel: What?! I cannot believe this actually existed.
Argumentation and hypotheses. How did students structure their answers?

It is worth highlighting the high level of interaction each group had when solving
the problem of interpreting the eloquent peasant’s story. In general, their construc-
tion of answers to the questions asked as well as the interpretations underlying their
observation of the images were a group effort. That is to say, children formed their
responses in groups and did not repeat information already mentioned. They inter-
vened most often to extend and clarify their peers’ claims or to add new concepts or
ideas that expanded on previous comments:
[CE2.1] Mario: They wrote with hieroglyphics.
David: That was the scribes.
Alberto: and the priests...

Mario: and the soldiers attacked…
Hugo: the pharaoh…
When one of the classmates’ declaration of fact did not seem to coincide with
others’ conclusions as in the example below, the children expressed disagreement
and tried to provide evidence supporting alternative views. Even more striking,
however, children not only questioned their classmates’ declarations, once the dia-
logue began to flow and they felt part of the activity, they questioned any informa-
tion unsupported by evidence or information they considered untrue.
Fernando: Wrapped them…
Javier: yes, and they put them…
Pablo: they put them in the pyramids…
Carlos: with toilet paper.
Daniel: It wasn’t toilet paper but bandages, because toilet paper would break and you
would see the dead body.
Irene: and they were called mummies.
Alfonso: And they took away something soft from here (points to his chest).
We use the term declaration intentionally in regard to this type of student discus-
sion. In this context, declaration parallels the English understanding of a declar-
ative sentence: statements expressed as fact as opposed to questions or hypotheses.
Changes in intonation rather than changes in vocabulary in children’s statements
turned out to be better indicators of their levels of certainty, too, as young chil-
dren displayed relatively limited vocabulary related to probability or supposi-
tion. Instead, the tone of a declaration might shift toward the interrogatory as
group discussion triggered uncertainty.
[CE2.1] Javier: They want to open a door? The door to the Nile River? Because there is a
crocodile there.
In rare cases, children formed more complex sentences where they signaled the
hypothetical nature of a statement by introducing ‘maybe’ (quizás) or ‘might’
(puede que).
[CE2.2] Samuel: The pharaoh is wearing a crown and he is not, he only has a ponytail and
he might be another peasant.
[CE2.1] Lorena: Maybe some kids that already know everything about Egypt looked for it
and they found it, and they went to the museum so that they gave it to you.
For the most part, however, children offered arguments to support such state-
ments only when they were specifically asked to do so. To a large extent, this
appeared to be related to a lack of experience with and fluency in this form of argu-
mentation. It was common, for instance, for a young child struggling to provide an
explanation to allow another child to break in and complete a thought. Sometimes,
too, when observations appeared to create some anxiety, the length and complexity
of the children’s conversations decreased, as in the excerpt below:
[CE1.2] Narrator: Why is he the pharaoh?
Antonio: Because he is big.
David: And because he is in charge.
Perhaps not surprisingly, the more verbally extroverted or confident students

built the most complex sentences regardless of the type of question asked. In the
next excerpt, for instance, children were asked to describe the actions depicted in
the first images and explain what the main character is doing:
[CE1.2] Narrator: Could it be that the peasant picked his food from the land?
Miguel: Yes, because they didn’t have supermarkets there, because peasants live in moun-
tains and they don’t have cities.
Overall, it was more usual for students to jointly form cumulative sentences to
build causal relationships between images. Note the use of and rather than because
in the following excerpt:
[CE1.2] Cristina: He stepped on him and took everything from him.
[CE1.2] Nicolás: And he went to see the pharaoh.
Evidence. Upon which type of information were their declarations based?

Each child’s declaration was based on elements represented in each image, so
that when the story ended, the children enthusiastically expressed individual inter-
pretations, but also accepted others’ perspectives as evidence-based. Prior to view-
ing the last of the images, some students also suggested that they could make the
best sense of the story after they had seen all the images -all the evidence. In one
instance, Ricardo explained that the class could make a better inference regarding
the pharaoh’s behavior “if we had the other two pieces (images)”. Further, children
identified evidence beyond the Eloquent Peasant illustrations to support their
hypotheses about the story:
[CE1.1] Narrator: (the students are touching a piece of papyrus) Did you know it is made
out of a plant?
Daniela: Yes, we have it there (she points at a poster about the vegetation in the Nile River,
where the papyrus plant is shown).
[CE1.1] Anderson (examining the poster): A crocodile!
Alejandro (points to detail in poster): And there is a bigger one there.
Narrator: Where?
Pablo: There, in the Nile River.
Alejandro: We have a book on the Nile River over there, right? (looking at his
classmates).
Similarly, another child recognized Egyptian pictograms from illustrations used
previously in class, and suggested his classmates use them as a template so that they
could read the symbols on the images. This kind of background knowledge helped
students to interpret each image and the story as a whole, but it also helped them to
identify similarities, differences and omissions between the story of the eloquent
peasant and other representations of Egypt that they had seen. The example of the
“flip flop” shoes stands out here, as students recalled them from other sources, and
applied that information in describing the Eloquent Peasant depictions. Children
also considered the story behind the images as a source or testimony about the past.
The Eloquent Peasant was introduced as a papyrus preserved in a museum and
students’ task was to determine what story the papyrus might tell, a task they took
very seriously. They described examining something “real” as very exciting. Indeed,
at several points in the study, children asked about the authenticity of the informa-
tion they were receiving:
[CE2.1] Narrator: The story was written in a papyrus like this one. And do you know how
old this story is? Four thousand years old!
Lorena: Ah! That means it actually happened. If it has been 4000 years that is because it
actually happened. Maybe some kids that already know everything about Egypt looked
for it and they found it, and they went to the museum so that they gave it to you.
10.4 Discussion
A primary aim of our study was to examine the capacity of young children (4 and 5
years old) to analyze images representing a story about the past. In particular, we
focused on skills related to historical interpretation, including perspective, evidence,
argumentation and hypothesis formulation.
VanSledright considers working with sources as the “sine qua non” of the devel-
opment of historical thinking (see p. 231 in VanSledright 2004), and the basis for
constructing interpretations of the past. Others emphasize the relationships between
taking the various perspectives of historical actors into account in formulating his-
torical interpretations, recognizing the perspectives behind the historical questions
people (including historians) might ask about the past, and the civic imperative to
recognize different perspectives in order to act as informed citizens in pluralist
democracies (Barton and Levstik 2004; Rüsen 2006; Seixas and Peck 2004). From
this perspective, children should be prepared to observe and read sources, analyze
and compare them, and construct hypotheses to make sense of the past, use those
understandings to inform the present, and recognize that differences in perspective
influence present-day decisions just as they did in the past. Although scholars gener-
ally agree that historical study can aid in achieving such ambitious aims, such study
is too often left until late in students’ schooling and too often based on faulty
assumptions about young children’s capacity for historical thinking (Levstik and
Thornton 2018). By focusing on emergent historical thinking—the ways in which
young children make sense out of the past—our study allowed us to observe 4- and
5-year-olds engage in analytical discussions about the past under four conditions.
First, they were presented with an interesting and motivating task. Second, the
images that served as a primary resource for students’ discussion and interpretation
were visually interesting (they attracted and kept student attention) and ambiguous
(they could support different interpretations) enough to support discussion and
debate. Third, although children could draw on familiar story grammars to help
them make initial interpretations, the images presented sufficient challenge to those
conventions to encourage extended periods of attention. Fourth and finally, the
instructional context allowed for the joint construction and negotiation of meaning.
In this context, non- and beginning readers could fully participate.
Through the selected story and despite their young age, many children were able
to identify elements of the present that did not exist in the past, and to hypothesize
cause and effect relationships based on these differences. In one case, for instance,
students hypothesized that the peasants worked the land because there were no
supermarkets, and there were no supermarkets because there were no cities. In
another instance, children suggested that a thief might not end up in jail because
jails might not have existed in the pharaohs’ time. What is significant here is not so
much children’s misconceptions as their willingness to have their misconceptions
corrected. Students seemed less worried about their current lack of historical back-
ground and more interested in becoming knowledgeable enough to complete a task
they found compelling. This inclination “to think about the past by recognizing the
inadequacy of one’s own conceptual apparatus”, is, as Wineburg notes, “essential if
students are to understand others different from themselves” (see p. 100 in Wineburg
2001). Further, an enthusiasm for and a willingness to work at building evidence-
based historical interpretations suggests that even with quite young children such
study can advance civic aims. As we noted earlier, these 4- and 5-year-old children
not only were capable of using visual and material resources to distinguish elements
of past and present, but were able to apply their observations at a relatively high
level of abstraction (Barton and Levstik 1996). Further, their answers show emer-
gent historical reasoning in terms of observation and interpretation of visual ele-
ments, perspective recognition, evidence-based analysis, and argumentation
abilities.
Encouraging as these findings are, they also highlight some of the challenges
young children face in making sense of the past. Not surprisingly, for instance, chil-
dren had little conception of relevant dates or the durations of time they represented.
When asked about the antiquity of the papyrus in which the story was found, for
instance, they offered dates that represented wildly varying spans of time, from
hundreds to thousands of years in the past. Material culture as well as character
attributes, rather than estimated dates, served to establish that the images repre-
sented a historical narrative (Barton and Levstik 1996).
Students’ lack of information (how Egyptians acquired food) or specific vocabu-
lary (what Egyptians called a marketplace) also led them to incorporate current
elements (Egyptians sold their wheat in a grocery store) in explaining the past. What
is particularly noteworthy here, however, is that students tended to signal their
awareness of the possible inadequacy of their interpretations by employing an inter-
rogative rather than declarative intonation when analyzing an image. Recall, for
instance, Javier’s uncertainty as he described elements of one image: “A door?” and
“The Nile River?” He thinks both might be as he describes them, remains somewhat
uncertain, and appears open to more satisfying and/or evidence-based possibilities.
This finding is particularly interesting given that other scholars (Barton and Levstik
2004; VanSledright and Brophy 1992) have noted younger children’s tendency to
create naive and fanciful narratives in order to explain aspects of the past. In con-
trast, these young children sought explanations for the things about which they did
not have information, and most of them exhibited a critical approach in questioning
the adequacy of their own and peers’ answers. Moreover, they not only expressed
interest in “real” data, they asked for sources to reassure them regarding the accu-
racy of newly acquired information. It appears that “soft scaffolding” —providing
sources or asking questions at the point of children’s need—reduced inaccurate,

stereotypical or mistaken ideas about history, and encouraged young children to
seek out more plausible interpretations (Brush and Saye 2002).
As for their skill in building evidence-based interpretations, young children were
able to move beyond observation. They transitioned relatively easily from describ-
ing what they saw to making inferences based on these observations. Sometimes
their hypotheses were formulated as declarations of fact, but interrogative intona-
tion suggested more hypothetical intent. Further, the choice of conjunctions rather
than causal clauses signaled sequence:
[CE2.1] Carla: He took his donkeys.
Rodrigo: He took his donkeys and he’s crying.
Héctor: Two donkeys (...) and his stick.
Alba: And he cries.
There is also evidence that students used sequence to indicate causation, although
they rarely provided that link without prompting. One sequence, for instance, ended
with a student concluding without explanation that the peasant was crying. A simple
prompt elicited the causal link that the student had not initially volunteered:
[CE2.3] Javier: The peasant is crying
Narrator: Why?
Ginés: Because that other man took his stick.
Even if young children only establish a single cause-effect relationship in their
discussions, their attempts at inference and evidence-based sequences indicate an
emergent capacity to think about causality. Given the complexity of developing a
chain of logically connected arguments that support an inference or interpretation
(Schraw and Gutierrez 2002), the children’s nascent skill is impressive, and argues
for attention to how it might be best supported.
Our study suggests that young children’s enthusiasm for and skill at argumenta-
tion and interpretation was closely related to their overall linguistic skill, experi-
ence, and confidence in a particular educational context. Overall, for instance,
children expressed themselves better when they felt less pressure about the per-
ceived correctness of the message they wanted to share, were more certain of the
accuracy of their statements, and were less nervous about others’ response to their
public presentation. Perhaps not surprisingly, a sudden look from a classmate or an
unexpected silence often disrupted a speaker or interrupted a conversation. In cases
during which communication was flowing or students felt sure of the thought they
wanted to share, the ideas they expressed tended to be more complete and
complex.
Children’s confidence in presenting their ideas was strongly related to their con-
fidence in their capacity to read the elements in the images they were analyzing. As
we noted earlier, the task—interpreting a sequence of images—scaffolded young
children’s interpretations in age and experience appropriate ways. Students might
not have been familiar with specific strategies for reading historical arts, but they
were familiar with narrative sequencing, character identification and development,
and had some prior knowledge about the time and place from their on-going study
of Ancient Egypt. As a result, putting images in a narrative sequence, identifying

basic story elements, and identifying individual characters, even in highly stylized
images, posed little problem for them.
Finally, the task was highly motivating. Children were presented with a set of
images whose “script” had been lost. This was a “real” source in the sense that it
replicated an actual folk story from Ancient Egypt, and they were responsible for its
interpretation. Further, the stylized images were intriguing and allowed them to
draw on prior knowledge such as the hieroglyphic template. They could bring their
expertise to the project. The story was also just challenging enough to elicit discus-
sion and debate rather than frustration and failure—well within their zone of proxi-
mal development (Vygotsky 1962). In this context, young children were able to
display what they knew, speculate based on visual evidence and prior knowledge,
and offer a satisfying array of possibilities that accounted for both.
10.5 Conclusion
In the context of our study, 4- and 5-year-old children were able to observe, read and
analyze images, and present arguments. Given appropriate motivation through the
introduction of an interesting and intellectually challenging task as well as support
for joint construction and negotiation of meaning through discussion and debate,
these children accomplished more than is often supposed possible at such a young
age (Levstik 2013). In 2004 VanSledright pointed out that “children as young as
seven can begin to do source work” (see p. 231 in VanSledright 2004), but our find-
ings suggest we can redraw this boundary.
The classroom implications of doing so better align with the aims of inquiry- or
exploratory-based teaching and learning advanced in early childhood education,
beginning with group problem-solving. Children built on each others’ ideas and
contributions, relying on classmates’ words to construct a final hypothesis. In set-
tings where they felt more comfortable within the group and with the adult encour-
aging their discussion, children’s conversations extended and were more
evidence-centered. Prior knowledge about the topic, even when it was quite scarce,
helped students to feel more confident in their hypothesizing. Introductory experi-
ences provided a form of ‘hard scaffolding’ (Brush and Saye 2002) that children
drew on to interpret a source—in this case visual images. They demonstrated a
willingness to draw on even meager prior knowledge to describe situations, make
inferences, and determine what information might apply to the specific situation at
hand. Indeed, contact with primary sources provided a context within which young
children incorporated prior experiences and knowledge, despite never having been
a direct observer of the narrated events. Moreover, the children were able to identify
historical perspectives as they sought to make sense of how characters acted in the
spatial and temporal contexts depicted in the images. Further research will be
needed to see the degree to which perspective recognition might enhance attention
to and respect for people perceived as “other”, either in past or present. Further,
despite students’ use of relatively simple grammatical structures and causal argu-
ments, their discussions show that they are capable of considering multiple ele-
ments, including narrative structure, visual information, and different perspectives,
in determining a temporal sequence and, sometimes, in establishing a cause and
effect chain.
We consider three of these elements—the cooperative construction of knowl-
edge, the willingness to attempt to interpret ambiguous data, and the ability to rec-
ognize and take into account others’ perspectives—as crucial to emergent civic as
well as emergent history education.
In sum, young children were not passive recipients of a story, but became active
agents, building an evidence-based historical narrative. Involving children in the
process of inquiry—of starting with a compelling question, interpreting visual
information, and building an evidence-based interpretation—proved fundamental to
their engagement with the past and their subsequent appropriation of a historical
interpretation. If, as MacIntyre argues, “human beings are story-telling animal[s]”
(see p. 216 in MacIntyre 2007), giving them opportunities to analyze different types
of historical narratives and to frame their ideas as narratives might better scaffold
emergent historical understanding than introducing non-contextualized historical
people, ideas and events. Further, as Hoodless argues, teachers need more often “to
listen to children talking rather than constantly talking to them” if they are provid-
ing time and space for important intellectual work (see p. 116 in Hoodless 1996).
Too often, however, we can be blinded by the perceived need to help children
develop a ‘correct’ interpretation and we do not value the wealth of multiple inter-
pretations that arise from joint observation and discussion and the opportunities
such interpretations provide to deepen children’s historical understanding. As
Wertsch (1998) argues, students of all ages need to practice inquiry and evidence-
based interpretations if we want those opportunities to achieve the humanistic and
civic aims claimed for historical study. However, they cannot be occasional events.
As Libresco et al. remind us, “it is critical to provide students with the opportunity
to apply their new conceptual knowledge and skills” (see p. 5 in Libresco et al.
2011) to a variety of intellectual tasks if we ever want them to move from emergent
to skilled learners, who apply what they know and can do to making sense of the
world around them and acting in that world in increasingly humane ways.
Acknowledgements This research is part of the funded project “La evaluación de las competen-
cias y el desarrollo de capacidades cognitivas sobre Historia en Educación Secundaria Obligatoria”
(EDU2015-65621-C3-2-R) that has been supported by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
de España/European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Programme Jiménez de la
Espada of Mobility, Cooperation and Internationalization of Fundación Séneca within the frame of
Science, Technology and Innovation Plan of Región de Murcia (Spain).
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Chapter 11
Bringing Mathematics Alive Through
Stories
Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai, Juli-Anna Aerila, and Sari Yrjänäinen
11.1 Introduction
Let’s start a chapter about mathematics and stories with an excerpt from a mathe-
matical story, called ‘All the Little Ones and a Half’ by Mary Murphy (2001,
pp. 31–34):
“Now we know we’re as big as the Hundred,” said Five. “Let’s try to get your
house back.”
“Wait! You forgot me again!” said Half. “I’m only a Half, but I count too.”
“You’re right,” said Five. “So really we all make a Hundred and a Half. We
aren’t equal to the Hundred … we are BIGGER!”
All together the numbers walked back to the Little Ones’ house. The big, bad
Hundred was sitting on the roof. “WHAT DO YOU WANT?”, he roared.
Action! Drama! Solidarity! Justice! This story is full of characters, actions,

struggles, solutions and emotions. And yet at the heart of it is also a story about
place value, number comparison and fractions. This is a great example to illustrate
the fact that storytelling and mathematics teaching do not have to be mutually exclu-
N. V. Trakulphadetkrai (*)
University of Reading (UK), Reading, UK
e-mail: n.trakulphadetkrai@reading.ac.uk
J.-A. Aerila · S. Yrjänäinen
e-mail: julaer@utu.fi; sari.yrjanainen@utu.fi

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_11
200 N. V. Trakulphadetkrai et al.
sive. They can be combined to create something truly remarkable – a mathematical

story. Imagine you were a five-years-old child listening to this story for the first
time, and you have yet to master the concept of place value, particularly how big the
number one hundred really is, or imagine you were a child who has yet to grasp
what a half means: not only does this story bring these mathematical concepts to
life, it also allows you to experience and develop a relationship with these mathe-
matical concepts in a radically different way. No longer are place value and frac-
tions something that can only be found in traditional mathematics textbooks,
worksheets or on blackboards. Through the story, these mathematical concepts sud-
denly become alive, can feel happiness and fear, and can think and speak just like
you! This chapter will attempt to take you on a journey where the nature of stories
is first explored, the concept of mathematical stories is defined, pedagogical benefits
and cautions of using storytelling in mathematics teaching are discussed, and practi-
cal tips are offered.
11.2 What Are Mathematical Stories?
11.2.1 Definitions
Before any meaningful discussion can be had about mathematical stories, it is cru-
cial that we begin by establishing our shared understanding of what this concept
means. To do this, let’s begin with stories – how would you define it?
Haven (2007) acknowledges that stories are hard to define because they are “so
interwoven into the fabric of our lives and minds that we can’t step far enough away
from our storied world to view stories objectively” (p. 10). In his attempt to define
the concept, Haven (2007) highlights five key components of any given story: char-
acter, intent, actions, struggles, and details. More specifically, he defines a story as
“a detailed, character-based narration of a character’s struggles to overcome obsta-
cles and reach an important goal” (p. 79). This resonates with the definition put
forward by Bruner (2002, pp. 16-17), a leading scholar in the field of educational
psychology and narrative, where a story involves a cast of characters who have:
recognisable expectations about the ordinary state of the world, the story’s world [...]. A
story begins with some breach in expected state of things [...]. Something goes awry, other-
wise there’s nothing to tell about. The story concerns efforts to cope [...] with the breach and
its consequences. And finally there is an outcome, some sort of resolution.
The way stories involve not only characters but also some sort of a struggle or a
problem for the characters to solve lends itself perfectly for mathematical stories
where characters find themselves having to use their mathematical knowledge and
skill to help solve a problem(s) that they face. Think back to Murphy’s (2001) All
the Little Ones and a Half at the beginning of this chapter: all the Little Ones (and a
Half) are upset that the big bad Hundred takes over their homes. The Little Ones
(and a Half) think they are too small and powerless to confront the bullying
11 Bringing Mathematics Alive Through Stories 201
Hundred – this is the characters’ problem and struggle. And their (mathematical)
solution to this problem? They later come to a realization that – despite each of them
being quite little – there are actually one hundred of them (and a Half), so when they
come together, they become as big and powerful as the big bad Hundred! In fact,
they are now bigger and more powerful with the help of the little Half. The collec-
tive One Hundred and a Half now feels confident enough to confront the Hundred
and is able to chase him away. When listening to or reading this story, most young
readers become emotionally charged, invested and engaged in the story. They now
experience numbers differently. Numbers are no longer just numbers. To these chil-
dren, numbers are now just like them and their friends who sometimes get treated
unfairly by others; who sometimes feel upset; and who sometimes come together to
solve a common problem they all face. Now, compare this storytelling approach to
teaching numbers, place value and fractions to, say, an approach where children are
simply shown photos of one whole apple, half of an apple and one hundred apples -
still the same mathematical concepts, but children would experience and develop
relationships with these mathematical concepts in an entirely different way. It is
only because of the nature of stories that makes this type of learning possible.
Some may rightly argue, however, that not every (mathematical) story has a
problem to be solved. This is true as some mathematical stories are designed to
simply explain or illustrate a mathematical concept. For example, in Full House: An
Invitation to Fractions by Dayle Ann Dodds (2003), fractions are used to simply
show how many of the six rooms at Miss Bloom’s Strawberry Inn are still available
after each of the six guests has turned up. In this story, there are certainly characters
and a storyline (regardless of how simple it is), but there is no explicit problem or
struggle for Miss Bloom to rely on her knowledge of fractions to solve. Yet, the
story still provides a context where fractions are meaningfully embedded. Whether
or not having a problem for characters to solve is a key defining feature of stories
will continue to be debated. However, this chapter will follow Bruner’s (2002) and
Haven’s (2007) characterization of stories which have problems and struggles to be
solved at the core.
Finally, it is important to note that stories can be fictional or non-fictional and
they can manifest in different ways, including, but not limited to written and verbal
forms. In the context of this chapter, the focus will be on stories as written accounts
of imagined experiences of fictional characters who struggle with a problem and try
to solve it in settings that can be close to or far removed from everyday experiences
of readers. Building on our definition of stories, we would thus define mathematical
stories – in the context of this chapter – as written accounts of imagined experiences
of fictional characters who struggle with a problem and try to solve it using their
mathematical knowledge and skills in settings that can be close to or far removed
from everyday experiences of readers.
11.2.2 Diversity of Mathematical Stories
Mathematical stories are by no means homogenous, and they come in different

types and formats.
11.2.2.1 Types of Mathematical Stories
Stories for mathematics teaching and learning can be broadly categorized into two
types: (1) ones that are created with an explicit mathematical focus in mind, and (2)
ones that are not originally created with an intention for them to become a mathe-
matical story but containing a storyline that lends itself naturally for a mathematical
investigation.
In relation to the former category, these would be stories that are clearly mar-
keted as part of a mathematical series (e.g. MathStart, Math Matters, Mouse Math,
Hello Math Reader); have explicit mathematical vocabularies in the title, or with
recommended mathematics teaching activity ideas at the back of the book. Examples
that fall within this category include: All the Little Ones and a Half by Mary Murphy
(2001), which is not part of any mathematical series, but does have an explicit math-
ematical vocabulary in the title and offers recommended mathematics teaching
activity ideas at the back of the book. Another example is Earth Day – Hooray! by
Stuart J. Murphy (2004): while it does not have any mathematical vocabulary in the
title, the story is part of the MathStart series with some suggested teaching activity
ideas at the back of the book.
Concerning the latter category, an example includes Pezzettino by Leo Lionni
(1975), which is about an orange square-shaped character, named Pezzettino, who
is convinced that he must be a little piece of somebody else, so he goes on a journey
meeting and asking various creatures whether he is part of them. To an extent, it can
be argued that this story is largely about a sense of belonging, but one could also
turn it into a mathematical story about fractions, showing how a fraction is part of a
whole. While the story itself does not fulfil any of the three criteria above for it be
to be considered a story that is created with an explicit mathematical focus in mind,
its storyline lends itself perfectly for further mathematical exploration.
11.2.2.2 Formats of Mathematical Stories
Mathematical stories also come in a variety of formats: picturebook (illustration

heavy with a small amount of texts); chapter book (text heavy with a few illustra-
tions); and graphic novels or ‘manga’ (a balance between illustrations and texts).
All the examples of mathematical stories that have been mentioned in this chapter
so far are great examples of mathematical stories in the picturebook format. An
example of a mathematical story in the chapter book format would include Fractions
= Trouble by Claudia Mills (2011), while an example of a mathematical story in the
graphic novel format would be The Ancient Formula: A Mystery with Fractions by
Melinda Thielbar (2011). Given the amount of texts usually found in these two for-
mats, mathematical stories in the chapter book format and the graphic novel format
are usually intended for older children. Considering that most mathematical stories
for very young children are often presented in the picturebook format, such format
will form the focus of this chapter, and any subsequent references of mathematical
stories would be taken to refer to mathematical stories in the picturebook format.
11.2.3 Common Misconceptions
From our observation of how mathematical stories as a construct is used by teacher

trainees who we have worked with over the years or by experienced practitioners (as
virtually observed on social media), two misconceptions about the concept are iden-
tified: (1) mathematical stories are sometimes taken to refer to traditional mathemat-
ical word problems; and (2) all mathematical stories can be found in any mathematical
picturebooks. Let’s us briefly address each of these misconceptions in turn.
Firstly, using the term mathematical stories to refer to traditional word problems
is arguably an insult to many mathematical storytellers out there. What do well-
crafted mathematical stories, such as Bean Thirteen by Matthew McElligott (2007),
Count off, Squeak Scouts! by Laura Driscoll (2014) and Earth Day - Hooray! by
Stuart J. Murphy (2004) have in common with word problems, such as ‘If Joe has 5
pencils and his mother gives him 3 more pencils, how many pencils would Joe have
altogether?’. While the former contains carefully thought-out characters, settings,
and plots which include struggles and solutions that many readers can relate to emo-
tionally, the same cannot be said about the latter. As it is crucial that we have a
precise language to communicate and discuss important concepts and ideas with
one another, we can only hope that more and more teachers can clearly see the dis-
tinction between these two entities, and that they can be persuaded not to refer to
traditional mathematical word problems as mathematical stories.
Secondly, while (written) mathematical stories can generally be found in picture-
books, not all picturebooks contain a mathematical story. Instead, some picture-
books can only be best described as ‘concept books’ which present mathematical
fact and information as would regular textbooks, but often with visually attractive
page illustrations. Excellent examples of mathematical concept books include
Actual Size by Steve Jenkins (2014) and The Shape of Things by Dale Ann Dodds
(2009). We are not trying to make a case here that mathematical stories are better
than mathematical concept books – partly because it is impossible to do so as there
has not been any empirical research setting out to compare and contrast the effec-
tiveness of these two kinds of writing. Instead, we are simply attempting to high-
light, at the outset of this chapter, that mathematical stories and mathematical
picturebooks are not synonymous, and a gentle reminder to our readers that that the
focus of this chapter will be on the former exclusively.
11.2.4 B
enefits of Teaching Mathematics Using Mathematical
Stories
11.2.4.1 Developing Conceptual Understanding
Quite often, mathematical stories for young children are presented in the picture-
book format. One key strength of that format is the way mathematical concepts can
be represented in different ways, be it visually (through page illustrations), symboli-
cally (through mathematical models and notations), and contextually (through
meaningful contexts in which mathematical concepts are found).
Take the picturebook ‘Divide and Ride’ (Murphy 1997), for example. This is a
story about a group of eleven friends who want to go on carnival rides. Some of
these rides have 2-people seats, others have 3- and 4-people seats. As these seats
have to be filled up before each ride can begin, the children constantly have to work
out how to group themselves. Due to 11 being a prime number, there is always one
person being left out (a remainder), and additional children are consequently invited
to join their group to fill up the seats for each ride. Through the storyline, children
can visually see how division works and what a remainder means in real life. This
helps children to contextualize the concept. Additionally, not only do the illustra-
tions depict division through images of children filling up the seats, they also include
a mathematical model at the bottom of each page to represent the divisional situa-
tion in a different way as well as corresponding numerals to help children connect
visual representation with symbolic representation.
Theoretically speaking, the more children are able to make meaningful connec-
tions between different types of mathematical representations, the more conceptual
understanding they are demonstrating (Barmby et al. 2007; Hiebert and Carpenter
1992; Kilpatrick et al. 2001). Thus, it can be argued that the use of carefully selected
mathematical stories in the picturebook format could help to develop children’s
conceptual understanding in mathematics. This is particularly important as when
one of the studies conducted by the first author of this chapter (Trakulphadetkrai
2015, 2016, 2017a) found that moving between different mathematical representa-
tions can be challenging for some children. In the study, 8–9 years old children in
England were asked to solve an arithmetic problem and to pose a word problem that
corresponds with that problem, among other tasks. One of the given arithmetic
problems was, for example, ‘4 x 7 = __’. Most children were able to give the correct
answer (28) confidently and quickly, but when they were asked to come up with an
everyday situation that corresponds with ‘4 x 7 = 28’, many struggled. A child, for
instance, wrote “Downing has 5p and he spent 18. How much does he have left?”,
while another child wrote “Jane was looking in the box of old stuff in the loft. She
found 20 stars in the box when she came back half an hour ago she lost 13. How
many are there now?” How these two situations or word problems are related to the
notion of ‘4 x 7 = 28’ is not clear. As these children were able to give the correct
answer, Ramos-Christian et al. (2008) would describe these children as having flu-
ency, or the “fluid combination of accuracy plus speed of response that c haracterizes
competent behaviour” (p. 543) but have not yet acquired the conceptual understand-
ing relating to multiplication.
Thus, providing young children with opportunities to make meaningful connec-
tions between different mathematics representations is crucial, and the use of math-
ematical stories, particularly in the picturebook format, could be very promising.
Over the past two decades, an increasing number of empirical research which set
out to explore the effectiveness of using stories to develop pre-school children’s
mathematical understanding and achievement (e.g. Casey et al. 2008; Casey et al.
2004; Elia et al. 2010; Hong 1996; Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen and Elia 2011; Van
den Heuvel-Panhuizen et al. 2016; Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen and Van den Boogaard
2008; Van den heuvel-Panhuizen et al. 2009; Young-Loveridge 2004) all found the
approach to be effective. Given the fact that these studies were conducted in differ-
ent school settings and countries and used different tests and measures makes this
collective conclusion even more convincing.
11.2.4.2 Improving Language Ability
Young children do not learn mathematics by just solving pages of context-free arith-
metic problems (e.g. ‘3 + 10 = ?’). Quite often, mathematical problems are pre-
sented and embedded in a meaningful context (e.g. ‘If Jim has three sweets, and his
mother gives him ten more sweets, how many sweets would Jim have altogether?’).
Thus, learning mathematics is not just about decoding numbers and mathematical
notations. It also requires children to be able to make sense of words and contexts,
which can be challenging for some learners. As Trakulphadetkrai et al. (2017) high-
light that:
a lexically ambiguous term, such as ‘odd’ can be taken to describe something that is strange
or abnormal in the everyday context, but when it is used as a mathematical term in relation
to numbers, it can be taken to describe any integer that cannot be divided exactly by 2. More
examples of lexically ambiguous words include ‘volume’, ‘degree’ and ‘root’ among sev-
eral other examples. To some mathematics learners, the boundary between these two types
of language becomes even more blurry when they encounter homophones, that is words that
sound the same, but have different meanings in different contexts, for example, ‘pi’ vs ‘pie’
and ‘serial’ vs ‘cereal’.
Consequently, language ability, be it vocabulary knowledge or reading compre-

hension, becomes very important for mathematics learners (of all ages). This is
particularly relevant when studies over the past decades (e.g. Vilenius-Tuohimaa
et al. 2008) and a recent one by the first author of this chapter (Trakulphadetkrai
et al. 2017) have all found relationships between children’s mathematics and lan-
guage abilities.
Given that mathematical stories are already rich in words and meaningful con-
texts, teaching mathematics through mathematical stories has the potential to
accomplish two purposes at the same time. This view is supported by a growing
number of research findings, such as that of Purpura et al. (2017). Based in the USA,
their study of 47 children (aged between 3 and 5) found that children who were
assigned to a mathematical language intervention group (i.e. being read stories that
contain mathematical language terms [e.g. more, less, near, far] to over 8 weeks)
significantly outperformed their peers in the comparison group on a mathematical
language assessment and a mathematical knowledge assessment. A similar study by
Hassinger-Das et al. (2015) also came to a similar conclusion. In their study, 124
kindergarten children with early numeracy difficulties in the USA were randomly
assigned to one of three groups: a storybook reading intervention, a number sense
intervention, or a business-as-usual control over 8 weeks (24 thirty-minute ses-
sions). While the study found no significant differences in a general mathematics
achievement test between children of the three groups, children in the storybook
reading intervention group did significantly outperform their peers in the other two
groups on mathematics vocabulary tests. While more research in this area is much
needed, existing research seems to suggest the promising effect of mathematical
story reading experience on developing children’s language ability.
11.2.4.3 Fostering Positive Attitudes Towards Mathematics
Mathematics curricula of high-performing countries in international mathematics

assessments around the world, including but not limited to that of England
(Department for Education 2013), Finland (Finnish National Board of Education
2016) and Singapore (Ministry of Education 2006) all highlight the fact that being
a mathematically competent learner alone is not enough. They must also be sup-
ported to develop a positive attitude towards mathematics and mathematics learn-
ing. Such emphasis in the emotional aspect of mathematics learning is hardly
surprising given the relationship between cognition and emotion as highlighted by
Skemp (1989) whereby learning would not take place if it falls outside the estab-
lished domain where anxiety and insecurity would prevent mathematics learners
from taking risks in learning new concepts. Consequently, finding an approach to
teach mathematics while also fostering positive attitudes towards and interest in the
subject is important.
Hong’s (1996) study of 57 kindergarteners in South Korea found that children
who were randomly allocated to the experimental group where they received
mathematics-related storybook reading and got to play with mathematics materials
that were related to the storybook content during free play were found to prefer
choosing to play in the mathematics corner and to spend more time in the corner,
when compared to their peers in the control group who received non-mathematical
storybook reading time and who got to play with mathematics materials unrelated
to the storybook content. While this study is now very dated, its finding reveals the
potential value of mathematical storytelling in fostering children’s positive attitudes
towards the subject.
11.3 How to Select Mathematical Stories? Some Cautions
It is important to note that not all mathematical stories are created equal. There are
some remarkable ones and not so remarkable ones on the market. Thus, it is impor-
tant for teachers and parents to know how to select stories appropriately. There are
several criteria that teachers and parents should be mindful of when selecting math-
ematical stories. Due to the space limitation of this chapter, only two key criteria
(mathematical accuracy and diversity) will be discussed below. For a wider range of
criteria, readers are encouraged to read Van den Heuvel-Panhuizen and Elia (2012)
and Whitin and Whitin (2004).
11.3.1 Mathematical Accuracy
Not every mathematical story is written by a mathematics specialist educator, so

cautions must be taken in relation to the mathematical accuracy of the story. Even if
a story is authored by a specialist, it is quite common that authors do not have any
say in the illustration process nor have any contact with their storybook’s illustrator
(Shavick 2016; MathsThroughStories.org 2017). For illustrated storybooks that are
meant to be educational and mathematical in nature, this lack of collaboration
between the authors and illustrators can be quite problematic.
A recent study by Nurnberger-Haag (2017), for example, conclude that several
explicit and implicit inaccuracies are found in 66 shape books for young children.
More specifically, 76% of the books about 2D shapes have, at least, one inaccurate
picture or statement in relation to the topic. In relation to children’s books about 3D
shapes, several books mislabel them with 2D terms, for instance, ice cream cones,
cone-shaped hats, and pyramids were incorrectly labelled triangles, among other
several examples.
In some other story picturebooks, even the use of mathematical notations and
punctuations in the same sentence can lead to a debate whether what a character
says is mathematically accurate. For example, in 2x2 = Boo! by Loreen Leedy
(1996, p. 14), a witch character says “Let’s double these two wrinkly boots. 2 x 2 =
4!” For many, the ‘2 x 2 = 4’ number sentence would be seen as mathematically
accurate. However, due to the character’s excitement, the ‘4’ is followed by an
exclamation mark (‘!’). Mathematically speaking, 4 (‘four’) is not the same as 4!
(‘four factorial’), for the latter is equivalent to 24 (= 4 × 3 × 2 × 1).
In another example, the issue is more on ambiguous visual representation of
mathematical concepts. For example, in My Half Day by Doris Fisher and Dani
Sneed (2008), one of its page illustrations shows a soccer referee explaining that
each goal counts five-eighths, while she is holding out ten fingers. Another page
illustration describes how children are sitting by a campfire on three-tenths of a log,
but a quick glance at the illustration seems to show the children sitting on half of the
log. Another illustration features an image of the moon with ‘1/6’ featured on it, but
the said fraction bears no connection to the text on that page, and there is nothing to
indicate anything 1/6 about the moon. On that same page, the text says the charac-
ters can see two-thirds of a comet, but the accompanying illustration of the comet
shows the comet in full view.
Needless to say, some experienced educators and parents who have a good math-
ematical subject knowledge could turn these inaccuracies in the storybooks into
excellent teaching opportunities, inviting their children, for example, to give math-
ematical reasoning for why a particular statement or illustration might not be accu-
rate. However, to some less experienced and non-mathematics specialist educators,
these errors could go unnoticed. This could then potentially result in mathematical
misconceptions being reinforced to young unsuspecting children.
11.3.2 Diversity
Another important aspect to take into consideration when selecting mathematical

stories is diversity. This is particularly relevant when Weitzman, Eifler, Hokada and
Ross (1972) noted that stories in picturebooks are read to children when they are
most impressionable, at a time when they are forming “their self-images and future
expectations” (p. 1146). There are several kinds of diversity, including but not lim-
ited to gender or ethnic diversity. In terms of the former, imagine a mathematical
story where female characters are entirely absent, and all there is in the story is how
boys and men use their mathematical knowledge to solve a problem. If a young girl
growing up reading these types of mathematical stories where girls and women are
either largely underrepresented or entirely missing, how would they see themselves
in relation to mathematics? What would then become of their self-identity in rela-
tion to mathematics?
There have been several studies over the past decades that set out to investigate
gender representation in picturebooks. The largest of its kind is a study by McCabe
et al. (2011) where 5618 children’s books published throughout the twentieth cen-
tury in the United States were analyzed. Their finding was striking: when compared
to female characters, males are represented almost twice as often in titles, and 1.6
times as often as central characters. Similarly, a study by Chick et al. (2012) where
63 picture books that were published between 2006 and 2008 in the United States
were analyzed, also found that males are represented 1.62 times more often as cen-
tral characters than females across the entire sample. Of the 36 books that have only
one gender represented, 23 books have only male main character(s) versus 13 books
that have only female main character(s). Male main characters are thus featured
1.77 times more often than their female counterparts.
Research exploring gender representation in mathematical stories specifically is
currently non-existent, except a work-in-progress exploratory study by the first
author of this chapter (Trakulphadetkrai 2017b), which analyzes 64 randomly-

chosen picturebooks with an explicit mathematical focus. The findings can be sum-
marized as follows:
• In relation to gender representation in the titles of these mathematical stories:
only 26 of the 64 stories contain names of characters in their titles, of which 23
stories feature names of male character(s) compared to just 3 stories that feature
names of female character(s). Alternatively, names of male characters are fea-
tured 7.7 times more often than those of female characters in titles of mathemati-
cal stories. This finding is particularly shocking, especially when compared to
that of McCabe et al. (2011).
• In relation to gender representation on the front cover of these mathematical
stories: 35 of the 64 stories feature characters (both humans and animals) of both
gender on their front cover. However, of the remaining 29 titles that feature
images of either male or female characters exclusively, 22 of these stories feature
images of male character(s) only compared to just 7 stories that feature images
of female character(s). Alternatively put, images of male characters are featured
3.14 times more often than those of female characters on front covers of mathe-
matical stories.
• In relation to gender representation as measured by the amount of dialogue
assigned to male and female characters: on average, male characters are assigned
245.70 words of dialogue per story versus 166.27 words of dialogues that are
assigned to female characters. Alternatively put, the number of spoken words
assigned to male characters is, on average, 1.48 times more than the number of
words assigned to their female counterparts in mathematical stories.
Regardless of which indicators are used for the analysis, it soon becomes appar-
ent that girls and women are not as visible and vocal as their male counterparts in
mathematical stories. However, it is important to go beyond just quantifying the
visibility of female characters. Examining the way female characters are portrayed
in mathematical stories can be quite revealing too. For example, in a mathematical
story, a king launches a contest inviting local villagers to find a way to measure
things more accurately. Not only does the page illustration depict only male villag-
ers taking part in the contest, the king also promises to give away his daughter, the
princess, to the winner. Such portrayal of the princess gives a sense that girls are not
part of a mathematical discovery and process. Instead, they are situated at the
peripheral - looking in, and treated as an object to be awarded. Going back to the
question posed earlier in this section, if young girls grow up reading mathematical
stories with this kind of portrayal, how would they see themselves in relation to
mathematics? What would then become of their self-identity in relation to
mathematics?
So far, this section discusses diversity in terms of gender, but other types of
diversity, such as ethnic diversity, matter too. Similar arguments can be made here:
if children of ethnic minorities grow up reading mathematical stories where only

white children are the main characters solving mathematical problems, with charac-
ters of ethnic minorities kept at the peripheral, how will they see themselves in rela-
tion to mathematics? What will become of their self-identity in relation to
mathematics?
Diversity in mathematical stories is thus something that both teachers and par-
ents need to be more mindful of when selecting which story to buy for their chil-
dren. Better yet, the publishing industry should consider making diversity in
characters one of the explicit criteria they employ when deciding which submitted
mathematical story to accept and publish.
11.4 Children As Mathematical Storytellers
Opportunities for children to learn mathematics through storytelling is not limited

to children being the consumers of mathematical stories only. With an appropriate
level of support from teachers and parents, they can too become a mathematical
storyteller.
Providing an opportunity for children to create their own mathematical story
aligns closely with Papert’s (1993) constructionist learning theory. Unlike construc-
tivism, constructionism emphasizes not only the process of internationalization, but
also on externalization. Constructionists argue that construction of knowledge takes
place not only in the head of the learner (internalization), but it also takes place
externally (externalization), where learners create a public artefact of what they
know that can be “shown, discussed, examined, probed, and admired” (Papert 1993,
p. 142). In turn, this process, Ackermann (2001) argues, can help to shape and
sharpen learners’ ideas.
Children-generated mathematical story is a great example of such public artefact
where young children can demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of a
mathematical concept in their story that their peers and teacher can read or listen to.
The teacher can use this opportunity to then address any misconception found in the
story or to ask questions relating to the story in order to extend the children’s math-
ematical thinking further.
Additionally, the very act of having to come up with a storyline encourages chil-
dren to actively think about in which meaningful context a mathematical concept
can be applied. Similarly, children can also be encouraged to think about how to
visually represent the mathematical concept in the story to their audience. When
children plan for the narrative and what each character is going to say in the story,
this also provides an opportunity for them to think about the use of mathematical
language and vocabularies. Taking them together, children are given ample oppor-
tunities to make meaningful connections between the different key elements of
mathematics learning by themselves.
Research into the relationships between children’s mathematical storytelling abil-
ity and their mathematical ability is virtually non-existent. Available research, such
as O’Neill et al. (2004) small longitudinal study of 41 pre-school children in Canada,

while arguably relevant, is not specific to mathematical storytelling. Their study set
out to investigate the extent to which aspects of children’s narrative ability (of a non-
mathematical story) can predict their mathematical achievement. In their study, the
children were shown a series of wordless illustrations from a picturebook, and they
were asked to generate their own story, and to narrate it to a puppet. Aspects of their
narrative skills, such as event content (ability to retell the story accurately), perspec-
tive-shift (ability to capture sequences of events in the story from the perspective of
different characters) and mental state reference (ability to capture emotional states
of characters, among others) were measured, and found to significantly predict the
children’s mathematical achievement two years later as measured by the Peabody
Individual Achievement Test-Revised (PIAT-R). While this relationship between
children’s narrative ability and their mathematical achievement is promising, the
narrating in the study was done verbally and of a non-mathematical storyline.
A more recent attempt by the first author of this chapter (Trakulphadetkrai 2015,
2016, 2017a) aims to fill this gap with an exploratory intervention study, which sets
out to explore the effectiveness of 27 Year 4 (8–9 years old) children in England
producing their own multiplication-related picture book across five daily lessons on
developing their multiplicative thinking. The preliminary results were promising:
specifically, the study found that children in the intervention group significantly
outperformed their peers in the comparison class on their ability to accurately: (1)
solve multiplicative arithmetic problems, and (2) translate multiplicative word prob-
lems and models into number sentences. More research into this area is much
needed and it will help us better understand the potential value of viewing children
as mathematical storytellers.
11.5 Practical Tips
Through case studies in this section, teachers and parents will learn from other prac-
titioners on how stories can be meaningfully integrated in their mathematics teach-
ing. The section will be split into two sub-sections: practical tips for when working
with children as consumers of mathematical stories (children being read an existing
mathematical story) and practical tips for when working with children as producers
of the stories.
11.5.1 Children as Consumers of Mathematical Stories
When it comes to considering ways in which stories can be integrated as part of

mathematics learning and teaching, the sky is the limit. First, let’s take a quick look
at a case study of Hannah, a Reception (Pre-kindergarten) teacher in the UK, shar-
ing her experience of using a story to enrich the mathematics learning experience of
her children.
Case Study 1
Story: Cockatoos (1992) The story is about Professor Dupont who has ten
birds that he keeps in a cage. One day the birds escape and hide in different
places in the professor’s house. Eventually, the birds return to their cage to the
relief of the worried professor.
Author / Illustrator: Quentin Blake
Teacher: Hannah
Context: Large urban primary school in Cambridgeshire, UK
Age group: 4–5 years old (Reception)
Number of children in the class: 30
Learning intention: To use the language of addition to solve number
problems
Key mathematical vocabularies: addition, commutative, more, less, total
Resources needed: paper, pens, cage (hanging basket turned upside
down), house (piece of paper put into the shape of a tent), paper birds, Unifix
cubes
Starter/Teaching input (15 mins):
The teacher (Hannah) started the lesson by reading Cockatoos to the chil-
dren. The final page of the story has an image of a hole in the bird’s cage and
suggests that the birds will chose to escape again. This gave a fantastic open-
ing into the following mathematics activity. After reading the story, Hannah
explained to the children that Professor Dupont wanted their help because his
birds kept escaping. Over the course of the week, the children worked with
different numbers of birds: on Monday, they discussed 7 birds, building to 10
by the end of the week. Each day, Hannah showed the children a PowerPoint
slide (see Fig. 11.1) and asked them to discuss how many birds they could see
in total. She used key questions, such as “How many are there?” and “How do
Fig. 11.1 Slide showing

tens frame to scaffold
children’s thinking
(continued)
Case Study 1 (continued)

Fig. 11.2 Following
discussion, the house was
removed to reveal the
number of birds in the
house
you know?” The aim of the image and questions was to develop the children’s
ability to subitize and then discuss the different parts within numbers. The
children responded with language, such as: “I can see 2, 2, 2 and 1 so there are
7.”, “I can see 3 on the top and 4 on the bottom which I think makes 7.” and
“There is 4 on the side and then 3…7.”
Following this slide, Hannah showed the children another PowerPoint
slide (see Fig. 11.2). On this slide, the children needed to help Professor
Dupont work out how many birds were hiding in the house. The children
worked with their talk partner to decide how many birds were in the house and
how they could explain their answer. The children knew to use their fingers to
support their thinking, if needed. The children were reasoning and using their
knowledge of addition to solve the problems. For example, one child said:
“We can tell the professor that there are 4 in the house because 3 and 4 makes
7 in total.” The main activity then followed each of these daily whole class
inputs.
Main activity (15 mins):
Within the Reception setting that Hannah works in, one group of children
works with the teacher each day so that all of the children undertake an adult-
led mathematics activity every week. (While one group works with a teacher,
the rest of the children are able to choose from a range of learning activities
within the classroom and outdoor learning space)
There are five groups of six mixed-ability children. Each group did the fol-
lowing activity with Hannah using the birds and cage in Fig. 11.3:
(continued)

Fig. 11.3 Birds and the
cage (inverted garden
hanging basket) used
during the small group
session
• Hannah showed the children 7 birds inside the cage and explained that
Professor Dupont needed our help.
• She asked the children to close their eyes, while she hid some of the birds
inside the house.
• She asked the children to explain how many birds were hiding in the house
and to explain how they knew. Each child had a set of 7 cubes that they
could use to support their thinking.
• The children explained how many birds were hiding in the house and how
they knew this.
• After playing the game for several rounds, the children recorded what had
happened. The children were able to record their thinking in a diverse
range of ways. Some chose to use formal number sentences while others
used pictorial representations (see Fig. 11.4).
Plenary (5 mins):
To conclude the activity, the children explained their finished images to
their partner in the small group. They also reflected on the different ways of
representing the problems that they had been solving. The children began to
make links between the more formal mathematical symbols and their own
drawings. The children also discussed how they could be systematic and
record all of the different combinations and ways of making 7. Figure 11.4
shows some of the different ways that the children chose to record their
thinking.
(continued)
Fig. 11.4 An example of

the children’s recording
from the small group
activity, exploring the
commutative nature of
addition and the part whole
relationships between
numbers
It is worth stating at the outset Hannah’s skill identifying excellent mathematics

teaching and learning opportunities from the story which does not have an explicit
mathematical focus. Hannah cleverly weaved the Cockatoos story into her mathe-
matics teaching by using a range of techniques. The first technique Hannah used
well is the extension of the story. After she finished reading the story to the chil-
dren, she told them that the cockatoos escaped again, but this time, only some did.
She wanted the children to help her find out how many escaped. Through this story
extension, Hannah was able to move the focus of the story from just simple counting
(1–10) into a fun and slightly more challenging addition and subtraction teaching
activity, where children got to develop their problem-solving skills by having to
work out how many cockatoos escaped if three cockatoos remained in the nest, for
example. The fact that Hannah wanted her children to explain their answers also
allowed them to develop their mathematical reasoning skill.
Another technique that Hannah used very well is how she was able to bring the
story to life through the use of resources, including paper cockatoos and a nest (i.e.
an inverted garden hanging basket!). She also provided the children with plastic
cubes to help with their calculation. In thinking back to Sect. 9.3.1, the use of cubes
in addition to the paper cockatoos can be useful in encouraging children to make
connections between different mathematical representations. Alternatively, the chil-
dren themselves could be asked to play the role of the cockatoos. For this to work
well, the activity could be moved outdoor to the playground. Children could be
asked to close their eyes for 10 s to allow their “cockatoos” peers to escape and hide.
They would then need to work out how many did escape by looking at the number
of their “cockatoo” peers who still remain in the nest, for example.
Additionally, Hannah also encouraged her children to record their findings in a

diverse range of ways, ranging from the use formal number sentences to the use of
pictorial representations. Again, in thinking back to Sect. 9.3.1, this was another
great opportunity for children to make connections between concrete objects (paper
cockatoos and Unifix cubes) to something more symbolic and abstract. The record-
ing task also provided the children with an opportunity to develop their early math-
ematical mark-making skills. During the plenary, the children were encouraged to
share their records with their peers, allowing them to engage in mathematical
dialogue.
Throughout the activity, Hannah was able to formatively assess her children’s
understanding of addition and subtraction by listening carefully to the explanation
they gave her and by examining the way they used the cubes and mathematical
mark-making to express their thinking.
Let’s explore another case study. This time from a pre-school class in Australia:
Case Study 2
Story: Ten Terrible Dinosaurs
Author/Illustrator: Paul Stickland
Teacher: Carla
Context: independent Christian college (pre-school to Year 12) in
Queensland, Australia
Age group: 4–5 years old
Learning intention: To help children understand that when counting
backwards, they are diminishing the value, or total amount – not just saying
number names in a rote-learned order.
Key mathematical vocabularies: less, away, total, how many, altogether,
backwards, counting.
Resources needed: A copy of the book, enVisionMath Learning Bridge
(an animation program), sticky dinosaur manipulatives, laminated tens-
frames, iPads/laptops, worksheet
The teacher (Carla) started the lesson by reading Ten Terrible Dinosaurs to
the children. They paused reading on each page to point to and count each
dinosaur illustrated (reinforcing one-to-one correspondence). Key question-
ing at this stage were: “What is happening to the dinosaurs?” and “What is
different on this page to the last?” Children’s responses include: “They are
going away”, “There are only [8] now”, “There are less”, etc. At the end of the
story, a simple discussion reiterated the questions and answers discussed
throughout the reading.
Carla then asked the children to practice using precise mathematical lan-
guage by repeating the following phrase after her: “When we count forwards
(continued)

in one, we are adding one extra each time, and when we count backwards in
one, we are taking one away each time”. An animation program (enVision-
Math Visual Learning Bridge) with a focus on counting backwards was then
used on the Smart Board. It was used as an additional way to assist children
in understanding that counting backwards decreases a value, through images
of people, toys and so on.
The children were subsequently directed to work in mixed-ability groups
at the following four stations. Each child visited each station for approxi-
mately 5 minutes, rotating to each in turn:
1. Acting out the story with dinosaur toys – Teacher-led (see Fig. 11.5)
Using the illustrations on each page, children acted out the movements
of each dinosaur – counting back from ten each time to ensure they had the
correct amount of toys represented.
2. Sticky dinosaurs in ten frames - Teacher aide-led (see Fig. 11.6)
Children picked up numeral cards at random and represented this value
in a tens frame. Key vocabulary required: more, less, take away, how
many?
3. Counting laptop game – Individual activity (see Fig. 11.7)
Children worked individually to complete the counting game on laptop
(number recognition, counting forwards and backwards).
4. Worksheet - Partner activity
Fig. 11.5 Acting out story

with dinosaur toys
(continued)
Fig. 11.6 Dinosaur Ten

Frames
Fig. 11.7 Digital sheep

counting game (0–10
forwards and backwards)
Children worked with a partner to complete an A3 laminated worksheet which

helped them to consolidate their understanding of a decrease in value when
counting backwards.
(continued)

Plenary (5 mins):
To review what the children have learned, they were asked to come back to
the mat with their Maths Toolkits. At this point, Carla asked the children to
count forwards from 0 to 10 using Unifix cubes to show each value as it was
counted. She then asked the children to count backwards from 10 to 0, again
showing each value using Unifix cubes.
In this case study, Carla did well in using her questioning to prompt her children
to develop their observational skills, by comparing and contrasting what they
observed in terms of the number of dinosaurs they saw on different pages.
Just like Hannah, Carla was also effective in using mathematical resources (e.g.
tens frames, Unifix cubes, etc.) to help children making connections between differ-
ent forms of mathematical representations. Additionally, she was also able to
bring the story to life by letting the children act out the story using non-
mathematical resources, such as plastic dinosaur figures.
Carla’s lesson is also useful in helping to illustrate how technology can also be
incorporated to enhance story-based mathematics teaching. Specifically, the use of
an animated program on the interactive board and the use of a digital counting game
provide opportunities for her children to practice counting backwards.
11.5.2 Children as Producers of Mathematical Stories
As previously discussed, young children can be given opportunities to become a

mathematical storyteller themselves and this can be facilitated in different ways. In
terms of the story, children can draw ideas from the storyline of an existing mathe-
matical story, as all three case studies did. They can do this by, for example, using
the same storyline and characters, and simply changing certain mathematical details
(see Case Study 3) or by extending the existing storyline to include more characters
and more mathematical scenarios of their own. Alternatively, children can come up
with their own original story. Regardless of the nature of the story, it is important
that their teacher (or parent) provides a degree of support during their planning
stage, ensuring – though dialogue – that the mathematical aspect of their story is
accurate, for example.
In terms of the presentation of the story, children could present their story in the
picturebook format, or even using drama where they have to act out the story to
bring the story to life. In relation to the former, while the common length of a stan-
dard picture book is 24 pages (Shavick 2016), children could be asked to create a
much shorter version of that, for example, 5–6 pages. Children could either draw
page illustrations themselves or act out the scenes in the story for the teacher to take
photos of those acting to be used as page illustrations for the book. Children can
then be encouraged to attempt to write a simple sentence to accompany each of
these illustrations or the teacher could listen to the children’s story and annotate
what the children said on each page.
Below is a case study from Finland illustrating how young children can turn an
existing non-mathematical folktale into a mathematical story by, in this example,
inserting mathematical terms relating to time units in various parts of the story’s text.
Case Study 3
Story: The Fox and the Hare Get Smart (English translation of the original
Finnish title, called ‘Kettu ja jänis viisastelevat’) This is a short Finnish folk-
tale (around 100 words only). The English translation of the story can be
found in the final section of this case study.
Teacher: Kirsi
Context: Large urban primary school in Rauma, Finland
Age group: 8–9 years old (in the context of Finland, this is the second year
of formal schooling)
Learning intention: Given how the story contains various references to
time and duration, the purpose of the activity is to find out the extent to which
the children could use time units in meaningful contexts, and the extent to
which they could use mathematical terms to make the story more mathemati-
cally oriented.
Key mathematical vocabularies: time units
Resources needed: iPad’s and the editable version of the story text
Ahead of the mathematics lesson, the teacher (Kirsi) read ‘The Fox and the
Hare Get Smart’ to her children as part of her Mother Tongue and Literature
lesson (see Fig. 11.8). After reading the story, Kirsi and her children had a
discussion on key aspects of the story (e.g. where the fox and the hare were
going, and whether the fox and the hare were friends) to ensure that the chil-
dren were familiar with the context of the story (Fig. 11.9).
In their mathematics lesson, Kirsi started the lesson by explaining the task
to the children, which was for them to individually add mathematical terms of
their choice to the story using an editing software on their iPad. The children
were asked to make their edition / addition distinct from the original text (in
the translated examples below, these changes have been italicized and under-
lined). They were also informed that their peers would give them feedback.
(continued)
Fig. 11.8 The English translation of ‘Fox and Hare Get Smart’ (‘Kettu ja jänis
viisastelevat’)
Fig. 11.9 The English translation of Child A’s version of the story (changes made by the
child were italicized and underlined)
(continued)
Fig. 11.10 The English translation of Child B’s version of the story (changes made by the
child were italicized and underlined)

For the main part of the lesson, the children were asked to re-read the story
by themselves, then they were asked to make changes and add references to
time units to the story. In addition to the main focus on time units, the children
were also allowed to add references to additional mathematical concepts (e.g.
percentages and calculations), should they wish and as time permitted.
Plenary (20 mins):
The children shared their stories with their peers whom subsequently gave
their feedback of the mathematics in the story and the story itself. Kirsi then
chose some of the mathematical concepts as examples, and she discussed
these concepts with her children (Fig. 11.10).
While the children in this case study were not asked to create a brand new
mathematical story, the act of tweaking parts of the story to include mathematical
terms can still be beneficial as it offers children opportunities to practice using
mathematical terms in various contexts.
The case study also highlighted how the children were able to differentiate the
learning themselves through deciding how complex or simple they wanted their
revised story to be, both mathematically and linguistically. This flexibility thus
allowed Kirsi to make mathematics learning more individualized.
This activity also gave the teacher a useful tool to assess both mathematical
understanding and literacy skills of the children. In this example, Kirsi had
opportunities to formatively assess the extent to which her children could use
time units in meaningful contexts. For example, she would have found that while
Child B (see Fig. 11.10) was able to apply their chosen time units in various parts
of the story meaningfully, and write coherently, the same cannot be said about
Child A (see Fig. 11.9) whose ability to use mathematical terms in appropriate
contexts and whose reading comprehension skills still need to be further
developed.
As stated at the beginning of this section, when it comes to considering ways in
which stories can be integrated as part of mathematics learning and teaching, the
sky is really the limit. You can be as creative as you like. We hope that you are now
inspired by what these teachers did and continue to explore how storytelling can be
integrated in your own mathematics teaching.
11.6 Summary
Mathematics learning is more than just training children to memorize a set of math-
ematical facts or to master a set of mathematical skills. These young mathemati-
cians deserve a teaching approach that will support them to develop their conceptual
understanding in and foster positive attitudes towards the subject. From the research
previously discussed, we know that teaching mathematics through storytelling can
help to achieve these goals.
If you wish to learn more about the approach, the best place on the internet to
begin your journey is a website, called www.MathsThroughStories.org. This is the
website of a non-profit research-based initiative, founded by the first author of this
chapter. It sets out to provide support for teachers and parents who want to incorpo-
rate storytelling in their mathematics teaching. The initiative’s website contains the
world’s largest database of recommendations for mathematical stories (500+ at the
time of writing this chapter) and features a growing number of reviews of mathe-
matical stories, and story-inspired mathematics lesson plans. The website also pro-
vides a comprehensive list of relevant articles written by both academics and
practitioners and features exclusive interviews with well-known mathematical story
authors and illustrators whose insights behind producing mathematical stories can
help teachers and parents to support their children to create their own mathematical
stories.
We very much hope that you find our chapter to be a useful starting point to sup-
port your journey into teaching mathematics through storytelling, and we hope you
will continue to learn more about the approach through the MathsThroughStories.
org website.
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Chapter 12
Using Stories to Encourage Optimal
Physical Development
Jennifer V. Butz and Stanton A. Hancock
12.1 Introduction
Salie pulled her cloak tight to block the October breeze blowing across the quad of Chestnut
Hill College and gripped her wand in anticipation. Suddenly, the sound of a whistle
announced the beginning of the first match of the tournament. She squealed with joy as the
competitors leapt upon their brooms and began to run about the field. Salie had never
enjoyed watching a sport before but this was different. She knew this game and had watched
it being played on a movie screen and had read about it in the pages of her favorite books.
By the end of the first match in the tournament, Salie was sure of one thing – she wanted to
play Quidditch too.
Salie’s father had started reading her the first book in the Harry Potter series when she
was 4 years old. She instantly fell in love with the fantastic world of wizards and dragons
and would watch the movies over and over again. In particular, she found the action
sequences depicting Quidditch, the sport of choice in this fictional world, to be particularly
exciting. Fittingly, this sport for wizards and witches was played on flying broomsticks
instead of on foot. Salie would spend hours chasing her puppy, Dumbledore, around the
backyard pretending to fly on a broom, casting spells with a wand her father had carved for
her from a stick. When her parents had told her they were taking her to Harry Potter
Weekend in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, Salie had spent a lot of time considering what she
was going to wear. In the end, she decided to dress up as her favorite character, Hermione
Granger. Salie loved how Hermione liked to read books and learn new things, just like she
did.
Her mother had helped her get every detail of her outfit prepared and they got up bright
and early to drive to the festival. Dressed in her costume, she had spent the morning enjoy-
J. V. Butz (*)
Northern Lehigh School District, Slatington, PA, USA
e-mail: jbutz@nlsd.org
S. A. Hancock
Lehigh Valley, Washington Township, PA, USA

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_12
228 J. V. Butz and S. A. Hancock
ing the various events around town, but the event she was most looking forward to seeing
was the Quidditch tournament. Sure, these brooms didn’t actually fly, but the rules of the
game were just like in the books and it reminded her of her favorite imaginary world. When
the player representing the “Golden Snitch” ran out onto the field, she laughed so hard she
almost fell over.
On the drive home, Salie was still going over the excitement of the tournament. She
decided to talk to Ms. McIntyre when she had gym class that week. Ms. McIntyre looked up
the rules online and found a version that she thought she could modify for a third grade
class, and they gave it a try. She was surprised how intensely Salie and some of the other
students were committed to the game; Salie had always been moderately interested in gym
class at best. This new Salie was completely different; she was focused, intense, and com-
pletely immersed in the activity.
As Salie advanced through elementary school, she continued to play Quidditch when-
ever she could. She organized games with her friends and tried to play as often as possible.
As she got better at the game, she found herself getting better at other games in gym class.
As her confidence grew, so did her desire to play. By high school, she had become a profi-
cient athlete in multiple sports. However, she never lost her love for the game that started it
all. Salie played the game in several different leagues over the years. Initially, she had to
travel a few towns over but by her teenage years she had founded clubs at both her high
school and in her community.
Once again, Salie looked out over the quad of Chestnut Hill College. She had been
excited many times since she had started her freshman year at CHC, but not like today.
While only a freshman, Salie had become the youngest Quidditch Team Captain in the his-
tory of the team. She waved to her parents before giving her team a few quick words of
encouragement. Then, the whistle sounded and everything was a blur. Salie’s childhood
dreams had become reality; she was finally competing in the Quidditch Tournament.
If educators hope to encourage children like Salie to get the necessary physical
activity to develop the foundational skills needed for physical literacy, adults must
look for new and inventive ways to increase children’s interest and desire to partici-
pate in physical activity. One possible method to attract and keep a child’s attention
is the incorporation of popular stories into games and exercise. When a lesson or
activity connects to a story with which a child is already familiar, the child is able to
better retain the content of the lesson due to the relevance of the content to this
child’s life (Szurmak and Thuna 2013). Additionally, a child will be more likely to
engage in an activity if it relates to an existing interest (Jablon and Wilkinson 2006).
Just as Salie was motivated to begin playing a sport because it was based on her
favorite stories, any child can be encouraged to be more physically active when their
interests are taken into consideration. The stakes for children are high as many
threats to children’s’ health are related to declines in physical activity.
Among the numerous health issues facing children globally, childhood obesity is
certainly one of the most glaring. As the developing world enjoys the advances of
industrialization, these nations are sadly also susceptible to the downsides of devel-
opment. Contrary to what one might assume, the majority of obese children live in
developing countries. In these countries, the obesity rate is increasing over 30%
faster than that of the developed world (World Health Organization 2017). Globally,
over 42 million children five or younger are estimated to be overweight with close
to half of the world’s overweight children under 5 living in Asia and one quarter in
Africa (World Health Organization 2016, 2017). Current projections predict that
there will be 70 million overweight or obese children worldwide by 2025 (World
Health Organization 2017).
12 Using Stories to Encourage Optimal Physical Development 229
The obesity crisis does not affect just the developing world; developed nations
like the United States of America are also afflicted with this problem. According to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016), 12.7 million children and
adolescents in the United States are obese or overweight. Statistically, youth who
are obese are also more likely to be obese as adults (Freedman et al. 2009; Guo et al.
2002). Childhood obesity has been attributed to a greater risk of adult health issues
such as cancer, heart disease, and many other chronic health conditions (Biro and
Wien 2010; Freedman et al. 2007; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
2010). It is vital to teach children healthy lifestyle choices and increase interest in
physical activity during early childhood to enhance physical literacy and increase
the likelihood of a lifetime of healthy practices and behaviors.
Physical literacy is defined as “the ability, confidence, and desire to be physically
active for life” (The Aspen Institute 2015, p. 9). The goal which has been set by The
Aspen Institute through Project Play is for children to obtain physical literacy by
age 12. While early childhood is often thought of as simply a time for children to
play, it is a very important stage for motor skill development that often is over-
looked. Preschool age children are recommended to engage in several hours of
physical activity daily, “and should not be sedentary for more than 60 minutes at a
time except when sleeping” (National Association for Sport and Physical Education
2009). Unfortunately, it often seems that children have less and less time for play-
ing. Of course, this can vary greatly from culture to culture. While there are some
cultures who still place a value on playtime, such as the Indian tradition of leaving
the evening hours of 5–7 pm for children to go out and be active, not all children are
allotted the same opportunity (Sahay 2013).
In order to properly promote physical literacy in students, educators must
approach this by working backwards through the terms ability, confidence, and
desire. These terms appear within the Aspen Institute definition of physical literacy,
which is a concept being adopted by many countries, including the United States.
By selecting an activity that is appealing to a child’s desire, he or she can gain con-
fidence in an activity or foundational movement and increase his or her physical
abilities. In this chapter, educators will find a number of techniques that will assist
in incorporating story-based activities that will capture a child’s interest, encourage
physical development, and provide the necessary foundational skills to achieve opti-
mal physical literacy. This chapter will present educators with valuable techniques
to incorporate stories into their curriculum to provide their students with the tools
needed to improve their overall health and physical fitness.
12.2 Stories, Play, and Interest
Stories have been an educational tool for thousands of years, in many cases even
predating the written word. From the cautionary tales of Greek and Roman mythol-
ogy through biblical parables and the fables of folklore, narratives have often been
employed to pass on knowledge and life lessons. These educational stories have
become so ingrained into modern culture that references to Pandora’s Box and the
flight of Icarus are commonplace. When a lesson is incorporated into a story, it can
prove to be memorable (Donovan and Pascale 2012). In addition, these “stories with
a purpose” allow a child to grasp a concept he or she would otherwise struggle to
understand. For example, most children would not easily understand the ethical
aspects of the importance of honesty but can easily process the value of truth-telling
when presented with the fable of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” (Frere 2010). Despite
the educational value of story-based learning, with the exception of literature
classes, this tool is not regularly utilized in modern curricula. However, story-
inclusive teaching is just as useful today as in the past and can be applied to most
subjects, including physical education and health.
Conceptually, the idea that stories can be powerful tools in education is not new.
There have been several studies that suggest that stories are more memorable than
simple lists of information (Bower and Clark 1969; Callahan 2016). One such
example is a study by Bower and Clark (1969) in which test subjects who con-
structed a story from a list of words were able to remember 6–7 times more words
than those subjects who were not tasked with crafting a narrative. Considering the
educational potential of this increase in content retention, it is possible that any
educator can benefit from incorporating stories into their pedagogy.
Story-inclusive education is effective for many reasons. One of the primary rea-
sons is due to the link between cognitive and physical development (Diamond 2000;
Hollett et al. 2016). These links have previously been explored. Hollett et al. (2016)
notes that a direct link exists between motor and cognitive development. This link is
specifically manifested in programs that utilize physical education in addition to
language or speech. With the link between these types of development in mind, it is
imperative for educators to promote the motor and cognitive development in both.
To do so, educators must seek to be as effective as possible by appealing to the dif-
ferent styles of learning.
It is generally believed that students learn in one of four styles – visual, auditory,
reading and writing, and kinesthetic. Newer research expands upon this concept to
contend that students will often use a mixture of these styles depending upon the
context (Prithishkumar and Michael 2014). Studies (Kharb et al. 2013; Prithishkumar
and Michael 2014) suggest that the majority of children prefer to learn through the
kinesthetic method. This method of learning involves hands-on experience and
physical interaction as an integral part of the learning process. These students learn
best through experimentation and like to include touch and movement as a means of
interacting with the learning process (Prithishkumar and Michael 2014). If children
are most effective at learning when teachers appeal to their preferred learning style,
educators should make every effort to incorporate student-preferred learning styles.
As research continues to show that children prefer the kinesthetic learning method,
more educators are beginning to utilize this style of teaching across many different
disciplines (Feldman and McPhee 2007). Kinesthetic learning has proven to be
effective and common practice even at the preschool and kindergarten levels (Lai
et al. 2015). Particularly in physical education, students who prefer kinesthetic
learning have an advantage. As they practice the motions and forms required to
engage in a game or sport, children are in their optimal setting to gain and retain
knowledge (Hollett et al. 2016).
One of the earliest means in which movement patterns appear consecutively in
early childhood is through play. Play is a typical activity for the majority of children
during early childhood, spending as much as 20% of observed playtime engaging in
“exercise play” activities (Pellegrini and Smith 1998). There are many different
forms of play that children engage in during early childhood, locomotor play, social
play, object play, and sociodramatic play (Smith and Pellegrini 2013). Sociodramatic
play, also referred to as “pretend play,” is when a child will act out stories and nar-
ratives with which he or she is already familiar (Rubin 1986; Smith and Pellegrini
2013). As children already take part in this form of play, it is easy to integrate it into
classroom activities.
Before the incorporation of increasingly complex rules for games and sports, a
child’s first foray into self-determined play will often begin by imitating the move-
ments and behaviors of characters from their favorite books, movies, and television
shows. Often this sociodramatic play incorporates locomotor play and assists in
developing children’s movement skills, such as jumping, skipping, and hopping, as
well as gross-motor movement skills such as bending, twisting, and kicking.
However, once a child enters into formal physical education classes and organized
sports, the free play that satisfies the natural desire to become a part of the stories in
which they are familiar may be replaced with more structured activities.
Organized games and sports like soccer are popular but may not appeal to all
children, just those that are externally motivated by winning. Children who lack this
motivation quickly lose interest in physical activity and, once lost, this motivation is
often lost for good (Montgomery and Rossi 1994). Engagement and physical fitness
levels decline steeply with age, specifically when children enter adolescence
(Allison et al. 2007; Bai et al. 2015). According to The International Children’s
Accelerometry Database, physical activity can be on the decline as early as when a
child begins attending school (Cooper et al. 2015). Educational disengagement has
been shown to begin as early as age 8, however, encouraging a child’s interest and
involvement in school-related activities has been shown to increase engagement in
these activities (Montgomery and Rossi 1994).
Rather than approach children’s physical activities through the use of external
rewards, it has been theorized that instead intrinsic motivation is a better tool for
capturing and keeping a child’s interest. When students enter a lesson with a high
level of interest, they are far more likely to actively participate (Jablon and Wilkinson
2006; Subramaniam 2009) and re-engage in that activity after instruction (Chen
2001; Subramaniam 2009; Xiang et al. 2005). This relationship between interest and
engagement places a responsibility upon the educator to create a learning environ-
ment that will appeal to the students’ interests and increase intrinsic motivation.
However, the major obstacle for the educator is to attempt to appeal to a class-
room full of students of disparate interests and backgrounds. Hidi and Anderson
(1992) note that being aware of a child’s personal interests can be of great value in
a classroom, but it can be truly impossible to consider each child’s personal interest
during all instructional activities. Similarly, Subramaniam (2009) notes that chil-
dren already have a variety of personal interests that cannot be easily modified or
influenced by the teacher. It may be easier for the teacher to change the classroom
environment to better increase student interest.
The incorporation of stories into the physical education classroom is one method
for appealing to the personal interest of a diverse classroom. While a classroom will
contain a diverse cohort with different backgrounds and interests, it is hard to ignore
the pervasiveness of pop culture. Characters popular with children may begin in a
series of books, a video game, or a television series but will often end up with a
presence in all three of these medias. There are “1.4 billion households with at least
one TV set globally by end 2012, corresponding to 79 per cent of total households”
(International Telecommunication Union 2013). In the United States, 96% of house-
holds have at least one television, while 45% of 5–8 year olds have a television in
their bedroom (Common Sense Media 2013).
In addition to television, children today also enjoy a level of access to the internet
that was unheard of in the recent past. In the United States, 75% of youths age 8 and
younger have access to mobile media devices such as tablets and smartphones while
76% of children have a laptop or desktop computer in the home. In addition, 69%
of these children have high speed internet connections with which to access online
content (Common Sense Media 2013). This technological prevalence is not limited
to the United States. In the European Union, 98% of homes have at least one televi-
sion with the rates varying from practically 100% in countries including Greece,
Spain, Hungary, Cyprus, and Slovakia to 93% in Finland (European Commission
2010).
These children, despite disparate socioeconomic backgrounds, are exposed to
the same characters and stories through this ever-present influence of technology.
Regardless of income, most children in the United States are intimately familiar
with fictional characters such as Harry Potter, Luke Skywalker, and Spongebob
Squarepants. Incorporating popular characters and stories from one’s own popular
culture into the classroom allows the instructor to immediately capture the attention
and interest of the class by simply mentioning the name of a character or franchise
that is well-known to his or her students.
The connection between an athletic activity and a child’s interest can be very
powerful. For example, spurred on by the popularity of The Hunger Games books
and the subsequent film adaptations, archery has enjoyed a significant increase in
popularity. Most notably, young girls have begun to show an increased interest in
the traditionally male-dominated sport (Greene 2013). While The Hunger Games is
intended for young adults rather than early childhood, this phenomenon does dem-
onstrate just how influential pop culture can be upon a child’s motivation to take part
in a physical activity. By making a connection in a child’s mind between a beloved
story and a physical activity, the child is no longer merely practicing a skill, he or
she is becoming a character.
This instructional technique corresponds with Csíkszentmihályi’s (2008) “theory
of flow,” which postulates that a person achieves peak happiness when fully
immersed in an activity. Colloquially described as “being in the zone,” this flow
state is considered the ideal representation of intrinsic motivation. If children com-
bine a mastery of the basic skills needed for a game with a strong desire to play, they
can become immersed in the activity. By allowing children to enter the world of
their favorite stories, children have a much better chance of achieving this state of
flow (Hansen and Sanders 2010).
12.3 Theoretical Perspectives
Educational theory is the basis behind all teaching practice. The same can be said
regarding the use of stories to optimize motor skill development in early childhood.
Broadly looking at educational theory, three prominent theories are applicable to
this practice, constructivist, cognitive developmental, and sociocultural learning
theory. “Building upon” prior experiences and knowledge is the basic idea behind
the constructivist theory of education (Ornstein and Levine 2007). Constructivism
is based around the idea that all knowledge is cumulative, building upon the learn-
ing that has come before (Eggen and Kauchak 2013). As basic ideas and concepts
are learned, more advanced knowledge is “built up” from this foundation in a life-
long work of construction. This theory of learning is equally applicable to physical
development. As children master basic physical skills, they apply these skills to
more complex tasks.
John Dewey is often thought of as one of the first prominent constructivists in
America (Tracey and Morrow 2017). His theories and teachings support the practice
of having students make meaning of educational concepts within the context of their
own lives. The constructivist theory is based on the idea “that knowledge and skill
construction resides within individuals” (Sun et al. 2012, p. 226). The connection
between physical development and stories supports this theory. By approaching the
acquisition of new physical skills within the framework of knowledge the child
already possesses, a child is connecting a new concept to existing knowledge.
While hardly a new concept, constructivism’s roots can be traced back to the
philosopher Immanuel Kant and his theories regarding schemas and categories of
knowledge. According to Kant, a schema is a means of interpreting experiences and
applying new information to previous knowledge (Kant 1899). Later theorists such
as Jean Piaget would apply the schema theory to childhood development as the way
a young mind organizes their experiences into accumulated knowledge (Eggen and
Kauchak 2013; Woolfolk 2016). As the learning mind undergoes new educational
experiences, the knowledge is categorized and compartmentalized in an ever-
growing “filing cabinet” of ideas (Tracey and Morrow 2017). This theory is evident
in the development of physical fitness. A child with an established foundation of
skills like kicking and running can acquire skills in soccer much faster than a child
who has not developed these skills.
Cognitive development theory suggests that learners internally create constructs
of information and skills based upon their own experiences (Tracey and Morrow
2017). The learner acquires new knowledge by comparing new experiences to their
pre-existing schemas. This process of accommodation and assimilation continually
happens with every experience to gain new knowledge (Eggen and Kauchak 2013;
Woolfolk 2016).
The stages of cognitive development establish that learners can do certain things
at certain times as their cognitive processing develops, though they pass through at
different rates (Woolfolk 2016). As a learner enters a new stage of development, a
new means of processing information will emerge (Tracey and Morrow 2017).
However, once a learner has advanced to the next stage of development, it is not
possible to revert to a prior stage. Learners are also unable to skip a development
stage and must work their way through the hierarchy of learning in a specific order
(Eggen and Kauchak 2013). Children in the early childhood stage of development
have experienced events that mainly involve their families or own personal interests.
These interests are often that of stories or films. With this in mind, appealing to
familiar stories is a possible method for an educator to connect to a child’s develop-
ing intellect.
The sociocultural theory, which was developed by Lev Vygotsky (1978), exam-
ines how culture relates to cognitive development. Vygotsky theorizes that knowl-
edge and inquiry are a part of a person’s culture and learning derives from one’s
environment (Mayer 2008; Tracey and Morrow 2017). This theory postulates that
knowledge originates in a social context and is then internalized by the learner
(Eggen and Kauchak 2013). Critical thought and cognition are derived from lan-
guage, which includes listening and speaking (Pound 2013; Shimon 2004). Similarly
to Piaget, this development occurs in stages based upon the connection between the
thoughts and language of a learner (Woolfolk 2016). Unlike Piaget’s cognitive
development theory, sociocultural theory suggests that it is possible to regress to a
lower developmental stage depending on the difficulty level of a specific task. As
stories are an integral part of a society, and often the original means of transferring
knowledge, the importance of applying this aspect of a culture cannot be overlooked
when approaching physical development.
12.4 Physical Literacy
Capturing students’ interest and increasing their desire to participate is the first vital
step towards developing physical literacy. Whereas literacy in the traditional sense
implies that an individual has acquired the needed foundational knowledge to pro-
cess the written word, a physically literate individual possesses the necessary physi-
cal abilities to learn new athletic skills. Just as traditional literacy develops through
an increasingly complex series of skills, physical literacy begins with basic move-
ments that are then built upon to attain more developed skills and habits. Much like
traditional literacy, it is vital to acquire these foundational skills at a young age in
order to ensure that these carry over into adulthood. By developing basic motor
skills, a child prepares for the more complex skills required to take part in advanced
activities. As a reader must first learn the alphabet before reading words and sen-
tences, basic skills like running, jumping, and throwing are necessary in order to
perform higher-level tasks. “In other words, fundamental movement skills are the
ABCs of future movements” (Battista 2015, p. 1).
These movement fundamentals are vital for a child seeking to develop physical
literacy. Just as a student reader cannot skip simple beginning reader books and
jump right into Shakespeare, a physical education student must master the most
basic forms of movement before going on to more complicated tasks. If these skills
are not acquired at an early age, the child will likely find future physical activities
more difficult and be more susceptible to frustration due to lack of competency.
Research has shown that participating in physical education classes and other physi-
cal activities can help a child gain confidence. Armed with this increased confi-
dence, a child is more likely to continue participating in physical activities (Bauman
et al. 2012).
Failing to develop fundamental motor skills can have a compounding effect upon
a child’s physical development. However, the inverse is true as well. Research has
shown that children who possess better-developed motor skills tend to be much
more physically active than their peers. This difference in activity is noticeable as
early as ages 3–5 (Fisher et al. 2005, Lopes et al. 2011; Williams et al. 2008). These
active children are far more likely to continue being active even into adulthood,
establishing the foundation for a lifetime of healthy habits (Malina 2014). It has
been suggested that early motor skill development leads to more enjoyment of phys-
ical activity and can influence physical activity and motor skills later in life (Loprinzi
et al. 2015). The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE)
has established guidelines for early childhood that suggests a focus on motor skill
development. They suggest that students need to develop competency in basic motor
skills as these fundamentals provide a foundation for later motor skills and physical
activities (National Association for Sport and Physical Education 2009; Physical
Health and Education Canada 2017; Sport New Zealand 2015). When a child begins
to learn a new physical activity, there must be interest in order to stimulate motiva-
tion, but there must also be what Ntoumanis refers to as “perceived competence” for
a child to advance in a physical skill (Ntoumanis 2001). If the child does not feel
comfortable or confident in his or her ability to perform a specific task, frustration
can set in and possibly result in giving up. Just as Salie lacked confidence in her
athletic abilities and did not actively participate in physical education until she
found a game that appealed to her interests, many children avoid organized physical
activities due to a fear of failure. Battista (2015) argues that children should achieve
proficiency in basic movement skills by the age of 5 or 6. This age is crucial in a
child’s physical development as this is the age where children should be sufficiently
physically advanced that they can take part in organized sports and more advanced
physical activities (Purcell 2005). With this in mind, it is absolutely imperative that
physical educators capture the attention of students as early as possible to ensure
that children do not fall behind in their physical development.
For a child to succeed in mastering a new physical task, the optimal activity
would appeal to a child’s interests and contain fundamental movement skills with
which the student is already comfortable and confident. Salie found herself able to
master the game of Quidditch as she already possessed the basic skills required to
play the game. While her interest motivated her to play, it was her foundational
movement skills that allowed her to become proficient in a short amount of time.
Foundational movement skills are comprised of two categories, locomotor and
object control. The locomotor skill category includes skills such as running, jump-
ing, and skipping. Salie already possessed a proficiency in these skills, allowing her
to focus on learning the game itself and not having to concentrate on the basics.
These skills are directly related to the child’s own body movements. In contrast,
object control skills involve interaction with outside objects and include kicking,
throwing, catching, and other similar movements. These skills enabled Salie to
throw and catch the game balls as she mastered Quidditch. The majority of children
should achieve proficiency in these skills by the start of elementary school (Barela
2013; Battista 2015).
After children achieve proficiency on these fundamental skills, they are then able
to move on to more advanced forms of physical activity and further their physical
development through the acquisition of enhanced skills. As Salie became proficient
in the skills she needed to play Quidditch, she was able to apply these abilities to
other physical activities. These advanced activities included organized sports and
games as well as leisure activities that are still physically-based such as hiking.
Unfortunately, young children who fail to develop these foundational skills may be
discouraged from participating in physical activities (Battista 2015; Lubans et al.
2010).
Due to the vital importance of childhood physical development, many global
governmental agencies have determined guidelines for the recommended amount of
playtime children should have each day. NASPE recommends at least 60 min of
play a day each of both structured and unstructured play for children in early child-
hood (National Association for Sport and Physical Education and American Alliance
for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance 2009). In contrast, British
and Australian health agencies have recommendations of at least 3 h of physical
activity throughout the day for children aged 3–5 (British Heart Foundation National
Centre for Physical Activity and Health 2013; Commonwealth of Australia
Department of Health and Ageing 2010). While there are different standards from
country to country, these guidelines represent the growing global commitment to
childhood physical development. However, achieving these goals will not be easy as
children are increasingly sedentary. As of 2016, 91% of children ages 2–5 are not
getting the recommended amount of physical activity (British Heart Foundation
National Centre for Physical Activity and Health 2016). Physical educators must
work harder than ever to increase their students’ physical activity levels.
The hurdle educators must overcome is making the structured play as fun as the
unstructured play. When children play of their own accord, they will often utilize
their prodigious imaginations and create stories and make believe settings. It can be
difficult for an educator to create a learning environment that a child will find as
appealing as her own imagination. Maximizing situational interest is the key to suc-
ceeding in this endeavor. Although teachers cannot control an individual student’s
interest, they can control the classroom structure and choose activities that will
appeal to the broadest range of students (Subramaniam 2009). As a child’s unstruc-
tured play will often be comprised of imitating popular films, television programs,
and fictional characters such as superheroes, it is a natural progression to integrate
these tales into structured physical activity.
For example, some preschool and elementary school students might not find a
traditional lesson on yoga interesting. The slow pace and concentration required are
often incompatible with the high-energy and short attention spans common in
youngsters. However, when students are shown a video such as Star Wars Yoga
(Cosmic Kids Yoga 2014), the children are immediately drawn into the activity due
to the association with a popular film series. By framing content in a manner famil-
iar to the intended audience, a number of impediments to student interest are
avoided.
By structuring the learning activities in a manner that more closely resembles the
type of play to which a child is accustomed, an educator creates an environment
where the student enters the classroom with both an interest and a basic understand-
ing of the subject matter. As children already possess the basic foundations of the
subject, they are able to build upon these foundations to increase competency in a
task and improve their physical literacy.
12.5 Practical Application for Educators
The idea of appealing to pre-existing interests has merit in regards to a child’s will-
ingness to engage in activities involving these interests (Hohmann and Weikart
1995). This concept is compatible with established educational theory and the prac-
tical applications of these principles to the classroom are numerous. When a listener
takes a story to heart, virtually any topic can be presented in the form of a story to
make the content more memorable (National Council of Teachers of English 1992).
This means that the options for educators are endless, and only limited by one’s
willingness to commit to the use of stories in classroom instruction. However, some
teachers might be hesitant to do so due to lack of confidence or they may be unsure
of how to apply stories to their subject. Luckily, with proper preparation and a little
imagination, almost any activity can be enhanced with storytelling. Here are a num-
ber of practical applications for incorporating stories into the early childhood edu-
cation classroom setting to encourage physical development. Educators can also
refer to Table 12.1 for an overview of these activities and assessment suggestions.
12.5.1 Movement Stories
One example of utilizing stories in an educational setting is physical activity move-

ment stories. In this activity, the teacher reads a short story aloud to the class and the
students act out the events in the story (Opitz 2011). This activity will be familiar to
the children as it is very similar to the sociodramatic play they most likely already
Table 12.1 Practical applications of stories promoting physical development in young children
238
Instructional Examples of instructional

applications application Assessment strategy Online resources
Movement The teacher will read From Head The teacher will observe children The teacher could project and play “From Head to Toe Song”
stories to Toe (Carle 1999) to the class. performing exercise movements from (Seung 2013) during instruction to add a visual and musical
The movements from the story the story and document movements accompaniment to the story From Head to Toe (Carle 1999)
will be acted out by children while that are difficult for the children to “From Head to Toe Song” (Seung 2013) can be accessed at the
the story is being read perform. The teacher will provide following Uniform Resource Locator (URL) https://www.
additional instruction and practice youtube.com/watch?v=9xxyZSdYEmM
opportunities for children when
completing these movements
Low Children will play Toy Story The teacher will use a self-created The teacher could project and play the clip, “Toy Story
organized (Guggenheim et al. 2005) freeze student play rubric to determine if Crossover- Andy’s Coming” (Juguilon 2018) to give students
games tag by collecting as many balls and lesson objective aspects of game play not familiar with Toy Story (Guggenheim et al. 2005) an
bean bags as possible for their were met. The rubric may be role opportunity to connect with the many additional Pixar and
group to put away in the toy chest specific, for example when the student Disney characters featured in this short edited video clip
without getting tagged by Andy. If is the tagger in the game “Toy Story Crossover- Andy’s Coming” (Juguilon 2018) can
a child is tagged by the person be accessed at the following URL https://www.youtube.com/
who is Andy (it), he/she must stop watch?v=zRIv18HUmSI
and cannot move until getting
unfrozen (touched) by a teammate
Movement Children will pretend to be a Children will use a picture checklist to The teacher can project a graphics interchange format (GIF) of
cues Pokémon trainer while throwing evaluate their own or a classmate’s’ a Pokéball being thrown to provide students with a continuous
Pokéballs (tennis balls). Children performance of specific movement visual of the overhand throwing motion
will use overhand throwing cues cues. They can place smiley faces or “Pokeball GIF” (GIPHY 2017) can be accessed at the
provided by the teacher to perform stars next to the parts of the movement following URL https://giphy.com/gifs/pokeball-
the movement. Children can that were performed VJswEzoSlviYo/fullscreen
practice this motion in an open
space or while attempting to knock
down an object such as foam a
bowling pin
J. V. Butz and S. A. Hancock
Station Children will complete a different Children will document their The teacher can print out a Dr. Seuss Reading Passport (Dr.
activities movement task at each of the Dr. completion of each station activity by Seuss Enterprises, L.P. 2010) for each student to use during
Seuss themed stations placing a sticker from each completed the Dr. Seuss station activities
Hop on Pop (Seuss 1963) Station: station on their Dr. Seuss Reading The Dr. Seuss Reading Passport (Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P.
Children will jump (taking off and Passport (Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. 2010) can be accessed at the following URL http://www.
landing on 2 ft) and hop (taking 2010) or index card. The teacher will seussville.com/activities/RAA_EK10_Passport_WEB_0.pdf
off and land on 1 ft) on a provide the sticker to the children after
trampoline they are observed completing the
station’s activity
The Cat in the Hat (Seuss 1957)
Station:
Children will play “Up, Up, Up
with the Fish” by balancing a
beanbag on their hand. They
will balance the bean bag high
and low while performing
different locomotor movements
such as skipping, galloping,
hopping, and jumping
Horton Hears a Who (Seuss 1954)
Station:
12 Using Stories to Encourage Optimal Physical Development
Children will balance a “Who”

(tennis ball) on a traffic cone by
carefully placing it on the
opening at the top of the cone.
Once successful, they will pick
up and move the tennis ball to
another cone
(continued)
239
240
Stories that The teacher will read And The teacher will observe children The teacher could implement additional movement based
reinforce Everyone Shouted, “Pull!” performing movements during the activities that incorporate movement concepts such as force.
content (Llewellyn 2004) to the class. story. The teacher will document any The Spotlighting the Scooter! (FlagHouse 2018) activity guide
Children will act out the story children performing movement provides scooter board based activities that highlight force and
while focusing on the movement concepts incorrectly or at the how it applies to all three of Newton’s Laws of Motion
concepts. The teacher will inappropriate time in context with the The Spotlighting the Scooter! (FlagHouse 2018) activity guide
demonstrate and practice these story can be accessed at the following URL https://www.flaghouse.
movement concepts with the com/Images/Content/ActivityGuides/Scooter.pdf
children prior to reading the story
Digital stories Children will move along to Just The teacher will record the student’s If a teacher does not have access to the Just Dance Kids 2
and games Dance Kids 2 (Ubisoft score from the game. Increased scores (Ubisoft Entertainment 2013) video game software, the
Entertainment 2013) Five Little over time would indicate improvement graphics of the game could still be utilized. The teacher could
Monkeys. Children can complete of game specific movement project and play the “Just Dance Kids 2 Five Little Monkeys
this activity for a score by Wii” (Mani 2013) video. Students could complete the activity
activating the games control with in the same fashion they would if the game was played via a
their hand or body movements video game console. Student scores cannot be calculated using
depending on the game console this method
used The “Just Dance Kids 2 Five Little Monkeys Wii” (Mani
2013) video can be accessed at the following URL https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CL8f8scrpBo
J. V. Butz and S. A. Hancock
Brain breaks Children will perform the Children will demonstrate their The teacher could project and play the “There was a Crocodile
movements presented in the favorite movement from the brain Song” (The Learning Station 2018) video
“There was a Crocodile Song” break video with a partner. The teacher “There was a Crocodile Song” (The Learning Station 2018)
(The Learning Station 2018) brain will observe and document children can be accessed at the following URL https://www.youtube.
break video while they complete this task com/watch?v=IkanoEmIcHM
Health stories The teacher will read I Love to Eat Children will use the five finger story The teacher could project and play the animated book “I Love
Fruits and Vegetables (Admont retelling strategy to recall content and to Eat Fruits and Vegetables” (Daily Motion 2015) during
2014) to the class. Children will then read the story to a classmate or instruction to add a visual accompaniment to the story I Love
listen for key story details as to be teacher. The student will talk about the to Eat Fruits and Vegetables (Admont 2014)
able to retell the story at a later story’s (1)characters, (2)setting, (3) The animated children’s book video, “I Love to Eat Fruits and
time problem, (4)events, and (5)ending Vegetables” (Daily Motion 2015) can be accessed at the
following URL https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x23vpf4
12 Using Stories to Encourage Optimal Physical Development
241
engage in at home. The motions required and difficulty can be easily modified to
suit a particular class. For example, Get Up and Go! (Carlson 2013) is a storytelling
exercise aimed at 3- to 5-year old children that combines stories with physical
movement. This activity employs animals to tell a factual story that explores the
differences between people and advocates the benefits of exercise in combination
with a variety of different kinds of physical activities. The use of a fun, animal-
based story can help to motivate children to get up and move.
12.5.2 Low Organized Games
Building upon the concept of using a story to inspire movement, an educator can
apply storytelling scenarios to low-organized games. These games can vary from a
simple tag game to an elaborate multi role activity that involves multiple children
and uses a story as a framing mechanism. The use of props can help to increase the
children’s interest; however, the instructor must be careful not to make the game
overly intricate and remove the students from the free-play mindset which is created
when utilizing this technique.
For example, students could play a variation on the game of freeze tag, by repre-
senting characters from the popular Disney film Frozen (Del Vecho et al. 2013) as
they try to gather beanbags or balls to “build a snowman”. The use of beloved car-
toon characters will serve to capture the attention of the class with ease.
12.5.3 Movement Cues
Stories and story-type characters from children’s media can also be used to help
frame movement cues for locomotor, non-locomotor and combination movements.
During early childhood, locomotor and nonlocomotor movement skills are intro-
duced. For example, rather than having students kick a ball and practice their form,
they could pretend to be Mario and Luigi from the popular Nintendo video games
and kick shells back and forth. The children would point their non-kicking foot in
the direction they want the shell to go, their kicking foot would be turned so the
inside of their foot makes contact with the shell halves where they come together.
12.5.4 Station Activities
Another possible application is activities based upon children’s books. These activi-
ties may simultaneously inspire student engagement and also reinforce an interest
in reading and stories. A series of stations could be established based around differ-
ent Dr. Seuss books, for example. One station could involve jumping on a
trampoline to act out the events in Hop on Pop (Seuss 1963). Another could involve
The Cat in the Hat (Seuss 1957) or Horton Hears a Who (Seuss 1954). As the chil-
dren participate in the station, they are reminded of a book they may have enjoyed
and will perhaps want to read again because of the activity.
12.5.5 Stories to Reinforce Content
Another use of children’s books, but in a non-station format would be The ABCs of
Yoga (Power 2009) which uses the alphabet and related yoga poses to teach children
about flexibility and coordination while also teaching the alphabet. This activity
simultaneously helps young learners gain a better understanding of the alphabet
while increasing fundamental physical fitness. As children work through the poses,
they reinforce their understanding of the alphabet. Using the alphabet to name the
poses also makes it easier for the children to remember the poses.
A common book that could be read by the educator is The Little Engine that
Could (Piper 1961). This motivational children’s book is very well known in the
United States and follows the struggle of a small train engine as it attempts to climb
a large hill. While the teacher reads the book, students would be encouraged to act
out parts from the book such as the train’s struggle to crest the hill. In addition to the
movement in which the children engage, basic movement concepts such as tempo,
force and levels can be reinforced (Colvin and Rayburn 2007).
12.5.6 Digital Stories and Games
Digital stories are another means of incorporating stories with movement experi-
ences. These stories utilize multimedia technology and combine animation, videos,
pictures, and sounds, often using a narrative voice-over (Roland 2006). Digital tech-
nology can be employed through the use of multiple mediums. One of the most
direct means of appealing to a child’s personal interests through digital means is the
application of exergames to a physical education curriculum. Exergames, video
games that involve players physically moving their bodies in order to play the game
(Rudella and Butz 2015), may involve manipulating a wireless controller, interact-
ing with a camera that tracks the player’s movements, or stepping on a touchpad.
Initially popularized by the arcade game Dance, Dance, Revolution (Konami 2011),
where a player steps on a series of arrows in time with the screen, these games
require the player to complete a series of physical tasks to manipulate their virtual
representation, or avatar, and score points. As the player progresses in the game,
these movements increase in both difficulty and speed, providing a vigorous work-
out. The difficulty level can be adjusted to accommodate the use of such technology
in early childhood and beyond (Rudella and Butz 2015). Other exergames include
Just Dance Kids (Ubisoft Entertainment 2013), another dance-based game and the
many sports and fitness titles on the Nintendo Wii (2015). Unlike traditional video
game systems, the Wii utilizes a wireless controller (Wiimote) to control the actions
on the screen. Rather than simply pushing buttons, the player must use movements
to play the game. Exergames allow children to truly become someone else as they
slip into the skin of their virtual self.
12.5.7 Brain Breaks
Similarly to activities such as exergames, in which children directly interact with

digital characters, there are also activities such as “brain breaks” where children
follow along to activities portrayed on the screen. As the children mimic the motions
in a song-based story, they are encouraged to perform a specific set of motions and
physical movements. One example, which can be found on the online video site
YouTube, would be “Fred the Moose” (The Learning Station 2011). These activities
do not require a significant amount of space and can be performed in any classroom,
not just the gymnasium.
12.5.8 Health Stories
In addition to physical literacy, a well-rounded education in health topics is essen-

tial for optimal physical development in young children. While staying physically
active is important for a child’s health, there are a number of potential issues that
can be addressed through education. One of the most commonly employed methods
for providing children with this information is the use of health education stories.
These stories, often incorporated into lessons, will present a health issue such as
head lice or the importance of proper nutrition and educate children as the charac-
ters in the story deal with the issue. When individuals read about ways to improve
fitness or how to improve nutrition, readers may be more willing to try it (Opitz
2011). Young children could be read a story about a child with head lice, such as
Bugs in my Hair! (Shannon 2013). Through the story, children learn facts about how
lice are spread as well as how this problem can be treated. As the child learns about
the health issue, they may also begin to empathize for children who have had lice or
even realize it is a common occurrence and that it is nothing shameful.
Children who are reading independently can be given more complex health sto-
ries to read to increase their knowledge of a health topic and gain reading practice.
Teachers who assign this doubly-beneficial practice end up improving their stu-
dents’ reading skills while also helping to improve their health and physical fitness
(Opitz 2011, p. 537). In this case, the interest amplification is reciprocal as the stu-
dents are inspired to engage in healthy practices based upon a story that is also
educational. When children reflect on the fun activity from physical education class,
they maybe more likely to remember the story that inspired it as well as the educa-
tional content of the story.
12.6 Conclusion
Ensuring that a child achieves optimal physical development is no small task. As

proper childhood development is essential if one hopes to have the best chance at a
healthy adulthood, the early childhood educator must explore any and all available
methods to assist young children in achieving physical literacy. Unfortunately, there
are many obstacles an educator must overcome in pursuit of a physically literate
classroom, first and foremost is lack of interest and motivation. By applying popular
children’s stories to the classroom activities, a teacher has the potential to create an
environment where the children feel comfortable and capable as they engage in
activities similar to their own style of play. By presenting the activity in a familiar
format, an educator can appeal to a child’s preexisting interests and provide the
foundational skills a child needs to continue towards a healthy adulthood.
This concept of establishing foundational skills which will be built upon as the
child learns newer and more intricate movements is well established in educational
theory including the seminal works of Dewey and Piaget. The concepts of these
constructivist theories are sound and implement easily into an early childhood edu-
cation curriculum. Should an educator choose to employ the suggestions provided
in this chapter, there will likely be a noticeable improvement in the children’s inter-
est and motivation in health and physical education as well as an overall increase in
fitness. Children already fly in their imaginations, with a little imagination of one’s
own, they can begin to soar in their primary classes as well. The Salie’s in our class-
rooms are ready to take to the sky, all we need do as educators is be sure to provide
the runway.
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Part III
Holistically Supporting Children’s
Wellbeing
Chapter 13
Stories as Social Narratives for Students
Identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Christan Grygas Coogle, Jennifer R. Ottley, Sloan Storie,

and Anne L. Larson
13.1 Introduction
Crystal is in her third year teaching an inclusive preschool class in her local school district.
She loves working with the students and families in her classroom, but has recently had
some challenges trying to find ways to support Mason – who moved to the area earlier this
year. Mason has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and although he uses short phrases to
ask questions and comment on his surroundings, Mason is not yet communicating with
peers and has difficulty with play and social situations. Crystal has observed Mason crying
and engaging in repetitive movements (e.g., rocking) in the quiet area of the classroom for
the first portion of class, opposed to joining his peers in play and conversation when he
arrives at school. Crystal is not sure what to do to help Mason engage in the class activities.
She begins by identifying a team of people who have a relationship with Mason and who are
continuing to work with him to enhance his outcomes (i.e., Mason’s mom, Mason’s Speech
Language Pathologist, Mason’s Nanny)
Crystal’s situation being an early childhood educator, striving to effectively meet

the diverse needs of children with ASD, is like many early childhood educators. In
the United States (U.S.), one in 68 children are being diagnosed with ASD, which is
twice as many children being identified than just 10 years prior (Center for Disease
C. G. Coogle (*)
George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
e-mail: ccoogle@gmu.edu
J. R. Ottley
Ohio University, Athens, OH, USA
S. Storie
University of North Carolina Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA
A. L. Larson
Utah State University, Logan, UT, USA

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_13
254 C. G. Coogle et al.
Control [CDC] 2014). In addition to an increased prevalence of children with ASD,

children are being identified younger in age (Guthrie et al. 2013).
Central to an ASD diagnosis are limitations in social-communication skills and
use of restricted and repetitive behaviors (CDC 2015). For example, social commu-
nication delays may take the form of delayed language skills, use of limited or no
gestures, preferences to play alone, and avoidance of physical contact with others.
Likewise, restrictive and repetitive behaviors can display themselves in a variety of
ways such as a preference for structure and organization, limited types of play such
as lining up toys or playing with toys in the same manner during every play session,
and self-stimulatory behaviors such as flapping one’s hands or pacing back and
forth. The severity of manifestation of these symptoms is widely variable, but each
challenge can impact the extent to which a child with ASD is successful in an inclu-
sive setting and able to thrive in acquiring and sustaining friendships with same-age
peers.
Early childhood educators are now tasked with the immense responsibility of
educating students with ASD within inclusive early childhood settings, often with-
out having the prior education or experience to successfully do so. While research
documents the benefits of inclusive education for children with and without disabili-
ties (e.g., Nahmias et al. 2014; Odom et al. 2011), many early childhood educators,
like Crystal, struggle to support the active participation and meaningful engagement
of students with ASD in inclusive preschool settings (Lee et al. 2015; Smith and
Smith 2000). To promote the successful inclusion of children with ASD, interven-
tions and supports are necessary to teach new communication, behavior, and play
skills that children can use across a variety of the typical activities and routines of
the setting. Social Narratives can enhance understanding of social expectations and
improve the manner in which students with ASD respond to the social and environ-
mental demands of an early childhood environment. The purpose of this chapter is
to describe Social Narratives, an evidence-based practice educators can use with
students with ASD. In this chapter we will discuss how social narratives within the
context of promoting development, various social narrative formats, and the process
of developing social narratives.
13.2 S
ocial Narratives to Promote Children’s Learning
and Development
Social narratives are short texts that describe a social skill or situation to support use
of desired behaviors (Gray and Garand 1993). Social narratives explicitly explain a
skill or situation so that children with ASD can understand the expectations and/or
emotions of adults and peers in a specific context. In addition, social narratives pro-
vide guidance so that the child understands how to respond to such a situation in the
future. For example, if a preschooler was biting peers to acquire a desired toy, the
social narrative would explain that if the child were to bite a peer, the peer would
13 Stories as Social Narratives for Students Identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder 255
physically be hurt and would not want to play with the child. Additionally, the nar-
rative would include statements about how the child might attain a desired toy by
signing “want,” saying “I want,” or pushing a button on the child’s assistive technol-
ogy to communicate “want.” The educator could then engage in a variety of instruc-
tional practices such as modeling (the educator performing the desired behavior as
a model for the child), explicit teaching (the educator using planned opportunities to
teach the child how to use the desired behavior), and using opportunities throughout
daily activates and routines to allow the child to practice appropriately communicat-
ing, “I want” in a way that is appropriate for the individual child. Then, scaffolding
the child during the interaction to use the new skill continues to give the amount of
developmental support necessary to promote the child’s functioning, thereby
enhancing the child’s meaningful participation.
Social narratives are an effective practice for promoting outcomes related to
social, behavior, communication, joint attention, play, adaptive, and academic skills
for preschoolers identified with ASD (e.g., Wong et al. 2015). For example,
Campbell and Tincani (2011) used a social narrative (power card) to teach three
preschoolers with ASD to follow directions. At the conclusion of the study, all three
children were following directions at least 86% of the time, which was a large
improvement from their performance prior to the social narrative intervention (fol-
lowing directions 35–58% of the time). In another study, Benish and Bramlett
(2011) found that social narratives (social story) decreased the aggressive behaviors
of three preschool children with ASD.
In addition to promoting positive outcomes for individual children, educators
also rate social narratives as moderately (Benish and Bramlett 2011) and highly
acceptable interventions (Campbell and Tincani 2011). Educators in both studies
thought that the intervention was a good method to handle the identified children’s
challenging behaviors. Furthermore, Reynhout and Carter (2009) conducted a sur-
vey of educators who work with children with ASD to learn more about how and
why they used social narratives, as well as educators’ perspectives related to how
social narratives met the needs of their students. Educators reported that children’s
cognitive and expressive language abilities may influence the effectiveness of social
narratives and should be a consideration of educators planning for their use
(Reynhout and Carter 2009). Although educators suggest that a child’s development
may influence the effectiveness of the narrative, educators indicated that social nar-
ratives were an acceptable intervention, feasible to develop and implement, and
effective in addressing the needs of students with ASD. Next, we discuss various
formats of social narratives for educators to consider.
13.3 Supporting Educators’ Use of Social Narratives
Educators can select from a variety of types of social narratives. In addition, there
are multiple tools educators can use to easily create and implement social narratives
to tailor them to the ability levels and interests of their children. This flexibility is an
aspect of the intervention that promotes its acceptability despite the various respon-
sibilities and demands of early childhood educators and the diverse needs of chil-
dren with ASD. In this section, we describe social narrative formats and provide
suggestions for individualizing the creation and implementation of the narratives.
13.4 Social Narrative Formats
Social narratives can take multiple forms and have been given various labels. In this
chapter, we describe social stories (story format), comic strip conversations (comic
format), power cards and “I Will” cards (notecard format) and social scripts (scripted
prompt format). Social stories were the first format created, are the most commonly
used format, and they have the most research supporting their effectiveness. Social
cartoons, social scripts, power cards, and “I Will” cards have promising evidence
indicating their effectiveness in meeting the social, emotional, and behavioral needs
of students with ASD (e.g., Campbell and Tincani 2011; Pierson and Glaeser 2007;
Spencer et al. 2008).
Social Story Social stories are short narrative texts that contain an introduction to
the social topic, the body of the story fully describing the situation, and a conclusion
with guidance on how to manage a particular social situation (Gray 2010). Social
stories are commonly written using first-person language, with both the text and the
images reflecting the child as the story’s protagonist. Table 13.1 provides an exam-
ple of a social story for a child who cries on days that she cannot go outside to play
because of the weather. In this example, the text is very descriptive and contains
emotional labels to support the child’s understanding of the situation. The tone is
also very positive in nature. These attributes are characteristic of all social stories
and help to promote the effectiveness of the practice in supporting children’s
learning.
Comic Strip Conversation Comic strip conversations are drawings or images that
show conversations between two or more people (Gray 1994). Through short, cap-
tioned scenes, a social situation is described in a fashion that focuses on communi-
cation exchanges within the situation. Social reciprocity is illustrated by including
both what the child says as well as what the peer may say in response to serve as a
communicative model, and help the child acquire an understanding of the types of
language another individual may use. Comic strip conversations are helpful for chil-
dren who have engaged in a certain social situation, but who need some guidance as
to how to engage differently in the situation in the future. In Fig. 13.1, we present
an example of a comic strip conversation for a child who needs support and a model
regarding how to ask a peer to play.
Table 13.1 Example social story with photos courtesy of primrose school of canal Winchester
Text Images
Title I Love to Play
Introduction Hi! I’m Moesha

I love to play
I play at home and I
play at school
I play with my friends
and I play by myself
(continued)
Text Images
Body 1 My favorite kind of
play is outside!
I love to play at the
playground!
I climb. I swing. I jump.
I run.
Outside it is so much
fun!
Body 2 Sometimes it rains. The

ground gets wet and
muddy
On rainy days, I do not
get to go outside to
play. This makes me
sad
Sometimes I cry
because I want to go
outside to play, but I
cannot. Other times I sit
with my head down
I feel sad when I cannot
play outside.
(continued)
Text Images
Body 3 My teachers and my
friends try to help me
feel better. They help
me to think of fun ways
to play inside so I can
still have fun!
I like to play with
blocks
Body 4 I like to paint

I use many colors
(continued)
Text Images
Body 5 I like to ride bikes
I am fast on my bike!
Body 6 I love to dance and

make music
I sing
I play instruments
I jump and dance on the
floor
(continued)
Text Images
Conclusion I will try to have fun
when I stay inside
because of the rain
Inside play is fun too!
Pictures were taken courtesy of Primrose of Canal Winchester
Fig. 13.1 Example of a

comic strip conversation
for a child
Power Card A power card is a small notecard or piece of paper that describes a
social skill by pairing the information about a specific skill with a visual of a
character in which the child is interested (Gagnon 2001; Spencer et al. 2008). Power
cards may present the specific skill (i.e., walking to the cafeteria) and character (i.e.,
Mickey Mouse) on the front and back of one card, or present two separate cards
(one with the specific social skill, the other with the character image). Either way,
the power card should be small enough for the child to carry with him/herself
between routines and activities of the setting. Power cards are particularly useful for
students with a specific interest in certain characters (Gagnon 2001). Power cards
provide an opportunity to send a message via a character in which the child has
interest, which serves as a motivating factor for performing the desired behavior.
For example, Robert is a preschooler who loves planes and experiences challenges
with transitions between classroom activities. The creator of the social narrative
would use Robert’s interests in planes to tell a story from the perspective of a char-
acter related to airplanes (e.g., pilot, Dusty Crophopper [character from Disney’s
movie Planes], Jay Jay [character from PBS’s Jay Jay the Jet Plane television
show). The character suggests using target social-behavioral skills within the situa-
tion (see Table 13.2 for an example of the power card text. An image of the character
should also be included).
“I Will” Card “I Will” cards (Figs. 13.2, 13.3 and 13.4) are statements regarding
appropriate behaviors that the child could engage in during challenging routines. In
other words, the “I Will” card can be used as a model of statements regarding behav-
iors the child will do during challenging social situations (Boutot 2009). “I Will”
cards are traditionally hand-written statements specific to a certain social situation.
Images can be paired with the “I Will” statements to provide children with a visual
Table 13.2 Jay Jay – The Jet plane as an example

Jay Jay loves to play at school
Jay Jay builds puzzles
Jay Jay draws pictures
Jay Jay plays with his friends
When the teacher says “5 more minutes,” Jay Jay knows play time is almost over
When the teacher says “clean-up,” Jay Jay knows he needs to put his toys away to be responsible
Jay Jay cleans up his toys with his friends and flies over to the table to sit down with his teacher
and friends to learn
Jay Jay wants you to remember 3 things:
1) When the teacher says “5 more minutes,” there is only a little bit of play time left with your
toys
2) When the teacher says “clean-up,” help your friends by putting toys away
3) When you finish cleaning up, fly over to the table to keep learning at school
Jay Jay knows you can be responsible by cleaning up your toys and sitting at the table with
your friends at school!
Fig. 13.2 I will ride on the seesaw
Fig. 13.3 I will sit on the

train
Fig. 13.4 I will climb
Fig. 13.5 Example of a Saying Hello

song to the tune of Mary
Had a Little Lamb
When I get to school today
I will say hi to my friends
When I get school today
I will say hi
I can wave with my hand
I can use my words to say hi
I can use my words
of the behavior models. In Figs. 13.3, 13.4 and 13.5, we provide an example of an

“I Will” card that can be used to support a child transitioning to a community setting
where they have difficulty engaging in play on the playground.
13.5 Creation and Delivery Considerations
There are many important factors to consider in the creation and presentation of
social narratives. The acronym IDAP represents Information, Delivery, Aesthetics
and alignment, and Presentation modality which can assist in recalling each
component when developing an individualized social narrative based on the abili-

ties, interests, and preferences of the child.
Information Children can be involved in this aspect of the social narrative creation
by sharing their ideas regarding target skills and behaviors. The type of information
within a social narrative should be presented with descriptive, perspective, affirma-
tive, and directive statements (Bucholz 2012). Descriptive sentences provide factual
background information for the social narrative. For example, descriptive sentences
can provide information about the context that might be challenging for a child
(e.g., when we are having a fire drill, we hear a loud noise; when it is raining, it can
get dark and we might hear thunder). Perspective sentences provide information
regarding the perceptions of others. Perspective information would be related to the
feelings of others (e.g., my friends feel happy when I use my words; my friends feel
safe when I keep my hands and feet to myself). Affirmative content provides infor-
mation that communicates the positive nature of specific rules or involvement in the
social situation. They can be used to model specific rules within a classroom (e.g.,
when I listen to others who are talking, I can hear what they are trying to tell me;
when she uses walking feet her body is safe). Directive information provides recom-
mended actions within certain social situations, and might be related to specific
procedures (e.g., when it is time to go to lunch, I need to line up with my friends; at
morning meeting, I need to sit on the rug). Gray (Gray 1995, as cited in Bucholz
2012) suggested that a social story, in particular, should contain a ratio of two to five
descriptive, perspective, and/or affirmative sentences for every directive sentence,
and that the story should be individualized, targeting a single behavior. When con-
sidering the type of information to include within a narrative, it is important to
continue to reflect upon the target skills that the narrative is intended to model to
ensure that the social skill or situation is fully described, and the child has guidance
about how to effectively navigate the situation when it arises.
Delivery In addition to the informational variations within the narrative, social nar-
ratives can be delivered by a variety of individuals. Delivery answers the question,
who reads the narrative. For example, social narratives can be delivered by another
individual such as a teacher, paraprofessional, or family member (Acar et al. 2017).
Additionally, a peer, sibling, or the child him/herself can read the narrative at the
beginning of the day or throughout the day immediately before participating in daily
routines and activities that require the child to use the social skill (Reichow and
Sabornie 2009).
Aesthetics and Alignment The aesthetics and alignment of the social narrative, or
how the narrative appears and how the appearance aligns with the child’s develop-
ment and interests, is another important consideration. Prior to creating the narra-
tive, it is important to reflect upon both the child’s development and interests. The
child’s cognitive and reading level are important considerations that can influence
whether he/she comprehends the social narrative (More 2008). For example, a child
who is not yet reading would benefit from fewer words and more pictures; whereas,
a child who is reading fluently and enjoys engaging in reading material might ben-
efit more from narratives that include more words and description. Likewise, a child
who likes trucks and trains may engage in a text more fully if these preferences were
included in the narrative’s images but may be uninterested in a text related to blocks,
fishing, or baseball. Most important, the social narrative should be easily under-
stood by the child (Karkaneh et al. 2010). For this reason, social narratives are
offered in different formats to meet the needs of the individual (i.e., less words,
specific characters, and specific interests).
Presentation Modality An additional consideration is the narrative presentation

modality. Narratives can be created and presented utilizing low-tech and high-tech
modalities. Low-tech social narratives are those that do not require technology or
very little technology to create; whereas, high-tech stories involve technology-
enhanced instruction such as iPads, computers, or smartphones. The presentation
modality can overlap with other delivery components; however, it is important to
discuss as the presentation modality provides a continuum of low- and high-tech
considerations. Each are described in turn.
Low-Tech Social Narratives Low-tech social narratives are traditional, handmade

stories presented in the format of a short storybook, comic strip, power card or an “I
Will” prompt card. For example, a social story can be created by attaching loose-
leaf paper together that contains information in a short-story format illustrating the
challenging situation with a desired outcome. This would look similar to other nar-
rative children’s stories but would be specific to the social situation that the educator
is modeling.
Low-tech social narratives can also be presented in a comic strip format (Glaeser
et al. 2003). Comic strips are particularly useful when presenting a model of the
child interacting with others, and when visuals are identified as a more effective
means to deliver information. Using comic strips could involve folding a single
piece of paper into the necessary sections required to create a conversation between
individuals. Educators could also draw boxes on a sheet of paper and use each box
as a scene for the social cartoon. Social narratives can also be shared musically
through songs such as common morning meeting songs about greeting one another,
or by using a familiar tune Mary Had a Little Lamb and changing the words to
emphasize target appropriate behaviors (Brownell 2002).
Saying Hello
When I get to school today
I will say hi to my friends
When I get school today
I will say hi
I can use my words to say hi
I can use my words
High Tech Social Narratives Technology is a tool that was developed as a means
to create interactive learning environments (More 2008; Sani-Bozkurt et al. 2017).
Technology-enhanced social narratives have become quite common, as they often
take less time to develop. Additionally, high-tech narratives can be more feasible
and durable. Technology-enhanced narratives can be adapted easily and efficiently
in an effort to individualize the narrative for another student (More 2008). High-tech
social narratives can be used by creating a narrated PowerPoint presentation and
delivering the social narrative via a device such as an iPad, computer, or Smartboard.
Narratives can also be scanned and displayed on mobile devices if a child would
prefer using a tablet to review the narrative, and mobile applications are available to
provide support in creating narratives. Presenting social narratives through various
modalities, including technology, is engaging to many children and provides mean-
ingful learning opportunities for children to observe and practice target behaviors
(Xin and Sutman 2011).
13.6 Using Social Narratives
Prior to utilizing a social narrative, it is important to consider steps within the devel-
opment process (see Table 13.2). In the following section, we describe a sequence
for creating and implementing a social narrative.
First, all team members that will be creating and implementing the social narra-
tive should be identified. Team members might include speech language patholo-
gists, occupational therapists, school psychologists, classroom teachers, siblings, or
caregivers (Vandermeer et al. 2013). You can determine team members by engaging
in observation or conducting an informal interview with families (i.e., “Tell me who
the important people are in your child’s life.”). Including all team members from the
beginning of the development of the social narrative is important to ensure that the
narrative is contextually- and individually-relevant to the child across the multiple
activities and settings in which the child typically participates and might also
increase the likelihood that the social narrative is implemented.
Second, it is important that the narrative addresses a specific, challenging situa-
tion for the child. The narrative should prepare the child for a social situation by
increasing their understanding of an upcoming situation or scenario (Pane et al.
2015), and it should be specifically designed to describe a situation, skill, or behav-
ior with appropriate options that are acceptable for the given context (Iskander and
Rosales 2013). This might include an area in the classroom (e.g., sensory table), or
a specific routine in the day (e.g., hand washing) that is challenging for the child
(Bucholz 2012). In order to use the social narrative as an intervention to enhance a
specific challenging situation for a child, it is important that the narrative is aligned
with the challenging situation (i.e., if the child is experiencing challenges making
the transition from home to school, it is important that the narrative includes infor-
mation about the transition and models target skills for the child).
Identify a target skill or desired behavior. It is critical that the target skill is mea-
surable and observable in order to be able to take data and monitor progress once the
social narrative has been implemented (Karkaneh et al. 2010). Since all relevant
team members are engaged in the discussion, all individuals can contribute to iden-
tifying the strengths and needs of the child, which can be considered in relation to
the concerns and priorities that the family has for their child. It is imperative that all
team members are in agreement of the target behavior or skill. When identifying a
target skill as a replacement behavior (i.e., using words to communicate as opposed
to aggression), it is vital to ensure the target skill is serving a function that aligns
with the challenging behavior, and that the target behavior is just as easy to perform
as the challenging behavior (Rahn et al. 2017). For example, if the team determined
that a child was engaging in aggression to escape a situation, an appropriate target
skill might be saying, “Break” to request a break, which could be taught through a
social narrative.
The fourth step we recommend in implementing a social narrative intervention is
identifying the narrative format. The team should decide how the narrative will be
delivered in terms of who will read it (e.g., teacher, peer), how many children will
be engaged in the activity (e.g., one-on-one, small group), and the modality in which
it will be presented (e.g., musical, computer-based program). These formats will
help the creator of the social narrative ensure the developmental appropriateness of
the narrative for the format in which it is planned to be delivered.
The fifth step is to determine team roles. Some team members may be responsi-
ble for designing the narrative, whereas others may be responsible for delivering the
narrative or measuring progress. It is important to identify and document team roles
to ensure that all implementation steps are completed as intended and so that all
team members have a clear understanding and expectation of their role and respon-
sibility. These decisions should be determined together as a team and revisited as a
team to ensure they are working effectively for the child and the team members.
During step six, the social narrative should be created based upon the informa-
tion gathered up to this point. Acar et al. (2017), highlight the relevant structure
needed to create a social narrative. Both a title and a narrative should be created by
the team member(s) who are responsible. The title should be related to the content
area that the narrative is targeting. If the narrative is providing support about eating
lunch in the cafeteria then the title might be The Cafeteria is a Great Place to Eat
Lunch. The story elements should include the introduction, body, and conclusion.
The introduction should introduce the child to the characters within the narrative
and the key points. If the narrative is about Louise and how she feels anxious about
eating lunch in the cafeteria, then the introduction might say, “I am Louise. I love to
eat lunch, but I feel scared when it is time to eat lunch in a new place.” Within the
body of the story, the author of the narrative should include information related to
the support the child needs. In Louise’s story, this might include, “One of the new
places that I eat lunch is the cafeteria. The cafeteria can be scary to me at first, but
my teacher and my friends will help me. They might ask to hold my hand or sit by
me to tell me that everything is okay, and the cafeteria is a fun place to eat lunch. In
the cafeteria, I can choose a drink or a snack. In the cafeteria, I can visit the school
cook or the school cashier. In the cafeteria, I can look out the window to see some
of my favorite animals like birds or squirrels.” In the conclusion, the author of the
narrative should provide a summary statement regarding the model such as, “Eating
in the cafeteria is scary to me at first, but there are a lot of fun things to do in the
cafeteria that make me feel happy.”
The seventh step is reading the narrative throughout daily activities and routines.
Within this step, the team should consider places as well as strategies. First, the
team should consider places where the narrative can be read, and these should be
locations which are comfortable to the child. This might include the reading in the
library within the classroom, or on the couch at home. Next it is important to
consider strategies regarding reading the narrative. One key factor is to read the nar-
rative immediately before the target skill, or behavior is needed. This will provide
an opportunity to prepare the child for the social situation and to model target skills.
When preparing to read the narrative, attentional cues are a way to gain the child’s
attention and direct them toward the social narrative. Some examples might include
saying specific phrases such as, “it’s time to read our story!” or, “we are about to go
to the cafeteria, let’s read about what we can do in the cafeteria!”. The team member
reading the narrative can also ask questions and expand upon the child responses
(i.e., the team member says, “Where are we going next?” and the child says,
“Lunch”, then the team member might say, “We eat lunch in the cafeteria”). As the
child engages in the narrative, the team member reading the social narrative can
provide positive reinforcement. An example of appropriate consequences might be
immediately following through with the routine, or saying, “great job reading our
story.”
The final step is monitoring fidelity and child progress, as this will direct next
steps (e.g., is the social narrative effective?; if not, are changes needed in the design
or implementation?; should we try a different type of social narrative or a different
intervention altogether?). In order to determine if the strategy or intervention was
delivered as intended, fidelity must be measured (Dunst et al. 2013). Progress should
be monitored by the team member(s) whom are responsible for tracking child prog-
ress on the target skill by measuring change of frequency, duration, or intensity of
the targeted skill (Karkaneh et al. 2010). Frequency would include the number of
times the child exhibits (i.e., greets a peer) or does not exhibit a behavior (i.e., does
not engage with peers upon arrival). Duration would be measured by recording how
long a specific behavior lasts from start to finish (i.e., how much time did a child
spend engaging in a specific routine as intended). Intensity would be a measurement
of how strong or weak the behavior was by utilizing anchor codes such as 1–5,
which the team would create based on behavior performance that would show
meaningful differences between the anchors.
13.7 Summary
There are informational resources available to support delivery of social narratives

as well as web-based materials to assist in the development and delivery of various
types of social narratives (see Table 13.3). In summary, social narratives are a way
in which stories can enhance social, emotional, and communicative behaviors.
Social narratives have been associated with positive outcomes, leading to increased
target behaviors and decreased challenging behaviors. Yet, in order for social narra-
tives to be most effective, it is important to individualize the process. This includes
considerations such as the child’s development, target skills, and format. Through
the use of a teaming approach, and when individually implemented with fidelity,
social narratives have the capacity to improve the educational environment and
child’s learning and development.
It is also important to remember that although a number of scholars have used
social narratives to promote prosocial skills and appropriate behaviors for preschool
children (Bucholz 2012), scholars have indicated that additional research is war-
ranted because many social narrative studies include other types of instructional
supports such as visuals and role-playing, which confounds results and makes it
uncertain whether the social narratives alone or the intervention package that
included social narratives impacted children’s outcomes (e.g., Leaf et al. 2009).
Consequently, educators should continue to use other developmentally- and age-
appropriate supports such as reinforcement, prompting, and comprehension moni-
toring in combination with social narratives. These additional instructional supports,
which are effective practices for promoting children’s active participation within the
typical routines and activities of the setting, will ensure children fully benefit from
the social narratives, because educators are adding the individualized instruction of
the social narrative onto the quality instruction they are already implementing
(Table 13.4).
Mason’s team members identified social narratives as an appropriate intervention. The
team implemented the steps provided in Table 13.2 to develop a social narrative targeting
greeting peers, and while providing support such as prompts and physical support to assist
Mason in waving to his peers, the team reviewed their fidelity data and Mason’s progress
monitoring data. They found that the fidelity checklist was utilized as it was intended, that
the social narratives were being implemented an average of twice per day, and Mason was
demonstrating progress by beginning to wave at his peers when they said “Hello” opposed
to sitting in a corner when he arrived at school. The team determined that narratives pro-
vided supports to Mason that resulted in him performing desired behaviors related to the
initial challenges they observed. In addition, now that Mason was responding to greetings,
they decided to target more complex skills such as responding to play requests and initiating
play requests. Crystal felt as though social narratives were a feasible strategy to utilize, as
they were naturally embedded within the daily activities and routines of her classroom.
Table 13.3 Implementation steps

Steps Preparation scenario illustration
1. Identify team Upon learning about social narratives, Crystal consulted with her
members colleague, Hannah, a speech-language pathologist. Crystal used informal
interviewing techniques and observations to determine that Mason’s team
included his mom, nanny, and Hannah. Crystal brought the team together
for a face-to-face meeting to discuss implementation steps
2. Identify During the face-to-face meeting the team determined that the challenging
challenging situations they wanted to focus on first were arrival, morning meeting, and
situations/ small group time as these were times when Mason could naturally practice
behaviors engaging with peers
3. Identify the The team decided to create a narrative to prepare Mason for these routines
target skill by modeling the skill responding to a peer saying hello by waving to say
hello
4. Identify the Because Mason enjoys pictures and is still gaining proficiency as an
narrative format emergent reader, the team decided to utilize a comic strip, which displayed
Mason approaching a small group, a peer saying “Hello,” and Mason
responding by waving at the peer to say hello
5. Determine team Together, the team decided that Crystal and Mason’s mom would create the
member roles comic strip. Mason’s mom would read the comic strip with him before he
(creator, reader, got on the bus each day and Crystal reviewed another copy of the comic
data collector, etc.) strip during arrival and before small-group time. They decided that
whomever was reading the story would collect fidelity data, and that
Crystal would collect progress monitoring data
6. Create social During the meeting, Crystal and Mason’s mom worked together to create
narrative the comic strip. It included visuals of Mason transitioning to small group, a
peer saying “hello,” Mason waving hello to a friend, and friends with
smiles on their faces to show Mason that friends like it when he
communicates hello by waving
7. Read social Mason’s mom read the comic strip to Mason each morning. Crystal read
narrative the comic strip during arrival and right before small group each day.
throughout daily
activities and
routines
8. Monitor fidelity Mason’s mom and Crystal utilized self-fidelity checklists to identify when
and progress they read the comic strip to Mason. Using the fidelity measure they
checked “yes” if they read it, “no” if they did not read it, “partial” if they
were only able to read part of it, and “not applicable” if they were unable
to read it for reasons such as Mason not being at school that day. Crystal
utilized progress monitoring by identifying how Mason engaged with peers
during arrival, morning meeting, and small group (since these were the
prioritized routines that they focused on first). The team created a checklist
including each routine in the left column and then checking one of three
choices. They checked yes if Mason responded to a peer, partial if Mason
started to wave or began to respond, and no if Mason did not respond. The
table included a column on the far right where team members could add
notes
Table 13.4 Implementation resources

Resources Location Summary
Computer programs http://www.friendshipcircle.org/ This resource provides various
and applications for blog/2013/02/11/12-computer- platforms for making social
making visuals and programs-websites-and-apps-for- stories
social stories making-social-stories/
Touchautism http://touchautism.com/app/ This resource provides
social-stories-creator-library/ information regarding an
application available to create
and share social stories
PBIS World http://www.pbisworld.com/tier-3/ This resource provides detailed
social-stories/ information surrounding the
how-to-make-a-social-story-fact- types of sentences to consider
sheet/ including within the social
narrative.
Technical assistance http://challengingbehavior.fmhi.usf. Folder 6 provides quick tips
center on social edu/do/resources/teaching_tools/ regarding creating social
emotional intervention: ttyc_toc.htm narratives as well as some
Folder 6 examples of social narratives
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Chapter 14
Children’s Stories Supporting
the Development of Critical Literacy
and Intercultural Understanding
Jaana Pesonen
14.1 Introduction
‘It is difficult to live if you trust no one,’ a man called Marten said. ‘Either you are very sad
or very, very independent.’ That is why I am a Cat,’ I said. ‘Because cats are independent.’
‘A name will not make anyone a cat,’ Marten said. ‘But if you are a Cat, then I will call you
Cat.’ ‘I am a Cat,’ I said. ‘But I feel lonely, rather than independent.’ The man stood up. He
was as tall as a chimney. His gray beard reached almost to his belly, and it was as messy as
a witch’s broom. ‘It’s over now,’ Marten said and his beard flapped. ‘What is over?’ I asked.
‘Loneliness.’ Marten bent down in front of me and looked me in the eye. He took me into his
arms and held me close. I could feel a big heart beating inside him. ‘We are alike,’ Marten
said. ‘We are both hairy, mixed mutts.’ ‘And lonely,’ I barked. ‘We were lonely,’ the man
called Marten said. (A Dog Called Cat, Kontio 2015, np.)
Children’s literature brings joy and excitement; it also offers knowledge and sup-
ports language development. In addition, children’s literature socializes its reader
into the culture and society the child lives in. Maria Nikolajeva (2012) claims that
children learn social skills, such as understanding other people’s emotions from the
verbal and visual components of stories. Thus, it is important to value and support
children’s reading because it provides “a way of helping us understand other human
beings” (Nikolajeva 2012, p. 289). The above quotation is from a Finnish children’s
book called Koira nimeltä Kissa [A Dog Called Cat] (Kontio 2015). The book tells
the story of a stray dog called Cat, and a homeless man called Marten. It is visually
as well as linguistically a beautiful and powerful story about externality, loneliness,
and belonging. It succeeds in representing sensitive, even bold, themes without
patronizing or victimizing. For in children’s literature, questions of pedagogy inter-
twine with aesthetic and other values. In consequence, language plays an intricate
J. Pesonen (*)
University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
e-mail: jaana.j.pesonen@helsinki.fi

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_14
276 J. Pesonen
role in children’s books. Perry Nodelman (2010) reminds us how children share
language with adults – language in which the complex meanings and values of the
culture are written. In this chapter, the social constructivist view of language, mean-
ing that language both represents and constructs our understanding of the social
world, is central. Thus, language is seen as circulating the dominant discourses, the
discourses of normality, for instance, despite the possible aim of educating against
them. As I will discuss in more detail later, in many storybooks, such as A Dog
Called Cat, the reader is invited to ponder some of the greatest questions related to
humanity – and thus the story offers insights into critical literacy.
This chapter examines the possibilities of supporting the development of the
critical literacy and intercultural understanding of young children through chil-
dren’s storybooks. The focus is on examining how using children’s literature can
empower children, especially young readers, to engage in critical dialogue which
will enable them to recognize, and even examine different worldviews, beliefs and
values written into children’s literature, as well as in all cultural artifacts (such as
cartoons, movies, advertisement, social media, etc.). My goal is to illustrate, with
the help of previous research, as well as with practical examples of analyzing chil-
dren’s books, how critical literacy provides an opportunity to discuss personal view-
points, as well as common ethical values, thus contributing to the moral development
of the child. Children’s literature is taken as an example of the way in which chil-
dren, including those not at school yet, can be helped to become critical readers.
Therefore, the central questions in this chapter are: How can children’s literature
support the development of critical literacy in young children? And more specifi-
cally in terms of supporting intercultural understanding: How can children’s litera-
ture be utilized to explore diversity in society, as well as issues of bias and power
relations?
To be able to answer the above questions, I begin with a discussion of theoretical
notions related to promoting critical literacy. In introducing the potential of critical
literacy to support intercultural understanding, the chapter focuses specifically on
multicultural children’s literature. As will be discussed at greater length later in this
chapter, the term multicultural children’s literature often implies books presenting
ethnic, racial and cultural groups. In the field of children’s literature studies, there
are often heated debates related to the different understandings of the term, and
according to Mingshui Cai (2002), these debates reveal the sociopolitical nature of
the topic. Here multiculturalism is understood to encompass the values, customs,
beliefs and practices of people. Multiculturalism needs to be seen in relation to
power, which cuts through all levels of society (Botelho and Kabakow Rudman
2009). Multiculturalism is also about actions, political decisions, encounters and
differences, i.e., life in all its diverse forms (Huttunen et al. 2005, 19). Often multi-
culturalism and diversity are used as synonyms. Here cultural diversity refers in a
broad sense to dynamic, changing social categorizations, including ethnicity, lan-
guage, nationality, class, religion/ideology, gender, dis/ability, age and sexuality.
Cultural diversity is connected to differences, as people often understand and give
meanings to “us,” to “our culture,” based on comparison to “others,” who are thought
to be different. This kind of division of the world into “us and them” produces
14 Children’s Stories Supporting the Development of Critical Literacy… 277
exclusive differences (see e.g. Hall 2013). Another core concept is intercultural
understanding, which is comprehended beyond understanding or viewing of cul-
tural differences. In this chapter intercultural understanding encompasses the cogni-
tive, meaning knowledge and awareness as well as the affective domains (see e.g.
Perry and Southwell 2011). Intercultural understanding is often described as being
part of intercultural learning, thus it also involves aspects of global and societal
awareness, as well as the awareness of power structures (e.g. May 1999; Nieto
2010). Both concepts, intercultural understanding and critical literacy, can be traced
back to critical pedagogy, and as such have their roots in analyzing questions of
equality in educational contexts (e.g. May 1999; Nieto 2010), as well as in examin-
ing power relations within language (e.g. Comber 2013; Freire 1970; Luke 2012).
As I see it, intercultural understanding and critical literacy share the fundamental
bases, such as the examination of values and beliefs, as well as patterns of thinking
and behavior.
It is commonly acknowledged that the term multicultural has become so widely
used in different contexts, that its meaning has become diverse, as well as fragmen-
tary. However, even more diversified and scattered are the meanings given to the
term child. In this chapter, a core belief is that in modern-day information societies,
children should not be seen as passive recipients, but as active individuals in
meaning-making processes. Reynolds (2007) and Murris (2014) demand from
adults the acknowledgment that children can be creators, interpreters and innovators
when reading, but also when listening to stories. In contemporary research there has
been more emphasis on children as competent and critical readers and on individu-
als with these qualities (see e.g. Murris 2014; Reynolds 2007). This means, accord-
ing to Murris (2014, 147), that children are not seen only as problem-solvers, but
also as problem-posers. This kind of approach to childhood, and especially to chil-
dren’s reading, also demands a change in the adult/child hierarchy as it challenges
our preconceived understanding of “right” and “wrong” questions and answers.
Murris (2014) explains that when children are recognized as problem-posers, what
is central “are the connections children themselves make between their own lives
and identities, and the texts they explore.” She highlights that when children are
encouraged to share personal, subjective responses, these should not be critically
compared or evaluated, since simple “right” or “wrong” answers do not exist (2014).
The above-discussed approach to children and their abilities reminds us that chil-
dren’s literature should not be treated only as a tool for pedagogy. Didactic texts,
which presume that the implied reader is in need of instruction, can be counterpro-
ductive (Cullingford 1998; Pesonen 2015). When this happens, the intended educa-
tional content, for example an anti-racist agenda, is lost. In consequence, even
well-intended didacticism can lead to patronizing representations of “others” if
morality is strongly underlined in the texts (Pesonen 2015). While this chapter can-
not go into in-depth analysis on the questions of didacticism in children’s books, it
should not be forgotten that texts are as much produced by cultural discourses as by
authors (Bradford 2007). Hence, it is not uncommon to find both intended and unin-
tended didacticism in children’s books. Especially in the case of storybooks that
have representations of multiculturalism, it is crucial to acknowledge that books do
278 J. Pesonen
not only reflect the dominant cultural understanding of norms, but also reproduce
and recirculate these discourses. Concerning this dual role, Clare Bradford (2007)
explains that children’s books are often caught between discursive pressures. These
pressures are due to the socializing agendas that influence the production of these
books, the dominant discourses that constitute cultural platitudes, and the counter-
discourses that aim to challenge them. Counter-discourses have the potential to
challenge our thinking, and thus they support the development of critical literacy. In
this chapter, I begin with an introduction to the principles of critical literacy. After
this, I offer an overview to discussions on multiculturalism in children’s storybooks.
The latter part of this chapter will include practical examples of using storybooks in
supporting young children’s development of intercultural understanding and critical
literacy. At the end of the chapter, I address the role of adults in supporting chil-
dren’s critical reading.
14.2 The Principles of Critical Literacy
In today’s globalized world, many children are exposed to more and more texts,
images, videos, news and other forms of communication on a daily basis. To sup-
port children, and indeed adults too, in navigating different messages, even confus-
ing and contradictory ones, a variety of skills needs to be taught to individuals to
enable them to develop a personal moral landscape (Bajovic and Elliot 2011).
Unpacking myths and distortions through reading and writing (Luke 2012) are core
skills in the post-truth era in which we live. Indeed, the need to promote critical
literacy is crucial. On a very basic level, critical literacy is important so that young
children – as well as all of us! – learn to understand the difference between fact and
fiction (Bajovic and Elliot 2011). Practices of critical literacy involve analyzing and
critiquing texts in order to understand how language in texts functions to reproduce
and maintain unequal power relations in society. Thus, critical literacy develops
readers’ understanding of texts reflecting values, beliefs and messages about soci-
etal norms (Ives and Crandall 2014). In this chapter, the fundamental argument for
promoting critical literacy is to view text meaning-making as a process of social
construction, connected to various historical, social, and political contexts, and to
examine ways in which critical literacy can invite readers to question, explore, and
challenge the power relations written in stories.
In practice, critical literacy can be viewed to involve four dimensions: (1) dis-
rupting the commonplace, (2) interrogating multiple viewpoints, (3) focusing on
sociopolitical issues, and (4) taking action and promoting social justice (Lewison
et al. 2002). However, since this chapter focuses on young readers, it is important to
emphasize that it is not necessary that all of the four dimensions are included to
engage in critical literacy activities. By examining texts utilizing any one of these
dimensions, we are engaging in critical literacy (Lewison et al. 2002). When focus-
ing on young readers, a fundamental starting point should be that we cannot wait
until high school, or even middle school, to teach children to start thinking critically.
Young children are already capable of moving beyond what is in front of them on
the page. Teachers of young children, including kindergarten teachers, can guide
their students through early literacy using critical literacy with the purpose of creat-
ing global thinkers who are comfortable dealing with issues and who actively work
towards change (Norris et al. 2012). In addition to change, critical literacy is often
connected with the idea of empowerment. About 50 years ago, Freire referred to
reading both “the word and the world” (1970). Freire here emphasizes that under-
standing the world – both the local and the global – is the goal of all education.
Thus, in this text, literature and reading are seen to have transformative potential;
the potential to teach us to better understand the world, as well as our place in it. As
Rebecca Powell (1999, p. 29) writes: “Literacy as a moral imperative envisions lan-
guage as functioning in a transformative way – as a means for seeing the world
differently – so that we might begin to construct a more humane and compassionate
society.”
As discussed above, critical literacy signifies more than reading texts critically.
Above all, critical literacy should be understood to include moral development. By
moral development I refer to more than the simplistic right/wrong dualism imposed
by dominant discourses, but on the ability to question implicit assumptions about
the self and the other. Here I follow the example of Baker et al. (2008), who connect
critical thinking and peace education by suggesting that stories encourage children
to develop critical thinking abilities, and an appreciation of diverse cultures. Even
more important is the theorizing of Bajovic and Elliot (2011) in their article “The
intersection of critical literacy and moral literacy: Implications for practice.” Even
though Bajovic and Elliot refer to critical literacy and moral literacy as separate
concepts, they insightfully show the multiple interconnections between these two,
and thus argue strongly how “inherently embedded” moral literacy is in critical lit-
eracy. Thus, in this chapter, critical literacy designates about “critical dialogue with
texts and world,” as Bajovic and Elliot (2011, p. 34) summarize. This means that
young children are also seen as competent, active individuals, who depending on
their age and abilities need different kinds of support, but nonetheless are able to
“read” critically – meaning examine, connect and challenge texts and illustrations.
As various academics have argued (see e.g. Bajovic and Elliot 2011; Comber
2013; Norris et al. 2012; Reys-Torres and Bird 2015), including critical literacy as
part of the curriculum for young students has various benefits, not only because
separating fact from fiction is a crucial skill, but also because it develops the under-
standing of social issues, such as inequality. It is also generally agreed that all chil-
dren need to see aspects of themselves in the curriculum (e.g. Botelho 2015; Cai
2002). Norris et al. (2012) suggest that children need to read or listen to stories
about people like themselves in situations similar to their own. However, curricu-
lums should also be pluralistic, and break the monopoly of the mainstream culture
(Cai 2002). Literature is one way to bring children’s diverse lives into the class-
room. Two decades ago, Junko Yokota (1993) argued that multicultural literature
helps children to develop an understanding of different backgrounds, and thus influ-
ences how they are able to live in a pluralistic society. Yokota also pointed out that
teachers need to be able to offer literary experiences that reflect the multitude of
280 J. Pesonen
backgrounds from which the children come to their classrooms (1993). Consequently,
for curriculums in early childhood education and in primary school to support the
development of critical literacy and intercultural understanding, children need to
hear and read stories which they can identify with, but also stories that expand and
challenge their understanding of cultures and histories. Next, I will discuss further
the concept of multicultural children’s literature, since its complexity is often
overlooked.
14.3 P
utting the Focus on Multicultural Children’s
Literature
The expression “multicultural children’s literature” is nowadays used in various

contexts, and with various meanings. The phrase multicultural children’s literature
often implies books which present ethnic, racial, and cultural groups. It is argued
that these books give children the opportunity to develop their understanding of oth-
ers, but also “affirm children of diverse backgrounds” (Mendoza and Reese 2001).
In discussions, the emphasis is often on how these multicultural children’s books
present the cultural practices and mores of their characters. Presentations of racial
groups, especially within the black/white paradigm, have been central topics, espe-
cially in the United States, where race questions are historically rooted in power
relations (Broderick 1973; Cai 2002; Botelho and Kabakow Rudman 2009). Racial
segregation has strongly influenced, and still influences, South-African children’s
literature (MacCann and Maddy 2013). On the other hand, in many European coun-
tries, different racialized groups, including indigenous people, have not been par-
ticularly evident in the majority of children’s literature (e.g. Beezmohun 2013;
Rastas 2013; Pesonen 2015). Similarly, in Australia, traditionally minorities have
not been actively represented in children’s books (see e.g. Bradford 2007).
Acknowledging the political history of multiculturalism in children’s literature is
crucial, otherwise the child and later the adult would struggle to make sense of mul-
ticulturalism in the current world-order.
Thus, in this chapter, multiculturalism is understood to encompass the question
of “race,” as well as other complex and intertwined social categorizations, such as
nationality, social class, religion, age, and dis/ability. This approach is supported by
the theory of intersectionality, meaning a focus on examining the different social
divisions as multiple, overlapping and relational, and avoiding reducing people –
especially minorities – to single categories. The intersectional approach reminds us
about the complex and contradictory nature of power and how it is organized along
multiple axes and dimensions. The acknowledgement of these divisions is also rel-
evant because through repetition they affect the existing social, political, and eco-
nomic structures of societies (see e.g. Crenshaw 1991; Österlund et al. 2011).
Jack Zipes (2002, p. 37) argues that scholars and critics should be more careful
when using terms like “multicultural,” because to understand differences and con-
tradictions in societies, we should not settle for explaining them with token
a cknowledgment of different ethnic, class, and regional backgrounds. As early as

1990, John Stephens pointed out that those books that specifically aim to acknowl-
edge current social issues – such as multiculturalism – may well address these issues
in a somewhat simplistic way (1990). According to Stephens, the superficial repre-
sentations of multiculturalism are frequently due to the focalization; difference is
often the starting point, and the narratives are focalized by members of the majority
culture. Hence, meaning is continuously located within the dominant and/or major-
ity culture’s perspective (Stephens 1990). The challenges related to representations
of multiculturalism call for intercultural understanding, which emphasizes that life,
including people and their communities, are complex and diverse. This understand-
ing is in line with Debra Dudek’s argument about multiculturalism in Keywords for
Children’s Literature (2011). For Dudek, multiculturalism in the best cases is about
readers negotiating a complex and culturally diverse community. This kind of chil-
dren’s literature can support the child reader in developing a stronger understanding
and respect for cultural differences. Dudek points out that in representing multicul-
turalism, tensions are unavoidable. Thus, books that might aim to strive for accep-
tance of cultural differences can end up repeating unequal ideological positions, in
which one culture has superiority over another (Dudek 2011).
Overall, the intersectional approach to multiculturalism encapsulates what criti-
cal literacy also demands: acknowledging the complexity and contradiction of how
power is organized along multiple axes and dimensions, thus avoiding single and
narrow categorizations. The acknowledgment of categorizations as social construc-
tions is relevant because through repetition such categorizations affect the existing
social, political, and economic structures of societies (see e.g. Crenshaw 1991). In
addition, it has been argued, especially concerning racial and gender discrimination,
that if a single-axis framework – meaning the focus on one social division – is main-
tained, research fails to recognize how marginalized people are vulnerable on mul-
tiple grounds, not only because of race or gender alone (Crenshaw 1991; Dhamoon
2011). Because multiculturalism is a complex topic that often involves tensions (see
e.g. Dudek 2011; Pesonen 2015), a critical understanding and the acknowledgment
of unequal and racist societal structures is needed when reading multicultural chil-
dren’s books. Even beyond the historical, economic, and political discourses affect-
ing cultural products such as children’s literature, we need an awareness of our own
subject positions. As Bradford (2011, p. 33) writes, to be able to acknowledge dif-
ferences respectfully, we have to be willing and able to critically scrutinize our own
histories of selfhood and scholarship, to “re-think our agency.”
14.4 C
hildren’s Storybooks Guiding Critical Literacy:
A Practical Viewpoint
I will examine in practice how children’s literature can offer opportunities for read-
ers to recognize and examine different worldviews, beliefs and values written into
children’s literature. Further, I aim to illustrate how critical literacy can also enable
282 J. Pesonen
ethical and moral discussions, for example, by raising an awareness of stereotypes.

Below are suggestions on the kind of matters to consider and pay attention to when
encouraging children to become critical readers. However, I also emphasize what
McLaughlin and DeVoogd (2004) say about lists of methods in critical literacy
never working the same way in all contexts all the time. Consequently, techniques
which promote critical literacy always need to be adapted to specific contexts. Thus,
all the questions listed below, on the linguistic, narrative or moral aspects of story-
books are to support the adult – the parent or the teacher, or any care-taker for that
matter – when first exploring the text. Hence, the questions are not meant to be
posed to the children who are reading, or being read, a storybook. First and fore-
most, children should feel encouraged to voice their own opinion; thus, in support-
ing the development of critical literacy, the adult will need to create a safe place for
reading and discussions. Here, a safe place means, above all, a possibility for chil-
dren to speak up, voice their own opinion and be accepted for their ideas. As such,
already learning to express one’s own view, and justifying it, is a step towards criti-
cal literacy.
To discuss the theory of critical literacy further in action, and to illustrate the
methods in critical literacy, three storybooks from different countries are taken as
examples. The best known of these is Elmer, a British picturebook written and illus-
trated by David McKee and originally published in 1968.1 The Elmer series of 34
books, is among the most translated picturebooks in the world, with around five
million copies sold in more than 40 languages. Thus, Elmer books are accessible in
different countries, and in various languages; they are also suitable even for very
young children since the illustrations are colorful and bold and the text provides lots
of ideas for discussion. The whole series about Elmer the Patchwork elephant is
about diversity, but especially the first book, Elmer (1986/1989) deals with themes
related to difference and belonging. Another book with similar themes is a Finnish
children’s book, Koira nimeltä kissa [A Dog Called Cat] (Kontio 2015). This book
was chosen since it covers many social themes fundamental to humans, such as
belonging and loneliness, but also because it is a story about diversity in society.
The main characters in the book are homeless. The book received highly positive
reviews and it was nominated for the Nordic Council Children and Young People’s
Literature Prize in 2016. According to the publisher, A Dog Called Cat is for chil-
dren aged from 3 to 9, however even older children would enjoy and benefit from
reading the book. The third storybook chosen to illustrate the methods of critical
literacy and support the development of intercultural understanding is a South
African picturebook I am Alex by Elena Agnello (2016). I am Alex is a story about
Alex’s birthday, and it introduces Alex’s friends, who represent diversity of many
kinds. According to the publisher, the book, aimed for children from 0 to 8 years, is
a celebration of difference and tolerance. In all, these three picturebooks share the
same themes of difference and friendship. Below I discuss in detail different strate-
gies for using these books to support the development of critical literacy.
1
Elmer was originally published in 1968. In 1989, a slightly different version was published,
which is the version used in this article.
14.5 Critical Literacy in Action
Plot and theme offer various possibilities for initiating a discussion about a book. In
the beginning, the adult can open the discussions with some basic questions, such as
“what happens in the story; what is the story about?” All three books are inspiring
stories for discussing multiple social themes with the children. To start with, A Dog
Called Cat is a story is about a dog called Cat who has learned from very early on
to survive independently. Cat’s life is lonely, despite her attempts to be independent.
After meeting a homeless man, called Marten, she finds friendship, companionship
and belonging. I am Alex and Elmer share the same theme of friendship, but the
approach is different. In Elmer, it is explained at the beginning how Elmer is part of
a large herd of elephants. One night, Elmer starts questioning himself and his place
in the herd. After camouflaging his colorful patchwork skin, he becomes, for a
moment, the same color as all the other elephants. However, he soon realizes that he
enjoys being who he is – a unique individual. In I am Alex, the storyline is also built
around the uniqueness of different kinds of people. Alex’s birthday party guests
include a family with two dads, a Muslim family, a girl called Zia who is in a wheel-
chair, and others. More than anything, I am Alex is a book that celebrates friendship
and diversity. Common topics for discussions for all three books range from “what
is friendship?” to “what is uniqueness?” Both Elmer and A Dog Called Cat invite
discussion on such topics as “how does it feel to be different/lonely?” and “why are
some people lonely?” Books such as A Dog called Cat also invite one to ponder
“what is homelessness/richness/poverty?” As I will examine further below, contem-
porary children’s books such as these can succeed in raising multiple, even sensitive
themes. Storybooks vary in their approach to topics such as diversity; some avoid
giving simple solutions to complex questions, whereas others end up reinforcing
unequal power relations. Thus, storybooks create fruitful places for promoting criti-
cal literacy.
Language provides insights when examining the story on multiple levels. Starting
from the language used, the words can be analyzed: are the words familiar or unfa-
miliar? are there loaded words, and if so, how are they used? According to the
Oxford English Dictionary, loaded refers to items being charged, burdened, and
weighted or biased towards a particular outcome. For example, a word can be
detected as “loaded” when it has an insulting tone. However, the stereotype or bias
is not necessarily blatant; it could also be subtle, and thus more difficult to detect.
Attention should be paid to words such as savage, primitive, backward, and for
example, wild, as in most cases they promote a racist discourse. In addition, looking
for gendered stereotypes that traditionally reinforce the binary dichotomies of male/
female, strong/weak and provider/nurturer, offer insights into the political and ideo-
logical discourses written into children’s stories (Pesonen 2015). Stereotypes related
to gender or to ethnic groups are often thought to be too difficult or too sensitive
issues to be dealt with by young readers. However, children start to become aware
of such social matters before entering school, thus examining the language of a
storybook can offer the first steps towards critical literacy.
284 J. Pesonen
In A Dog Called Cat, loaded words, such as piski [mutt], puliukko, pultsari and
spurgu [bum, drunkard] are used in two ways. First, to demonstrate what exclusion
feels like. This is done by showing what happens when Cat goes to a dog park to
look for friends. She is laughed at when she gives her name: “One noble-spirited
Afghan hound told me that I smell like a mixed mutt. -And my noble sense of smell
never mistakes when it comes to race and mixed-race, said the noble Afghan and
marked the tree with his wee.” (Kontio 2015, np.2). Teachers and parents can help
younger children to make the connection to the early, yet still influential doctrine of
racism, according to which physical characteristics, for example genetic or skeletal
features, differ so profoundly that different human groupings should not be racially
mixed (see e.g. Todorov 2000). Also, in Elmer, the language used invites the reader
to ponder the questions of exclusion with reference to racism: “Elmer was different.
Elmer was patchwork. Elmer was yellow and orange and red and pink and purple
and blue and green and black and white. Elmer was not elephant color.” (McKee
1989). In Elmer, the word “different” refers specifically to color, since the herd
Elmer belongs to is described as including young, old, tall, fat and thin elephants:
“Elephants like this, that or the other, all different but all happy and all the same
colour. All, that is, except Elmer.” (McKee 1989). Language, such as the use of the
word “different” in Elmer, offers the possibility of raising questions about differ-
ence and sameness, and provides an opportunity to challenge whiteness as the hege-
monic norm.
Through the language used, books invite the reader to ponder the themes of
friendship, loneliness, and, for example, exclusion, but also offer a different
approach. Elmer invites us to ask: Why did Elmer feel different? Why did he try to
be like others? Alex invites reflection on one’s own family and/or friends: What kind
of friends do you have? Why are they all unique? Whereas A Dog Called Cat raises
questions such as: Why do the other dogs reject and exclude Cat? How do you think
Cat feels when she is discriminated against? Connecting the character’s experiences
and what it feels like to be discriminated against, facilitate discussions about racism
based on religion or skin color. Storybooks also invite the reader to examine criti-
cally the power of language. Loaded words, such as “bum” in A Dog Called Cat,
which used by an outsider would be insulting, is used by Marten to describe him-
self. Thus, when Marten owns a derogatory term he uses it to empower himself even
though in the dominant discourse it would be marginalizing. More generally speak-
ing, the language in A Dog Called Cat is close to poetic, and the happenings are not
overtly explained, which leaves more space for the reader to fill in meanings.
Narration calls for examining the point of view/s portrayed in the story. Questions
such as, “whose voice is heard/not heard?” and “how does the narrator tell the
story?” can be used to initiate the discussion. In Elmer, the story is told by an omni-
scient narrator. In A Dog Called Cat the narrator, as well as the focalizer, is the dog
called Cat, and the time of narration is close to the events narrated. In I am Alex, the
narrator is Alex. Often from such immediately engaging first-person narration it
2
All three picturebooks analyzed in this chapter are without page numbers. From hereon, I use only
the writer’s name and the publication year as the reference.
follows that readers will be apt to align themselves with the subject position, and
hence the social attitudes occupied by such a protagonist (McCallum and Stephens
2011). Importantly, Cat as a narrator speaks from the position of a minority. As
mentioned previously, in children’s literature narratives are often focalized by mem-
bers of the majority culture (see Stephens 1990). Alex’s case, however, is more
complex, because she represents the dominant discourse in children’s literature in
general: white, middle-class and with a nuclear family. However, in South Africa,
where the book was written and published, Alex does not represent the majority of
children. In Alex’s story every single guest coming to her party represents some
social categorization which is different to her own. Thus, all the guests become
representative of different ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations or abilities. As
such, I Am Alex offers various opportunities to examine power relations. In A Dog
Called Cat the power relations would change, even dramatically, if the narrator
described the encounter with Marten from a majority culture’s perspective. Marten
might become a subject of pity due to his unconventional lifestyle. However, the
main characters in both books voice the experience of belonging to minorities, mak-
ing their relationship equal rather than superior to the other. Thus, narration in gen-
eral invites the reader to examine critically different power relations portrayed in
stories (Fig. 14.1).
Fig. 14.1 Practical tips for adults in supporting critical literacy for young readers
286 J. Pesonen
In A Dog Called Cat and Elmer, the repetitive style of the narration creates inter-
esting opportunities for readers to examine the events of the story. Both Elmer and
Cat are insecure about their place, thus questions about belonging are central topics.
Elmer goes through feelings of anxiety and self-doubt about being different:
“‘Whoever heard of a patchwork elephant?’ he thought. ‘No wonder they laugh at
me.’” (McKee 1989). However, he quickly understands that he does not in fact want
to put aside his personal identity. Similarly, Cat changes after meeting Marten.
Instead of continuously searching for her place and her identity, Cat starts to see all
the beauty around her. This new attitude towards life is apparent, for example, when
Cat describes how Marten behaves after drinking his bottle: “Marten began to sing.
Sometimes he got up and started to dance too. Then I would bark with joy and jump
around him. The silhouette of the city was like an accordion that the wind was play-
ing.” (Kontio 2015). The narration in A Dog called Cat succeeds in introducing
sensitive issues, such as homelessness, without patronizing or condemning. This, as
will be discussed next, provides a lesson in empathy for the reader.
The potential fiction has for teaching even very young children to see with other
eyes is a powerful lesson in empathy. This makes children’s literature a versatile
recourse for initiating dimensions of critical literacy in both formal and non-formal
learning environments. Nikolajeva explains how texts can offer “excellent opportu-
nities for mind-reading skills to readers without accomplished verbal literacy, but
certainly also contribute to the development of empathy in any reader” (2010,
p. 289). She continues that cognitive criticism suggests a neurological basis for the
value of reading since it provides a way of helping us understand other human
beings (Nikolajeva 2010). Hence, the didactic quality of children’s literature in
directing social interaction should not be dismissed. Such didacticism includes one
of the moral principles of critical literacy, namely engaging both children and adults
in evaluating how we should, or should not, treat each other.
As already mentioned above, in A Cat Called Dog and I am Alex, the reader is
prone to take the protagonist’s subject position due to the first-person narrative, and
thus the themes of difference and uniqueness become even more foregrounded. In I
am Alex, difference is celebrated. According to the publisher, the storyline is simple
and innocent. The publisher, Robin Stuart-Clark, claims how “children don’t see
race or religion, sexual preference or disability – and nor should they have to.” The
aim to educate children about intercultural understanding, such as an awareness of
different cultural customs, is obvious: “Lina is my friend, and she has many sisters
and brothers. On Fridays the family goes to the mosque and their father reads the
Koran to them.” (Agnello 2016). However, in I am Alex, the individuals are pre-
sented solely as examples of different ethnicities, religions or disabilities.
Consequently, I am Alex offers a rather one-dimensional view of diversity in society.
Multiculturalism is presented solely as a joyful part of life, meaning that the unequal
societal structures created by these categorizations are completely ignored. When
difference is the starting point of the story, it is more likely that multiculturalism
will be represented superficially (cf. Stephens 1990). Superficial representations of
multiculturalism can result in minorities being represented as tokenistic characters,
as stereotypes, just to make the books “appear multicultural” (Pesonen 2015).
In terms of narration and empathy, I am Alex is the only realistic picturebook of

the three which has humans as characters. However, Alex’s story offers least in
terms of empathy, since all characters, including Alex herself, are introduced rather
superficially. While A Dog Called Cat and Elmer have anthropomorphized animal
protagonists, they offer a much richer storyline in terms of empathy. In A Cat Called
Dog and Elmer, difference results in loneliness, and in Cat’s case, in exclusion as
well. At the beginning of A Dog Called Cat, Cat explains her search to be indepen-
dent: “I thought what it meant to be independent but found only loneliness. I tried
to talk with the birds and find company from the moose. All the animals turned away
or sent me away.” (Kontio 2015). Since Cat was taught by her mother to trust no
one – humans or animals alike: “I was the loneliest dog in the world.” Cat ends up
doubting even herself. This doubt is evident in an illustration of Cat in a shop win-
dow, ironically gazing at a cat mask. Cat’s confusion over her identity is present
throughout the story since she continuously repeats to herself the sentence “Dog
whose name was Cat,” until she meets Marten. Both Elmer’s and Cat’s search for a
solid identity offers the possibility to discuss self-doubt, or any other insecurities
children might bring up. All three books, in their different ways, are stories about
identities: Cat and Elmer represent the contemporary notion that identities are fluid,
something one can change, whereas in I am Alex, people are introduced as present-
ing certain identities in which the birthday party becomes a stage to represent peo-
ple’s different identities.
A well-intended call for empathy can also end up reinforcing unequal structures
in society. Thus, it is important that Marten, as a homeless man with a drinking
problem, is not vilified. Above all, Marten is presented as a kind, caring, and wise
person. As such, A Dog Called Cat has rather a different approach to the theme than
many other books dealing with homelessness. In Finland, homelessness is not a
common topic in children’s books; however, in the United States there are several
picturebooks as well as young adult’s novels that deal with this topic. In 1993
Raymond Kettel wrote an article “Understanding Homelessness Through Children’s
Books,” and listed almost 30 books about homelessness written for children and
young adults. More recent publications, such as The Can Man (Williams 2010) and
A Shelter in Our Car (Gunning 2004) portray homelessness. Another group of
books are those dealing with homeless children, often set in the so-called develop-
ing countries. One such example is Homeless Bird (Whelan 2001) set in India.
Below I will discuss the possible pitfalls related to presenting “faraway places and
cultures” in children’s books, as well as other viewpoints that call for the promotion
of critical literacy.
When a socially sensitive topic, such as homelessness is dealt with in a story-
book, the need for critical literacy is even more significant. Kettel (1993) empha-
sizes that the valuable lesson that books such as Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen
(DiSalvo-Ryan 1991) can offer is to teach how to help those living on the streets.
Kettel’s argument about books which encourage children and young adults “to
appreciate their own life situations,” as well as develop “more positive attitudes
toward those who are homeless,” shares the idea of compassion and empathy, how-
ever the unequal power relations between individuals or in societies are not d iscussed
288 J. Pesonen
or challenged but rather reinforced. Susan L. Stewart (2008, 103) writes insightfully
about the “we’re fortunate syndrome.” She explains that a symptomatic reaction, a
somewhat “solipsistic attitude, one where the reader refocuses attention on our lives
rather than focusing on the lives of others,” can follow when people read about
“other” places and cultures. Rather than looking for reasons for homelessness, the
moral in A Dog Called Cat calls for humanity, for us to really see each other without
prejudices.
As with A Dog Called Cat, in Elmer, the lesson in empathy is foregrounded
through experiences of loneliness and exclusion. Despite the rather naïve ending,
where other elephants decide that they want to celebrate Elmer’s uniqueness with an
Elmer’s Day every year, the story offers a chance to see through others’ eyes. Seeing
through others’ eyes requires reflection and the questioning of generalizations.
Relating to fictional characters will support the development of empathy if the
reader can “sample the feelings of another,” that is to say, “imagine what the world
might look like to another person and to engage with their beliefs” (Fjällström and
Kokkola 2015, 297). In all, the whole Elmer series offers many stories that deal with
different kinds of social issues. For instance, in Elmer and the Monster (2014) the
plot is built around the question of why we are often afraid of the unknown. With a
simple but insightful narration, the story invites the reader to consider different
viewpoints and to challenge stereotypes. Similarly, Elmer and Aunt Zelda (2006)
calls for appreciation of the older generation and could initiate discussion on dis-
crimination based on age.
The role of image is fundamental in picturebooks. Thus, young readers should
also be encouraged to examine illustrations critically, for example, by considering
the relationship between text and illustrations. Including visual literacy, such as
design elements, prepares young children to critically examine images as stories or
as components of stories. Discussion with young readers about the meanings pro-
duced through illustrations can be initiated with simple questions about the line,
color, shape, texture, and other elements of design in the story. Visual elements, or
visual codes, can also be analyzed by examining how illustrators create meaning
through the use of position, size, perspective, as well as action, movement, facial
expressions, and, for example, body gestures (Cotton and Daly 2015, 100). Mia
Österlund et al. (2011, 66–67) use the term integrated visuality to remind us that
illustrations deserve as much attention as texts. Bal (2002) explains that illustration
can be considered visual texts, and this type of examining of illustration can support
the analysis and function as a reminder that lines, motifs, colors, and surfaces, like
words, contribute to the production of meaning. Images, like texts, necessitate care-
ful reading (Bal 2002, 26). One fruitful topic for the critical literacy approach is the
contradiction between text and illustration. Nikolajeva (2012, 279) writes that when
there is no overt contradiction between verbal and visual information, our interpre-
tation is more often unequivocal. But when the text and the illustrations are not
symmetrical, an element of surprise, even uncertainty, is added to the storyline.
Hence, there is also more flexibility and fluidity for the reader to interpret and pro-
vide meanings (Pesonen 2017).
Illustrations offer multiple ways to include dimensions of critical literacy because

the illustrations often carry more meaning related to multiculturalism than the words
alone (Pesonen 2015, 87). Illustrations can provide information that the textual nar-
ratives do not reveal, such as information about age, appearance, and clothes.
Through these visual narratives the reader can learn about the class, country and
lifestyle, and the cultural and genetic background of an individual. Thus, it is impor-
tant to be aware of all the meanings and connections to specific cultures, values, and
ideologies that the images carry (Nodelman 2010, 15–17, 24). Critical analysis of
visual elements is also needed because both contemporary and more dated chil-
dren’s literature illustrations may portray stereotypes related to gender, nationality,
and class. Part of this stereotyping comes from illustrating “other” people, often
minorities or those from “faraway countries,” as the noble savage, or as primitive
“children of nature.” What follows is the exoticizing, mystifying, and patronizing of
people (see e.g. Botelho and Kabakow Rudman 2009; Bradford 2007; Pesonen
2015). In all three stories analyzed, the illustrations differ in style. In Elmer, the
colorful illustrations are central, although the text is equally important in meaning
making since the omniscient narrator explains what Elmer or other characters think
or feel. In I am Alex, the illustrations are cartoon-like in style. In addition, the images
and words tell the same story; thus, I am Alex falls into the category of a symmetri-
cal picturebook (see e.g. Nikolajeva and Scott 2006, 11–17) (Figs. 14.2, 14.3, and
14.4).
In A Dog Called Cat, the illustrations are complementary in style, meaning that
they add to the storyline. The illustrator, Elina Warsta, uses colors to emphasize the
change in Cat from being lonely and lost to being joyful and optimistic. After the
friendship between Cat and Marten begins, the images become warmer in color;
blue, green, and grey tones give way to pastels, pink, and red. Details in the illustra-
tions contain humor as well as additional viewpoints to the story. One example of
Fig. 14.2 Koira nimeltä

kissa (2015) Tomi Kontio,
illust. Elina Warsta. Teos.
Helsinki
290 J. Pesonen
Fig. 14.3 I Am Alex

(2016) Elena Agnello,
illust. Adrie Le Roux.
Bumble Books, Noordhoek
Fig. 14.4 Elmer

(1986/1989) David McKee.
Andersen Press Ltd.,
London
additional meanings through illustrations is when the children – who are told at
times to follow Marten and Cat – are shown to have masks. However, the children
do not wear these animal masks on their face, but appear as though they have been
lifted away, as if to symbolize how children do not yet have prejudices like adults
and are thus more open minded towards difference. Analyzing the word-picture
dynamics enables the reader to focus on textual gaps and silences, such as what is
not said but is illustrated, introducing contradictions as well as multiple meanings.
All picturebooks provide material for examining how meanings are produced.
However, the complementary, and even more, the expanding picturebooks, where
the illustrations provide more complicated narratives than the texts alone, provide a
useful arena for practicing critical literacy. Expanding picture book words and
images can also provide alternative information or they can contradict each other.
Such books also serve as a reminder that picture books have a dual mode (texts and
illustrations) in addressing any theme. In other words, in picture books different
levels of meaning can be articulated. Hence the “disunity,” or even more so, the
contradiction, of the texts and illustrations is one of the possibilities that a picture-
book offers for denaturalizing what is taken as given, namely the status quo stories
(Nikolajeva and Scott 2006, 11–17; Pesonen 2015, 88, 105).
Counter-discourses (also called counter-stories, cf. Chaudri and Teale 2013)
present things differently, often challenging hegemonic discourses. Marten in A
Dog Called Cat is an insightful example of an individual who is often located in the
margins of dominant discourses, but through counter-discourse is represented as an
active agent rather than as a victim in need of help. The power that counter-
discourses carry in presenting things differently is also based on not depicting dif-
ferences as exoticized and romanticized representations of “other cultures” (Pesonen
2015, 103–105). Counter-discourses are fundamentally about challenging hege-
monic discourses that reproduce overly simplistic, status quo thinking based on
stereotypes. In practice, counter-discourses can often be portrayed through illustra-
tions. As explained above, dual meanings are produced in picturebooks, and this is
one of the most important literary strategies in creating counter-discourses. Thus,
especially in expanding picturebooks, the visual narratives of ethnic, religious, gen-
der, age, or dis/ability differences are illustrated without textual emphasis. Hence,
differences as fixed and exclusive do not become reproduced in these stories. The
illustrations in A Dog Called Cat, for example, portray a diversity which is not nar-
rated in the text. One such brilliant illustration shows Cat and Marten traveling on
the subway. The other people in the subway portray diversity of ethnicity, religion,
age and sexual orientation, while the text explains how Cat and Marten traveled
from east to west and back again, looking for the best places to sleep, and finding
food that people had thrown away.
Another strategy to examine how storybooks can challenge the dominant dis-
courses is to focus on playfulness. Humor and irony in storybooks allow so-called
“sensitive themes,” such as sexual orientation, to be approached without overt
didacticism. Humor and irony are also used to create complex and norm-challenging
storylines (Pesonen 2017). In Elmer, humor is clearly a strategy in dealing with top-
ics such as difference. After Elmer covers his colorful patchwork skin with berries,
he soon realizes how blending in, and being the same color as all the others, is not
the solution. Elmer surprises the other elephants by scaring them off: “The ele-
phants jumped and fell all ways in surprise. “Oh my gosh and golly!” they said –
and then saw Elmer, helpless with laughter. (–) “Oh Elmer,” gasped an old elephant.
“You’ve played some good jokes, but this has been the biggest laugh of all. It didn’t
take you long to show your true colours.”” (McKee 1989). Especially in postmodern
picturebooks, such as A Dog Called Cat, humor, as well as irony and unexpected
occurrences, is a common feature. Even though in A Dog Called Cat Marten, with
his long beard and scruffy clothes, does not challenge the visual stereotype of a
292 J. Pesonen
homeless man, but by proudly taking his place in society, and even further, by chal-
lenging our thinking about richness and poorness, the idea of counter-discourse is
manifested. As such, counter-discourses allow for participation and agency to be
written for those coming from minorities. These kinds of representations of indi-
viduals and societies can challenge the idea of cultures as fixed monolithic entities.
In consequence, counter-discourses seek to create a diverse and complex story of
human experience, without engaging in such themes as tolerance (cf. Dudek 2011).
While this list is in no sense exhaustive, the main intent is to draw attention to the
possibilities that children’s books offer for developing critical literacy that encom-
passes the values of intercultural understanding. With the above examples I have
aimed to illustrate how different dimensions of critical literacy, such as examining
multiple viewpoints and focusing on sociopolitical issues, can be practiced when
reading storybooks. I have also argued that children should be treated as able and
competent to make connections, and to challenge the meanings produced in texts
and images. Having said that, adults too have an important role, since children need
support as critical readers. In the next section I shall briefly examine the role of
adults in children’s development towards critical literacy.
14.6 T
eachers and Parents Supporting Children in Becoming
Critical Readers
Based on the contemporary research introduced in this chapter, it seems that the
principles of critical literacy are valued among those planning and carrying out
formal education. In addition, it is already well-established that critical literacy is
among the key skills needed for future generations (see e.g. Bajovic and Elliot 2011;
Dozier et al. 2006; Reys-Torres and Bird 2015). Knowing all this, one could assume
that future educators and teachers should receive support and education in develop-
ing critical literacy. Instead, the “testing and right answer” heritage of schooling,
which is known not to support the development of critical literacies, still dominates
in most countries (Lewison et al. 2002, 383). In addition, the standardization and
accountability that dominate education systems across the world can be seen as a
threat to independent thinking and ethical judgment (Phelan 2015).
Norris et al. (2012) studied early childhood preservice teachers’ responses to
activities and theories concerning critical literacy. They found that while students
were able to see the benefits of critical literacy, challenges emerged. First, students
experienced personal anxiety or discomfort in addressing sensitive themes, or
“touchy subjects,” as Norris et al. called them. Students were also concerned about
parents’ reactions, and possible opposition towards the issues being addressed. In
addition, practical issues, such as the school’s curricula, resources, and time were
seen as challenges in implementing critical literacy. Norris et al. (2012, 62) argue
that based on the potential barriers voiced by the preservice teachers, teacher educa-
tion programs need to be developed to overcome such challenges. In the same
anner, Murris (2014) argues that different approaches to reading literature should
m
be promoted as part of teacher education. According to Murris, teacher education
should emphasize the opportunities of using literature more. This would further
future teachers’ knowledge of different reading strategies and different theories of
knowledge (Murris 2014).
Rowan and Honan (2005, 219–220) also focus on literacy educators. They claim
that to critically evaluate their work, literacy educators ought to “examine not only
what they include, but also, and most importantly, those people, ideas and perspec-
tives who are silenced and forgotten” to respond to the demands of these complex,
changing times. For all educators, not only literacy teachers, it is necessary to criti-
cally evaluate whose knowledge and views – as in history, culture, and values – are
included, and allowed into our classrooms. Dozier et al. (2006, 11) argue in relation
to this, that when teachers’ own critical literacy skills and competencies are in
focus, the crucial point to remember is that teachers bring with them “deeply social-
ized discursive histories, highly practiced discursive routines, and tightly woven
beliefs, values and discursive practices that do not always frame students produc-
tively.” Thus, I suggest first, based on Lissa Paul’s model (1998, 16), a set of ques-
tions for adults to examine and analyze the power relations in storybooks. The
questions listed below are meant to draw attention to examining agency, as well as
to blatant and subtle stereotypes:
Whose story is this? When and where was the reading produced?
Who is named? And who is not?
Who gets punished? And who gets praised?
Who speaks? And who is silenced?
Who acts? And who is acted upon?
In addition, I suggest a list of adapted questions for children. The questions are
meant to function as a starting point to discuss and examine stereotypes, racism and
power in storybooks with children of different ages:
Two to four years old: What kind of characters are there in the story? Who is the
main character? What is the story about?
Five to six years old: What kind of language is used? Are there difficult/hurtful/
insulting words? Do the images narrate the same or a different story when com-
pared to the text (i.e., is it a symmetrical, complementary or expanding
picturebook?)
Seven to ten years old: Are the characters stereotypical (in terms of ethnicity, gender
or e.g., sexual orientation)? Is there an obvious and/or a hidden moral message?
When supporting young readers in critical literacy, it is fundamental for the adult
to accept that readers may disclose different significances to a text according to their
already held social attitudes and values. As discussed in the beginning of this chap-
ter, when children are seen as both problem-solvers and problem-posers, adults
need to accept that there is not only one right answer, and should allow young read-
ers to produce meanings, and later on, questions. Lewison et al. (2002, 383) remind
us how we ought to accept that there is, and will be, conflicting answers and opinions
294 J. Pesonen
when multiple perspectives are allowed. However, to unlearn old practices is not
easy (Dozier et al. 2006; Norris et al. 2012). Nevertheless, teachers must be able to
address social issues, even the difficult, or “touchy subjects” such as of inequality,
racism and sexism that occur in their classrooms, communities, and society at large.
As Norris et al. (2012, 62) argue, a curriculum which focuses on issues of diversity,
such as race, culture, language, and gender, and sees children’s questions as impor-
tant, is both socially just and culturally responsive.
14.7 Conclusions
The ideas suggested in this chapter provide information about the nature and prac-
tice of critical literacy. It is essential to ponder how children’s literature as texts
rooted in sociopolitical discourses can be more efficiently employed in educating
children and young people about privilege and unfair structures in society. This
chapter aims to illustrate the transformative potential in literature and reading: the
potential to teach us to better understand the world, ourselves and others. Children’s
storybooks can criticize how things are, and through books we can also imagine
new and different ways of seeing and being. In line with Ives and Crandall (2014)
and Norris et al. (2012), I suggest that critical literacy should be understood to
develop intercultural understanding, including an understanding of the way in which
language and power affects social relations. Therefore, critical literacy ought to be
promoted as contributing to culturally responsive pedagogy, and to fostering social
justice. In order to acknowledge differences respectfully, before teaching children
how to read with a critical stance, teachers and parents must be willing and able to
examine their own subject position critically.
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Stewart, S. L. (2008). Beyond borders: Reading “other” places in children’s literature. Children’s
Literature in Education, 39, 95–105.
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Accessed 8 Sept 2017.
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(pp. 64–70). London: Routledge, London.
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Chapter 15
Supporting Children’s Social
and Emotional Growth Through
Developmental Bibliotherapy
Pirjo Suvilehto, Kelli Jo Kerry-Moran, and Juli-Anna Aerila
15.1 Introduction
Three-year-old Pete has just become a big brother. It is not easy for him to cope with all the
feelings of jealousy and anger he feels toward the new sibling. His mother notices his confu-
sion and decides to talk about these feelings with Pete. As a starting point of their discus-
sion she reads a children’s story. The main character, Tomppa, in Kristiina Louhi’s picture
book Tomppa ja piimänakki (2015) is becoming a big brother and shares the same feelings
as Pete. In the story, Tomppa feels that everything is going to change with the new baby. One
day, Tomppa goes with his grandmother to the hospital to meet his mother and the new baby
for the very first time. Tomppa looks at his little sister’s face and her skin, which looks, in
Tomppa’s opinion, like a raisin. He wants to go in his mother’s arms and have a hug but
does not know if his mother still wants to hug him. Pete listens to Tomppa’s story read by
his mother. They look at the pictures together and Pete points out how his baby sister looks
like Tomppa’s sister. Pete and his mother talk about Tomppa’s feelings and how it can be
hard to share mommy and daddy with a new baby. Tomppa’s story helps Pete to see that his
own fears and emotions are common and to be reassured by his mother. Pete hugs his
mother and feels comforted.
Children’s literature can provide essential support to young children, families

and teachers when dealing with difficult issues. In this example, a mother’s thought-
ful use of a story opened the door for a discussion with her son in which she could
allay some of his fears and ease his transition into becoming a big brother. Stories
and books allow children to better understand their environment, situation,
P. Suvilehto (*)
University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
e-mail: pirjo.suvilehto@oulu.fi
K. J. Kerry-Moran
J.-A. Aerila

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_15
300 P. Suvilehto et al.
c ommunity, and societal expectations (Goddard 2011). The therapeutic use of chil-
dren’s literature is not new; stories in various forms have benefited the growth and
wellbeing of people throughout human history and can be traced back to primitive
religious rites, where poetry was used for the wellbeing of the tribe or individual
(Association of Poetry therapy 2017; McCulliss 2012), but it has only been within
the last 100 years that bibliotherapy has been formalized as an approach to using
children’s literature to help young children cope with difficulties.
Bibliotherapy is used with both children and adults in a variety of fields and set-
tings including the clinical treatment of psychological problems (Yuan et al. 2018),
help with stuttering and language impairments (Brinton and Fujiki 2017; Gerlach
and Subramanian 2016), developing pro-social behaviors (Montgomery and
Maunders 2015), overcoming fears or developing resiliency (Jackson and Heath
2017; Lewis et al. 2015; Theron et al. 2017) as well as many other issues. It is often
defined as a therapeutic approach that uses literature (poems, stories, creative writ-
ing etc.) to support mental health, wellbeing and personal growth. In short, biblio-
therapy means using books and other literature to serve and help.
We define bibliotherapy as the therapeutic use of stories and connected activities
to help young children cope with social and emotional problems. Bibliotherapy can
be used with very young children who struggle with common childhood difficulties
like moving to a new home, going to pre-school, parental divorce, feelings of loneli-
ness or sorrow, sharing toys, or other frustrations and challenges. In bibliotherapy
stories provide a safe medium through which children can explore attitudes, con-
cepts and feelings (Suvilehto 2019b). Literature may be used in clinical settings as
“clinical bibliotherapy” and in educational settings as “developmental bibliother-
apy”. While narrative stories in books are most widely used in bibliotherapy, the
same aims can be accomplished through other media such as poetry therapy and
cinematherapy (Joiner 2012), the use of film, video, and television.
The focus of this chapter is developmental bibliotherapy, or family’s and teach-
ers’ use of stories in any form, as well as connected activities, to help young chil-
dren cope with common social, emotional, and mental health challenges in home
and classroom settings. Teachers, families, and children’s librarians may work in
cooperation with therapists for children who are receiving counselling; however, the
developmental bibliotherapy approaches described in this chapter must not take the
place of professional counselling and mental health services. Young children with
significant social and emotional needs should be treated by licensed health care
professionals with the professional training to support children’s mental health.
This chapter begins with a description of bibliotherapy including its history,
uses, and effectiveness. This section is followed by a discussion of how parents and
teachers can use bibliotherapy and the bibliotherapy process (Suvilehto 2019a,
2019b). The chapter concludes with an example of bibliotherapy in an early child-
hood classroom.
15 Supporting Children’s Social and Emotional Growth Through Developmental… 301
15.2 Bibliotherapy History
The term bibliotherapy was coined by Samual Crothers in a 1916 editorial for the
Atlantic Monthly (Heath et al. 2005; McCulliss 2012) but the practices of biblio-
therapy likely reach to the beginning of human history. Ancient Greeks harnessed
the power of theatre to purge emotions by seeking catharsis (Moy 2017) through
comedy and tragedy, and the phrase, “The Place of the Cure of the Soul” (Manguel
2010 p. 26) graced the shelves of ancient Alexandria’s great library. Stories have
arguably always played a therapeutic role in people’s lives. Some physicians in
Elizabethan England saw stories as a possible remedy for melancholy and by the
mid-eighteenth century were prescribing reading as treatment in psychiatric institu-
tions and prisons (Moy 2017). Early versions of bibliotherapy spread across cul-
tures so that around 1800 psychiatrist Benjamin Rush began incorporating books
into mental health treatment in the United States (De Vries et al. 2017) when he
suggested having patients read as part of their therapy (McCulliss 2012). The prac-
tice grew in acceptance after World War I as it was used with veterans who struggled
with physical and emotional problems (Parker 2017). In fact, early bibliotherapy
was entirely based in the health professions, but by the 1930s it expanded to non-
clinical settings when librarians began compiling book lists for patrons (Eisenman
and Harper 2016).
There is little information on the early use of bibliotherapy with children.
According to McCulliss (2012), these first uses focused on developing morality and
character traits, but by 1946 the emphasis shifted when a Sister Mary Agnes began
assembling children’s book lists with the aim of helping children to conquer per-
sonal challenges. This transition of using narratives to help children overcome prob-
lems paved the way for contemporary bibliotherapy in education settings. The
nature of bibliotherapy and its use continues to evolve. In the early childhood field,
terms such as “crisis-oriented” or “tender topics” (Mankiw and Strasser 2013) are
sometimes used to refer to bibliotherapy with young children. Depending on the
goal, emphases and context, bibliotherapy may be as simple as using stories, writ-
ing, and reading for the benefit of a person’s wellbeing, to supporting healthy devel-
opment in many areas (Goddard 2011).
Bibliotherapy has many forms and can be implemented in many ways: as a part
of clinical therapy implemented by a professional bibliotherapeutic or developmen-
tal therapy implemented by non-mental health professionals such as parents and
teachers. In the case of families and teachers, bibliotherapy is using literature and
therapeutic activities with children and enabling them to benefit from these activi-
ties themselves (Suvilehto 2008). Many teachers in childcare and at school imple-
ment bibliotherapy in some manner, but often without giving their practice a formal
name. However, effective follow-up activities, thoughtful questions, and focused
discussions require mindful teachers who consider how books address individual
and group needs (Prater et al. 2006). Utilizing bibliotherapy approaches can help
adults use children’s literature more effectively in addressing concerns that are
meaningful for children and their mental as well as moral d evelopment (Suvilehto
2008). Children love stories and through them, a sensitive adult may have a vehicle
for understanding what is going on in a child’s mind. In addition, children’s litera-
ture and literary arts activities may help young children become more willing and
better able to express themselves in appropriate ways (Goddard 2011; Kramer and
Smith 1998; McCarty and Hynes-Berry 1994; McDaniel 2001; Mäki and Arvola
2009; Rubin 1978; Schumacher and Wantz 1995; Stamps 2003; Suvilehto 2008.)
As the introductory story shows, bibliotherapy may also be used at home with
parents and family members. Families may notice their child struggling with a dif-
ficult change or problem as Pete’s mother noticed her son’s difficulty in adjusting to
their new baby. Sometimes a picture book selected again and again may indicate
that the child is dealing with an important social or emotional concern. For example,
repeatedly browsing the same books of dinosaurs, or pets, may indicate a child feel-
ing the need to have someone to care for (Suvilehto 2008).
15.3 Types of Bibliotherapy
There are at least two types of bibliotherapy, developmental and clinical. These
types differ in terms of who implements the therapeutic approach and the severity
of the psychological, social, or emotional need to be addressed.
15.3.1 Developmental Bibliotherapy
Developmental bibliotherapy is provided by educators, librarians, school counsel-

lors, social workers, and family members to healthy individuals to facilitate normal
development and self-actualization or to maintain mental health (De Vries et al.
2017, Suvilehto and Latomaa 2018). Participants can be recommended books or
other literature such as films, poems, and artwork and/or utilize support/interven-
tion/therapy (Rubin 1978; Suvilehto 2008.) Although there are studies on practices
in classrooms concerning developmental bibliotherapy (Catalano 2008; Prater et al.
2006), additional research in early childhood settings is needed.
Heath et al. (2017) advocate for teachers to include instruction on social and
emotional growth in the curriculum. They point out that bibliotherapy is a good fit
for teachers who are used to using stories in their classroom to generate student
interest, facilitate dialogue, and help children to think more critically. Developmental
bibliotherapy is a natural extension of many of the literacy practices already in place
in early childhood classrooms. As the number of children worldwide who struggle
with mental health problems grows and access to mental health professionals
shrinks, teachers play an increasingly important role in helping children’s healthy
social and emotional development.
15.3.2 Clinical Bibliotherapy
Clinical bibliotherapy is used in health care, under the guidance of a therapist, as

part of a comprehensive treatment plan, as self-treatment, and to support children’s
growth and development (De Vries et al. 2017). Additionally, children’s literature
may help parents, health care staff, and teachers to better understand a health issue
and act as a tool for them to approach the concern with children. Several studies
confirm that clinical bibliotherapy can be effective when used in conjunction with
other treatments such as children dealing with the death of family members due to
AIDS (Lovrin 1995), diabetes and asthma (Amer 1999), and obsessive-compulsive
disorder (Tolin 2001) have benefited from bibliotherapy.
One aim of clinical bibliotherapy is to share information. This aim is often imple-
mented through self-help books and guide books, which may be used widely as part
of the treatment of various problems. Self-help books have been found to be useful
both in the context of children and adults (Elgar and McGrath 2003; Sweeney and
L’Abate 2011). Therapy utilizing self-treatment methods through written material
has been identified as an effective intervention, especially in young people’s depres-
sion (see Suvilehto and Ebeling 2008). Diary-type booklets may also be used to
provide information and a place to record dosages, implications, side-effects and
instructions (see Long et al. 1993; interactive workbooks Schumacher and Wantz
1995; self-help books Smith et al. 2003).
15.4 B
ibliotherapy with Infants, Toddlers, and Young
Children
Bibliotherapy is generally used with children ages three and older, but infants and
toddlers may also derive therapeutic benefits from children’s stories. An abundance
of research indicates that bibliotherapy is effective among different age groups and
in different contexts (McMillen and Pehrsson 2004; Pardeck and Pardeck 1993;
Pennebaker 2004, 2010; Suvilehto 2016, 2008), but opportunities for young chil-
dren to respond to bibliotherapy texts are essential (Suvilehto 2019b). Children’s
play, storytelling, storycrafting, drama, paintings or even simple discussion comple-
ment the reading of bibliotherapy texts. These activities may help young children
see connections between the text and themselves and consider alternative approaches
to dealing with their problems.
For example, an 18-month old toddler who was struggling with separation anxi-
ety when his mother left him at the childcare center repeatedly requested that his
mother read to him Owl Babies (2001) by Martin Waddell about three baby owls
who anxiously await their mother’s return. The mother spoke soothingly to her son
as she read the story to him and discussed how she always came to pick him up at
the end of the day just like the mother owl in the story. The toddler, who also strug-
gled with separation from his mother, shared feelings with the baby owls and seemed
to draw comfort from the mother owl’s return, just as his mother always returned.
15.5 The Bibliotherapy Process
According to McCarty and Hynes-Berry (1994) bibliotherapy has a four-step-

model. The steps are (1) recognition, (2) examination, (3) juxtaposition and (4)
application to self. Other authors have proposed models that describe similar steps
(see De Vries et al. 2017; Heath et al. 2005; Pierce 2015). Each step in the model
describes the process the child undergoes in bibliotherapy. The first step, recogni-
tion, happens when the children find the story relevant and are motivated to partici-
pate. The next step, examination, means concentrating on the plot and the characters.
The children recognize similarities between themselves and the story characters and
empathize with their thoughts and feelings. The third step, juxtaposition, is when
children align themselves with the story and make connections between themselves
and the actions of the story characters. This step is often facilitated through discus-
sion following the reading of the text. The last step is application to self, which
means the child has gained insights from the bibliotherapy text which they apply to
addressing problems in their life. Achieving application means that the bibliother-
apy session has affected the child’s mind and personal life so that the child initiates
a change in their behavior. According to McCarty and Hynes-Berry (1994), the
process of bibliotherapy aims at raising a person’s feeling-responses and leads to the
release of feelings or insights related to self-understanding.
These stages correspond to steps parents and teachers must take to effectively
use bibliotherapy with young children. Several researchers and practitioners recom-
mend sequences for therapists, librarians, and teachers to follow in implementing
bibliotherapy (see Brinton and Fujiki 2017; Heath et al. 2005; Pola and Nelson
2014). We have adapted these models into the following four steps, which we rec-
ommend for families and teachers. The steps include (1) choosing a text, (2) sharing
the text, (3) discussion and exploration, and (4) evaluation.
15.5.1 Choosing a Text
Not all children’s books are suitable for bibliotherapy or for every child. The suc-
cess or failure of a bibliotherapy intervention depends in large part on the quality
and appropriateness of the text. Like adults, young children prefer quality literature,
but many books written explicitly for bibliotherapy present a heavy-handed mes-
sage through narratives that are lacking rich and relatable characters with which
children can identify. Some of these texts may preach to children rather than relate
to their perspectives and concerns, be overly wordy, poorly illustrated, and so badly
written that young children easily recognize the text as an instructional tool rather
than a story. In contrast, some of the best books for bibliotherapy are regarded as
high quality children’s literature in their own right. They often approach difficult
topics indirectly. For example, a parent might help a child dealing with the loss of a
grandparent through a book that delves into a different type of loss or approaches
loss from another angle. However, educators must exercise caution while using
therapeutic books in groups. A book that deals with a very sensitive topic might be
better shared with a family member to read with the child at home rather than to the
entire class. As bibliotherapy is defined as the healing potential of stories, there are
often animal characters in a story. These characters may serve as a “silent fellow
traveler” for a child who is dealing with an urgent developmental or disturbing task.
An analysis method (Suvilehto 2019a) created to study the content and animal char-
acters is based on the theory of bibliotherapy and its benefits as a tool for evaluating
the possibilities of picture books. Finally, families and early childhood practitioners
using developmental bibliotherapy may be unsure how to evaluate stories (Favazza
et al. 2000; Nasatir and Horn 2003), but the following criteria will help.
15.5.1.1 Similar Characters
In bibliotherapy, the characters are important because they share challenges and
concerns with the child. Through the characters in a story, a child may have oppor-
tunities to scrutinize and practice vital skills and concepts, like dealing with the
death of a pet, moving to another place, trying to find friends, having birthday par-
ties and being nervous whether their friends will come, or going to a hospital for an
operation. In all these new and sometimes frightening experiences, an appropriate
book read at home beforehand with a family member will be good preparation
(Suvilehto 2019a; 2008) if the young child can identify with the characters.
Consequently, characters should be as alike the child as possible.
15.5.1.2 Positive Portrayal of Diversity and Adversity
The purpose of a bibliotherapy text is to help children learn coping and problem-
solving strategies, so modeling good strategies and presenting a hopeful outlook are
necessary. All aspects of a text from the visual to the verbal influence the messages
the text sends. Nasatir and Horn (2003) have created a tool for developmental bib-
liotherapy and children with disabilities. The tool helps in evaluating the quality of
the literature and focuses on nine attributes: illustrations, the story line including the
role of the character with disability, lifestyles and relationships of the characters, the
background of the author and the illustrator, the target group for the book and the
publication date, the word choices and the author’s perspective.
Similarly, texts need to depict positive approaches to solving problems. Flanagan
et al. (2013) found in their review of books addressing bullying that some texts
promoted negative strategies such as revenge. Accordingly, families and teachers
must be careful that the bibliotherapy texts used with young children promote suc-
cessful and appropriate coping and problem-solving strategies.
15.5.1.3 Emotions
Good bibliotherapy texts clearly display the character’s feelings in a way that is
comprehensible to the young child (Brinton and Fujiki 2017). If children are going
to identify with a character, they need to be able to see that character’s emotions and
conflicts.
15.5.1.4 Situational and Cultural Relevancy
The relevancy of a text includes its appropriateness for the social skill or issue to be
addressed, but it also includes social relevancy for the child. Theron et al. (2017) in
designing a bibliotherapy intervention for South African children who were
orphaned or caring for an ill parent, chose to use traditional African stories rather
than typical bibliotherapy stories because the African stories were deemed to be
socially and culturally relevant to the children.
Bibliotherapy texts may include books, plays, poems and other forms of chil-
dren’s literature. As bibliotherapy has become more popular, several texts have been
written for bibliotherapy use, but families and teachers will most often use chil-
dren’s literature that is written for all young children and not for exclusive use in
bibliotherapy. Table 15.1 lists several books that may be used for common biblio-
therapy purposes.
15.5.2 Sharing the Text
Parents and families will most likely share books at home with a single child or
perhaps with siblings struggling with a shared problem. In the early childhood
classroom, teachers must consider whether to share the book with large or small
groups or to individual children. Teachers may also provide a parent or guardian
with a text to share privately with an individual child at home. Educators must exer-
cise caution while using therapeutic books in groups. A book that deals with a very
sensitive topic might be a better choice for a parent to share with a child rather than
for reading to the entire class. It is best to consult with families before sharing bib-
liotherapy texts with young children that deal with death or other topics that are
heavily influenced by cultural or religious values. For example, a book about the
death of a pet that describes dogs going to heaven may be contrary to some belief
systems.
Regardless of where the text is shared, how it is shared can make a difference in
its success. Heath et al. (2017) emphasize using good read aloud strategies that will
be familiar to teachers, such as allowing children to make predictions and reading
with prosody and expression.
Table 15.1 Bibliotherapy topics and related picture books

Emotion or problem Picture book
Feelings, anger and The Great Big Book of Feelings (2017) by Mary Hoffman and illustrated
aggression by Ros Asquith
Kissa Killin kiukkupussi (Korolainen: Killi the Cat’s anger bag) (2007)
by Tuula Korolainen
When Sophie Gets Angry—Really, Really Angry… (2004) by Molly
Bang
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (1972)
by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz
Ihanat ipanat (wonderful babies) (2008) by R. Cacciatore, O. Penna,
K. Hyvärinen, and N. Komsi
Otso ja soiton salaisuus (A bear and the secret of music) by Pirjo
Suvilehto. Illustration by Karoliina Pertamo. Ranua: Mäntykustannus.
2011
Moving The Berenstain Bears’ Moving Day (1981) by Stan and Jan Berenstain
Enemy Pie (2000) by Derek Munson and illustrated by Tara King
Moving House (2011) by Martin Siegel
Storms and natural Thundercake (1997) by Patricia Polacco
disasters Wilfred to the Rescue (2006) by Alan MacDonald
Moomins and the Great Flood (1945) by Tove Jansson
Alfons och soldatpappan (Alfie Atkins and A Gutsy Ant) (2006) by
Gunilla Bergström
Birth of a sibling There’s a House Inside My Mummy (2012) by Giles Andreae and
illustrated by Vanessa Cabban
Waiting for Baby (2009) by Rachel Fuller
Loss or separation A Lion in Paris (2014) by Beatrice Alemagna
anxiety Baby Tiger (1999) by Susan Hellard
Maggie Mouse Gets Lost (2012) by Haley Moonspur and illustrated by
S. Kalinauskaite
Owl Babies (2001) by Martin Waddell
Night time fears The Dark (2013) by Lemony Snicket and illustrated by Jon Klassen
Go Away, Big Green Monster! (first published 1992) by Ed Emberley
The House in the Night (2008) by Susan Marie Swanson
Fear of new Green Eggs and Ham (1960) by Dr. Suess
experiences I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato (2000) by Lauren Child
The Monster in the Bubble (2009) by Andi Green
Froggy Learns to Swim (1995) by Jonathan London and illustrated by
Frank Remkiewicz
(continued)
Emotion or problem Picture book
Anti-bullying and Enemy Pie by Derek Munson
friendship The Invisible Boy (2013) by Trudy Ludwig and illustrated by Patrice
Barton
Strictly No Elephants (2015) by Lisa Mantchev and illustrated by
Taeeun Yoo
Worries about school I Am Too Absolutely Small For School (2005) by Lauren Child
Mouse’s Big Day (2017) by Lydia Monk
It’s Okay to Make Mistakes (2014) by Todd Parr
100th Day Worries (2000) by Margery Cuyler illustrated by Arthur
Howard
Webpages for more children’s books for therapeutic use: Jason Steadman’s bibliography of, 200–
300 therapeutic books for children http://www.smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/childbiblio.pdf
“Everything Children’s Literature” presents books by the themes https://fi.pinterest.com/fortuna-
teizzi/
Reading Rackets –presents multiple lists of children’s books of different themes http://www.read-
ingrockets.org/books/booksbytheme
15.5.3 Discussion and Exploration
An important aspect of bibliotherapy is the advance preparation of discussion ques-

tions to focus on major points (Brinton and Fujiki 2017). Well prepared questions
may help a child process the story and make connections between herself and the
characters. Appropriate reader response activities such as puppetry or a child cre-
ated book can extend the child’s learning and enhance exploration of story themes.
These activities may encourage children to express their feelings about the story,
and creative art and writing projects can be effective post reading activities (see
Prater et al. 2006).
Parents and family members using bibliotherapy may simply engage in a discus-
sion with their child about the similarities between the characters in the bibliother-
apy text and their child. These discussions should lead to strategies used in the text
to cope with the problem or find solutions. Brinton and Fujiki (2017) advocate for
creating a script of that includes discussion prompts and the key concepts on which
the discussion should be based.
Heath et al. (2017) note that bibliotherapy is a “natural extension” to the way
teachers use children’s literature in the classroom. Similarly, the reader response
strategies teachers already use to help children explore literature may also be used
with bibliotherapy texts. Reader response focuses on helping children to make con-
nections between text and self as well as text and society. These are the connections
young children need to make to apply the attitudes and strategies learned from bib-
liotherapy to their own problems and behaviors. Responses highlighted in the litera-
ture include story enactment (Brinton and Fujiki 2017) and role-play, drawing,
journaling or writing (Heath et al. 2005), and puppetry (De Vries et al. 2017).
15.5.4 Evaluation
The goal of bibliotherapy is social and emotional learning, healing, or a positive

behavior change in young children. Depending on the pervasiveness and severity of
the problem, it may be unreasonable to expect one bibliotherapeutic interaction with
a text to elicit lasting change. Consequently, parents and teachers need to use their
best judgement of the situation and the child’s capabilities and needs in assessing
the effectiveness of a bibliotherapy outcome.
At the same time, parents and teachers should consider using bibliotherapy along
with other interventions to help children learn to overcome their problems. Most
studies in bibliotherapy have been performed in clinical situations rather than early
childhood classrooms and this research indicates that bibliotherapy is most effective
when used in conjunction with other treatments (Heath et al. 2005). The same may
be true for bibliotherapy in home and classroom settings. Parents and teachers may
see greater success in using bibliotherapy along with other interventions to help
young children develop socially and emotionally.
Heath et al. (2017) issued a call to action for classroom teachers to use biblio-
therapy to enhance social and emotional learning in schools. The next section
describes a bibliotherapy initiative in an early childhood classroom.
15.6 A
n Example of Bibliotherapy in the Early Childhood
Classroom
All people face the death of a loved one at some point in life and for many children
this harsh reality comes very early. It can be difficult to explain death and support
the grieving young child. Furthermore, cultures around the world vary in the extent
to which they discuss death with young children. Early childhood teachers in
Finland sometimes address death in classroom settings to help prepare children to
understand and cope with loss. Storybooks about grief and the practices connected
to death such as funerals are very useful in these situations. In this example the
teacher has chosen to read Ulf Nilsson’s Alla döda små djur (Let Us Play Funeral,
Again). It is a story of children who decide to have funerals for all the insects they
find. Through these play funerals the processes, customs, and concerns surrounding
death are described in detail.
The teacher has already chosen a book that meets the criteria recommended for
bibliotherapy texts, and she has prepared to read the book aloud and discuss it with
the children. The teacher begins by reading Ulf Nilsson’s story about children play-
ing a funeral. Soon, after starting the story, every child is listening. One of the chil-
dren in the class has recently lost a grandparent, so the children are curious about
funerals. The children portrayed in the story are also interested in this topic, which
is why they decide to play funeral.
As the story is read, the children learn more about the characters. They learn
what is needed for a funeral as well as how differently the characters express their
grief. The children listen intently, and the teacher can tell by their expressions and
attentiveness that they are immersed in the story (the examination). After the story
is finished the teacher and the children discuss it. They share the feelings and experi-
ences the story has raised (the juxtaposition). Everyone can express their thoughts
and experiences such as attending a real funeral, burying a pet or an insect, and
questions about death. At the end of this discussion, every child illustrates her per-
sonal identification and insight (application to self). It can be a very short phase
describing the child’s thoughts or a drawing depicting the ideas aroused during the
process. This phase portrays the child’s feelings and the insights the discussions
awaken in their minds (See Theory and Practice in Mazza 2017, recognition in
Aristotle 1994). Through these simple steps of choosing an appropriate text, prepar-
ing the read aloud, discussing the story, and completing a response activity to help
the children apply the book’s themes to themselves, the teacher uses bibliotherapy
to address a social and emotional need.
15.7 Conclusion
Bibliotherapy can be used to address the myriad challenges young children face
from the death of a loved one to learning to wait for one’s turn. Literature, fairy
tales, and stories that are aimed at children have always served to teach as well as
entertain (Cohen 1993; Holmes 2004; McMillen and Pehrsson 2004; Manworren
and Woodring 1998). Children love stories in all their forms (see Lemish 2015) and
can derive comfort from them as well as find models for addressing personal chal-
lenges. Through a story, a child may explore difficult topics such as fear of the dark,
having negative feelings towards parents, or being ill (Suvilehto 2008). Working
through difficult issues with a story provides children with a more secure way to
deal with their anxieties. Bibliotherapy has positive effects (Mazza 2012; Mazza
and Hayton 2013; Suvilehto and Ebeling 2008), and stories can be powerful tools in
fostering social and emotional wellbeing. Educators and families can better serve
children when they understand the possibilities and processes of bibliotherapy and
can use this approach to address the needs of the young child.
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Chapter 16
Move Me a Story: Augmenting Story
Genres with Creative Movement
James Bowyer and Ben Munisteri
16.1 Introduction
One rewarding part of our work as artists-in-residence is seeing the multifarious

growth that happens as children begin to explore movement. We have long observed
the innate physicality of children and how they desire to connect through collabora-
tion, performance, and play. We know from the literature that play contributes to
children’s cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being (Ginsburg 2007).
Our observations confirm that, given a learning environment in which dance is play
and in which they are able to move without inhibition, children experience not only
the wonder and fulfillment that come from movement exploration but also develop
as artists, creative problem solvers, community members, and kinesthetic beings.
Eisner’s qualitative research focuses on children’s cognitive development spe-
cifically through the visual arts. He says that when a child creates art, the process
engenders “the gradual emergence and refinement of forms of thinking” (2002,
111). Emphasizing teachers’ roles in providing students with opportunities, materi-
als, and guidance, Eisner points to cognitive outcomes: “What we see in the features
of children’s artwork over time are the fruits of learning. … The forms of learning
that are promoted pertain not only to the refinement of their sensibilities but also,
when the arts are well taught, to [an] array of cognitive processes…” (Eisner, 111).
Our view is that creative movement, too, is inextricably linked to child development
in that it facilitates the development of the whole child. How to get children moving
is the central question of this chapter, and stories are the answer.
J. Bowyer (*)
McPherson College, McPherson, KS, USA
B. Munisteri
Alma College, Alma, MI, USA

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_16
316 J. Bowyer and B. Munisteri
Stories like “Little Red Riding Hood” offer an easy entry point for creative
movement. Because children readily connect to such stories, movement within the
story comes naturally, and complex creative tasks evolve with little effort. This
chapter elucidates a process for soliciting complex movement tasks such as these. In
so doing, the following questions emerge: How do educators encourage children to
advance beyond literal movement interpretations? How is movement literacy devel-
oped in children? Which movement concepts should be introduced to children?
What are the three principal dance literacy practices? What instructional events lead
children to create movement stories? What story genres are well suited for creative
movement?
The first section compares literal and nonliteral movements and locates them in
a common retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood.” Next, it is important to identify
elements of a movement vocabulary that are suitable for primary-aged children. In
the second section, a three-step teaching sequence is applied during the unit on
“Little Red Riding Hood”: Imitation—Exploration—Creation. In the final section,
we present a multiplicity of story genres, i.e. poetry, fables, and nursery rhymes,
whose formal structures lend themselves to storytelling and may be easily aug-
mented with creative movement. Using the above-mentioned three-step teaching
sequence as a template, various lesson models illustrate how these “movement sto-
ries” may be developed in the classroom.
16.2 How Is Movement Literacy Developed in Children?
In our work as dance artists-in-residence with young children, we often ask five-,
six-, and seven-year-olds to create “movement stories”1 based on familiar fairy
tales. They often choose “Little Red Riding Hood.” The story, constructed in three
short scenes, goes something like this: Little Red Riding Hood treks through the
woods to see Granny. The Big Bad Wolf, who has been spying on Red, hurries to
Granny’s house and devours her. The clever girl frees Granny from Wolf’s belly; the
wolf flees.
Most children seem to follow the same creative path during a residency: Early in
the process they rely on facial expressions and upper-body movement choices. They
employ exaggerated physical gestures (the Big Bad Wolf’s roar) and make use of
broad, literal depictions of narrative events (Little Red Riding Hood skipping
through the forest). As the children develop a repertoire of increasingly complex
movement elements, e.g., levels, speed, and pathways, we revisit the fairy tale. In
short order, their movement sequences become more abstract, nonliteral, and var-
ied. At the conclusion of these residencies we ask the children to develop an original
movement story on a fairy tale that they write. By that point in the process the chil-
dren move freely about the space, take creative risks, and demonstrate greater artis-
tic agency.
We created the term “movement story” to mean any story genre that pairs well with movement.
1
16 Move Me a Story: Augmenting Story Genres with Creative Movement 317
When acting out “Little Red Riding Hood,” children generally vocalize the
Wolf’s roar, gnash their teeth, claw, and stomp as they imagine he might. They pre-
tend to weep dramatically when Granny is eaten by Wolf. They push and grab to
mimic Red’s aggressive heroics. In short, the children enact literal imitations of
characters and events. If creative residencies were to end there, children might be
deprived of creative potential. It is the next step in the process that is so essential to
engage them more deeply as young artists.
At the second stage of a residency, increasingly complex movement elements are
introduced. Stock gestures give way to inventive movement ideas, and the “woods”
transforms. We have seen children become swaying trees and carve circuitous
woodland trails. They turn, jump high, skip backward and forward, use galloping
movements, and improvise gestures just as they imagine Red would. We once saw
four crawling students (one the head, two the sides, and one the tail) embody the
wolf as he stalked, peered, and leaped. Granny moved in a short, sustained stride
until the Wolf lunged at her. During the wolf’s repast, Granny rested in a flexed ball-
like position inside Wolf’s belly. After Red remarked on Wolf’s big eyes, pointed
ears, and sharp teeth, the chorus of children moved from flexed, small positions to
expansive, extended shapes. When Wolf attempted to devour Red, she stepped on
her tiptoes, reached into Wolf’s “mouth,” and retrieved Granny. In terror, the Wolf
fled into the woods.
The differences between the children’s enactment of the fairy tale early in the
process to what they create later in the process is often striking. Their early move-
ment choices tend to be literal, preconceived representations of the characters and
events. As the children become acquainted with a plurality of movement elements
(and gain confidence), characters and events transform into robust, nonliteral, mul-
tidimensional ones. Creatively, the children move from literal artistry to nonliteral
artistry. Table 16.1 clarifies this binary.
Imitative and representational (literal) movements are not inherently inferior to
those that are abstract and non-descriptive (nonliteral). Because children lack expo-
sure to a full range of movement elements, however, their ability to communicate
through movement is limited. To make this possible, children need to embody a
variety of movement elements. This is the first step toward developing movement
literacy.
Table 16.1 Literal and Literal movement Nonliteral movement

Nonliteral Movement
Imitation Creation
Salient Abstract
Representational Non-descriptive
Preconceived Developing
Predicted Unforeseen
16.3 W
hich Movement Concepts Should Be Introduced
to Children?
Pre- and in-service teachers are generally familiar with movement in folk idioms
like square dances, games, and play parties. Because such movements are pre-
scribed teacher-as-expert endeavors, the instructional sequence is straightforward
and intuitive. However, teachers often perceive “creative” or non-choreographed
movements to be challenging for two reasons. First, because the inspiration for
movement comes from the children themselves, the process might seem chaotic.
Second, teaching creative movement requires some semblance of a curriculum that
is suitable for the non-dance teacher. What would the scope of such a curriculum
include? How might such a curriculum be presented to young children in “child-
friendly” language?
Teachers can infuse movement into instruction often and with minimal effort. An
important first step is to identify the scope of movement concepts that the children
will use in the course of instruction. The National Dance Education Organization
(NDEO), in its 2014 publication of K-12 core arts standards, suggests introducing
three basic movement concepts to children: space, time, and energy (NCAS 2014).
Noted dance artist-teacher Anne Green Gilbert (2006, 2015) adds body and choreo-
graphic forms to this list. Gilbert then subdivides these concepts into at least fifteen
movement elements. The terms “element” and “concept” are used variously in the
literature and can be confusing. For simplicity, this chapter refers to broad catego-
ries of movements as “concepts” and specific movement actions as “elements.”
Because the NDEO and Gilbert crafted their work for dance educators, their materi-
als might at first glance appear erudite to non-dance teachers. Simplification is,
therefore, in order.
To make the movement concepts more accessible, we have limited our list to
those that relate directly to non-dance disciplines such as English/language arts.
These concepts, taken from the work of Rudolf von Laban’s framework called
Laban Movement Analysis (Laban 1968), are movement, body, efforts, space, and
time (Newlove and Dalby 2004). Specific movement elements (actions) will be
sorted into one of five broad concepts (movement categories) using the acronym
“Move BEST” (Bowyer 2016). The acronym, which points to the first letters in
Movement, Body, Efforts, Space, and Time, categorizes movement elements for the
non-dance teacher and forms a movement vocabulary for the children. (See
Table 16.2.)
Table 16.2 Movement Elements: Move BEST

Move BEST
Movement Movement Body Efforts Space Time
concepts
Movement Non-locomotor Parts of the Floating Levels Beat
elements and Locomotor body Gliding Pathways Speed
Shapes the Pressing Personal space (tempo)
body can Wringing and shared space
create Size
This table first appeared in The Orff Echo, Volume 48, No. 2, Winter 2016
© 2016 American Orff-Schulwerk Association: Chagrin Falls, OH. Used by permission
16.3.1 M
ovement Concept #1: Locomotor and Non-locomotor
Movements
This category is bifurcated into non-locomotor movements (staying in place, e.g.

standing on one foot, reaching, making a snow angel) and locomotor movements
(traveling from one point to another, e.g., walking, running, skipping, galloping,
crawling, rolling, springing, cartwheeling). Red Riding Hood used locomotor
movement to skip along the woodland trail to Granny’s house. Wolf used non-
locomotor movement as he impersonated Granny sitting in her rocking chair.
16.3.2 Movement Concept #2: Body
There are two ways to think of the concept of body: the separate, isolated body parts
and the shapes that the whole body can make. Guest (2007, 17) divides body parts
into four limbs and six “areas”: head, shoulders, chest, waist, pelvis, and whole
torso. (For storytelling purposes, teachers can eliminate waist because, like the nose
or kneecap, it cannot move.) All other body parts move independent of each other.
Children can experiment by isolating each body part and discovering how it can
bend, circle, flex, extend, and rotate. Imagine the windswept forest trees bending
and changing shape or Wolf’s colossal jaws extending and rotating.
The whole body can make shapes by flexing (narrowing the body by bending
joints in toward each other); extending (straightening the joints so that the limbs
scatter away expansively from the center); bending forward with the spine, arching
the spine, and spiraling (twisting or rotating) the spine; balancing on tiptoe or on
one leg; and using three- or four-limbed supports. Consider the shape of Wolf’s
furry body as he tiptoes to spy on Red or when he extends his arms to attack Granny.
16.3.3 Movement Concept #3: Efforts
To fully understand Laban’s eight “efforts” requires some background in his ideas
about space, time, and weight, as well as his dimensional and diagonal scales
(Newlove and Dalby 2004). For the purposes of this chapter, we will define the
efforts in straightforward terms. The eight efforts are float, glide, wring, press,
punch, slash, dab, and flick. Four of the efforts are well suited for children, perhaps
because all of them require a slow, sustained quality.
Floating is movement that is slow, light, and without direction. Imagine the
leaves on the trees in Red Riding Hood’s forest floating like vapor. Their direction
is random because they go where the wind takes them. The leaves float vaguely in
the breeze: light in quality and slow in speed. Gliding movements use a light, sus-
tained quality that is focused in a specific direction. Imagine a bird coasting on the
powerful breeze above the forest. Her flight is light and sustained, but she knows
where she’s going. Below, Wolf’s body glides as he slowly and gently approaches
Granny’s door. Wringing requires an isometric contraction of muscles as when
twisting and squeezing water from a cloth. Picture Red as she reaches inside the
Wolf’s mouth and wrings Granny out of his belly. Pressing is similar to wringing,
except that the energy is focused in one specific direction. Think of Red as she
presses against Granny’s heavy door.
16.3.4 Movement Concept #4: Space
We depart from the traditional Laban Movement Analysis conception of space,

which teachers often find arcane. Instead, the concept can be limited to include
levels, pathways, personal and shared space, and size. Levels may be low, middle,
and high. Envision Wolf crawling at a low level; Red peering through Granny’s
window at a middle level; and Granny springing to a high level as she escapes from
the belly of the wolf.
Pathways may be direct (in a straight line), circuitous (curving, weaving), and
zigzag (angular lines that change direction), to name a few. In the story, Red makes
her way down the ever-changing forest path, which at first is straight and narrow,
then winding and turning, and then makes unexpected angular shifts in direction.
Personal space, also called the kinesphere, is the inviolate area surrounding
one’s stationary body. Shared space is the entire movement area. In the fairy tale
Wolf violates Granny’s personal space when he attacks her. At the end of the fairy
tale, all actions occur in a common movement area (Granny’s house).
The term size has two meanings in dance education. The first meaning refers to
flexion (flexing the limbs inward toward the body) and extension (flinging limbs
outward away from the body). How wide can we make ourselves? How narrow?
Can we fling our limbs to the very edges of our kinesphere? Flex our limbs and torso
into a tight ball? Bent over, Granny doesn’t take up much space. However, she
expands when frightened. The second meaning of size indicates the magnitude of a
movement or gesture. On the trail, Red can jump from one foot to two feet into a
small puddle, making a small splash. She can also jump high in the air, coming
down into the puddle and making a big splash.
16.3.5 Movement Concept #5: Time
Like the heartbeat, the beat is a recurrent and steady pulse. Red’s skipping was brisk
and steady as she sang a lilting song; Wolf’s steps were unsteady as he spied on Red.
Speed, also called tempo, refers to how fast or slow the movement is. Sensing some-
thing is amiss, Red treads slowly toward Granny’s house. Later, Wolf hastens from
Granny’s home!
The thirteen above-mentioned elements form a child’s movement vocabulary
may be infused into instruction in any order. Classroom teachers might find that
teaching one or two elements per month over the course of a school year is useful.
Alternatively, movement elements might be introduced over several years.
16.4 W
hat Are the Three Principal Dance Literacy
Practices?
In a qualitative research study of Kindergarten students who had worked with a

dance artist-in-residence, observed three themes that they identified as “dance lit-
eracy practices”: (1) artistic autonomy, (2) embodied knowledge, and (3) multimo-
dality. Similarly, Hanna (2008) noted that educators emphasized the value of
“agency, creativity, lived experience, transcendence, [and] learning through the
body” (p. 491).
Artistic autonomy refers to the ways in which students are given creative license
to make choreographic decisions. Frichtel notes that “students seem to value experi-
ences of identity, agency, and individuality engaging in dance,” (Fritchtel 2017, 45),
leading to positive feelings of ownership and accountability. When a class itself
comes up with the ideas of how a tree should sway or a way the wolf could move, it
lends the students’ experience a sense of community and support.
Embodied knowledge is that which is known through and within the material
body, calling upon a network of “neural elements, efforts, memory, language, per-
ception, and attunement” in order to construct knowledge. Just as educators exam-
ine the shapes that the body can make, they must consider not only how the shape
looks to viewers, but how it feels for the doers. Embodied knowledge requires a
metacognitive mindfulness so that basic movements—running and walking—trans-
form into dancing (Stinson 1995).
Multimodality occurs when two or more interdisciplinary “modes” of expression

(i.e. storytelling, music, and movement) are used to create a single artifact. Virtually
all of the movement activities in this chapter are multimodal in nature. Connecting
story with movement is multimodal. (See Chap. 8 for an in-depth discussion of
multimodality in stories).
Taken together, these three dance literacy practices form a useful “checklist” for
assessing student learning. At the end of a creative movement unit are students
employing artistic agency? Are the movement elements “in the body” such that
students are able to improvise and create with them fluently and with ease? Are they
making multimodal connections? The next section details a teaching sequence to
achieve these learning outcomes.
16.5 W
hat Instructional Events Lead Children to Create
Movement Stories?
North American teachers of music and movement have long used some variation of
a teaching sequence that includes some of the following steps: Imitation—
Exploration—Improvisation—Notation—Creation. Regardless of the nomenclature
or the number of steps in the sequence, the overall structure is the same: Imitation
yields to creation. We advocate that teachers use these three instructional steps:
Imitation—Exploration—Creation. The reasoning is twofold: First, this sequence is
easy for teachers to remember and to employ. Second, through this process children
will develop greater artistic agency. These instructional steps are explained in
Table 16.3.
Table 16.3 Instructional Sequence

Prior to instruction the teacher selects an activity such as a song, game, poem, play party, or
nursery rhyme that will become a movement story. This activity is carefully curated to
maximize learning, develop the child’s creative agency, and is of high artistic and academic
merit.
1. Imitation The student participates in the activity by drawing on prior experience
and by imitating the teacher and other students.
2. Exploration An additional skill (such as a movement element or idea) is added to the
child’s artistic “palette.” The teacher invites the child to take an “artistic
risk” by incorporating the new skill into the activity. With practice, the
child employs old and new skills fluently “on the spot.”
3. Creation Inspired by the original artistic activity, new patterns and formal
structures are initiated. Multimodal artistic creations are encouraged.
The student moves in artistic directions that, by comparison, may be
markedly different from the original activity.
16.6 W
hat Story Genres Are Well Suited for Creative
Movement?
In the final section we present literary, poetic, musical, and visual forms that pair
well with movement. Under each story genre, we have generated brief lesson ideas
that follow the above-mentioned teaching sequence Imitation—Exploration—
Creation. Within each lesson the children exercise creative agency; embody new
ideas, skills, and movement elements; and make multimodal expressive connec-
tions. Please note that these lesson ideas are just that: ideas. Teachers are encour-
aged to exercise their own creative agency when adapting these story genres and
take the same artistic “risks” that children are so often called upon to do.
16.6.1 Story Genre #1: Literary Forms
Poems may be seen as non-prosaic story “miniatures.” The evocative, expressive,

and economic qualities of poems facilitate the creation of small scale movement
sequences. Some poetic genres are particularly accessible to young children and are
presented below.
16.6.1.1 Cinquain
The cinquain is a five-line poetic form that dates back to medieval France. While
there are many variations on the number of syllables in each line, Adelaide Crapsey’s
(1878–1914) poem November Night uses this syllabic pattern: 2-4-6-8-2.
November Night
Listen…
With faint dry sound,
Like steps of passing ghosts,
The leaves, frost-crisp’d, break from the trees
And fall. (Adelaide Crapsey)
1. Imitation As the teacher reads the poem, children add pantomimic movement to key
words: listen, steps, ghosts, leaves, trees, fall.
2. Exploration “What happens to leaves in autumn? What colors are the leaves? How might a
dry, colored leaf fall from the tree? What sounds do ghosts make? These
ghosts sound like the leaves breaking from trees.”
Introduce New Movement Elements: Floating, Gliding, Wringing, Pressing,
Pathways
(continued)
3. Creation Children travel across the floor pretending to fall from a tree. They roll,
cartwheel, spin, swivel, and jump as their imaginations allow.
Multimodal Connection: Add instrumental accompaniment. The third
movement (Adagio) from Béla Bartók’s Music for Strings, Percussion and
Celesta will add an emotional landscape to this movement story. Alternatively,
the children could add body percussion (sounds made on the body) for
dramatic impact.
16.6.1.2 Couplet
A couplet is a paired stanza that rhymes. English poet Walter Crane’s (1845–1915)
single stanza poem The Crocus serves as a superb introduction to rhymed
couplets.
The Crocus
The golden crocus reaches up
To catch a sunbeam in her cup. (Walter Crane)
1. Imitation Children choose literal representations in the couplet: reaching, catching, cup.
2. Exploration “What is a crocus? How might golden crocuses move differently than white or
yellow ones? Let’s create several kinds of sunbeams. How might the crocus
catch this sunbeam? That one? What shape might a crocus cup be in?”
Introduce New Movement Elements: Levels, Non-locomotor Movement,
Floating
3. Creation Children adapt the original couplet. “Let’s change the kind of flower in the
poem. What other directions might these flowers reach? What might they
catch?”
Multimodal Connection: On one wall of the movement space the children
paint brightly colored flowers and sunbeams to create a “secret garden.”
16.6.1.3 Diamanté
Created by American educator Iris Tiedt (1928–2015), the diamanté poem, whose
form is shaped like a diamond, contrasts two opposing subjects: a word and its ant-
onym. These words comprise the first and last lines of the poem. In between are
terms that describe the transformation from the first word to the last.
Water and Ice
Water
Liquid, Flow
Drip, Drop, Ripple
Still, Chill, Colder, Tighten
Fracture, Crack, Splinter
Crystal, Frozen
Ice (Ben Munisteri)
1. Imitation Children move their bodies to form the antonyms water and ice.
2. Exploration “We know that water is liquid. What other things are liquid? How does
molasses move differently than melting ice cream? What about ice? What
things might freeze? Let’s make an ice cube.”
Introduce New Movement Elements: Non-locomotor Movement, Shapes the
Body Can Create, Speed
3. Creation Children create a new diamanté. This time they stand in the shape of a
diamond. Each child presents a word as it is recited by all.
Multimodal Connection: Play a recording of Steve Reich’s Music for 18
Musicians as the children recite and act out the poem. Add flowing fabric to
indicate waves of water. Another idea is to create a giant “human diamanté.”
The group of children are divided into sixteen sub-groups. Simultaneously they
enact their “word,” creating a three-dimensional, “living” poem.
16.6.1.4 Haiku
A traditional Japanese poetic genre, haiku are often observant of nature. They are
typically constructed in three lines: the first and third lines have five syllables, the
middle line seven. Japanese poet Basho Matsuo (1644–1694) is recognized as the
greatest master of Haiku.
The Old Pond
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again. (Basho Matsuo)
1. Imitation Children mimic the frog’s leap.

2. Exploration “How else could the frog splash into the pond?”
Introduce New Movement Elements: Shapes of the Body, Size, Pressing,
Pathways
3. Creation Children write a haiku, integrating the new movement elements. Perhaps the
haiku is based on a different animal, action, and nature scene.
Multimodal Connection: Develop a “reader’s theatre” performance of all of the
children’s haiku. Use narrated transitions to connect each poem. As a backdrop
to the play, each haiku is illustrated by the children and projected. The use of
props and costumes is encouraged.
16.6.1.5 Limerick
Originating in England during the early eighteenth century, a limerick is a five-line

poem in anapestic meter that follows a rhyme scheme of AABBA. The third and
fourth lines have five syllables; the first, second, and fifth have nine (Padgett, 98,
1987).
Old Turtle
There lives an old turtle named Billy
He crawls and he climbs willy-nilly
Then he walks very slow
With his head hanging low
But he hides in his shell when he’s chilly. (Ben Munisteri)
1. Imitation Children pantomime key elements from the story: hiding, chilly, slow,
hanging, running.
2. Exploration “Let’s walk like Billy the turtle. How fast do you think he might walk? Show
how Billy might hide in his shell. How might he hold his head? Let’s imagine
Milly the baby turtle has not been born. She is sleeping inside her egg. Let’s
pretend Milly is breaking out of the egg shell. How might the baby turtle
move? Do you think Milly can run?”
Introduce New Movement Elements: Speed, Beat, Pathways, Size
3. Creation Substitute salient elements from the original poem such as the animal, the
animal’s name, and the action verbs. Invite the children to substitute new
words. Focus on integrating the new movement concepts.
Multimodal Connection: Each child sculpts a clay animal and writes a
limerick for the animal.
16.6.1.6 Nursery Rhyme
A nursery rhyme is a traditional children’s poem or song that had originally come to
prominence in eighteenth-century England. In the United States, they are frequently
called Mother Goose Rhymes. A Brazilian nursery rhyme comes from dance educa-
tor Rosely Conz. In Brazil, this story song is often acted out in a ciranda (circle)
while holding hands. “Caranguejo não é peixe!” (The Crab Is Not a Fish”) The song
is presented below in Portuguese with an English translation.
Caranguejo não é peixe!

Caranguejo não é peixe! The crab is not a fish!
Caranguejo peixe é! The crab is a fish!
Caranguejo só é peixe na enchente da The crab is only a fish when the
mare, tide is high,
Palma, palma, palma! Pé, pé, pé! Clap, clap, clap! Step, step, step!
Roda, roda, roda! Caranguejo peixe é! Spin, spin, spin! The crab is a fish!
1. Imitation Children sing and act out the song in a ciranda (circle) while holding hands.
Movements are drawn directly from the song: clapping, stamping, and
spinning.
2. Exploration “Let’s pretend that we are tiny crabs on the beach. The waves crash into the
beach and we are washed out to sea. Okay, let’s think about how a crab moves
on the beach. How does a fish swim in the ocean? How can it be that the crab is
a fish and also is not a fish? How might a crab move differently on the beach”
Introduce New Movement Elements: Levels, Non-locomotor Movement,
Floating, Gliding
3. Creation “Instead of saying clap-clap-clap, what other body part can you move? Can we
try our heads, elbows, or arms? Instead of spinning, let’s try jumping.”
Multimodal Connection: Any berimbau (a Brazilian single-stringed percussion
instrument) recording will provide interesting rhythms. Students can then omit
the lyrics and dance only the movement.
16.6.1.7 Fairy Tale
Fairy tales, or folk tales, are some of the oldest narrative artifacts. Analyzed and
mined for their psychological and cultural content, these stories remain relevant.
Their frequent use of folklore and fantasy make for a rich lode of movement poten-
tial. The English fairy tale “Jack and the Beanstalk” is often a favorite.
1. Imitation Children act out “Jack and the Beanstalk” using salient mimetic movements.
They throw, climb, and chase.
2. Exploration The teacher challenges the students to assume different perspectives in the
story. “How might we toss the magic beans? What might it be like to be a
magic bean? Let’s show a bean sprouting and growing into a towering
beanstalk.”
Introduce New Movement Elements: Wringing, Levels, Beat, Shapes the Body
Can Make
3. Creation “How might we retell the fairy tale with a few plot changes? Let’s rewrite the
title of our story: ‘Jack in the Center of the Earth.’ What actions do we need
now? What might we find at the earth’s core? Here’s another story idea: ‘Jill in
the Bear’s Den’.”
Multimodal Connection: Invite the children to create puppets for new
characters in the fairy tale. Perhaps a “sound carpet” (background sound
effects) with pitched and unpitched rhythm instruments, vocal sounds, and
found objects might be added.
16.6.1.8 Fable
Fables are concise, functional stories that, unlike parables, frequently anthropomor-
phize animal characters to present a moral lesson. Each fable concludes with a suc-
cinct maxim as in Eric Carle’s “Tortoise and the Hare”: Slow and Steady Wins the
Race (Carle 2008).
1. Imitation Children pretend to be the animals in the story: running, hopping, crawling.
2. Exploration The children are challenged to develop more complex movement choices.
“Let’s really think about a tortoise. What might it feel like to live inside a
shell? How might our limbs go in and out? What would our bellies feel like as
we crawl? How about the hare?”
Introduce New Movement Elements: Speed, Pathways, Size
3. Creation In small groups, children create a new maxim. They then develop animal
characters, dialogue, and narration for their fables.
Multimodal Connection: Fables make wonderful theatrical miniatures.
Develop a production with costumes, props, and scenery.
16.6.2 Story Genre #2: Musical Forms
Because children respond quickly and easily to sound, music should be central to
creating movement stories. As shown below, music may at once serve as a story’s
backdrop and its inspiration.
16.6.2.1 Cumulative Song
A cumulative song is one in which successive verses are augmented by one new
element. The verse-chorus structure of the camp song “An Austrian Went Yodeling”
makes adding movements easy to remember. The verses of the song (listed below)
alternate with yodeling. Each verse progresses by adding new movements to prior
movements.
An Austrian Went Yodeling
1. Oh, an Austrian went yodeling on a mountain so high,
When he met with an avalanche interrupting his cry.
(Yodeling: Insert rumble movement on “avalanche.”)
When he met with a skier interrupting his cry.
(Yodeling: swish-swish + rumble-rumble.)
When he met with a St. Bernard interrupting his cry.
(Yodeling: arf-arf+ swish-swish + rumble-rumble.)

When he met with a grizzly bear interrupting his cry.
(Yodeling: grr + arf-arf+ swish-swish + rumble-rumble.)
When he met with a milking maid interrupting his cry.
(Yodeling: ts-ts + grr + arf-arf+ swish-swish + rumble-rumble.)
When he met with a pretty girl interrupting his cry.
(Yodeling: kiss-kiss + ts-ts + grr + arf-arf+ swish-swish + rumble-rumble.)
1. Imitation Students sing the song with the suggested hand motions.
2. Exploration “How else might the avalanche sound? Let’s change rumble-rumble.”
Introduce New Movement Elements: Personal Space, Pathways, Levels
3. Creation Children adapt the song by changing the character, country, and actions.
Multimodal Connection: Any
16.6.2.2 Orchestral Music
English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams’ (1872–1958) March of the Kitchen

Utensils is a quirky and fun orchestral piece in ABA form. Children will enjoy
bringing their culinary creatures to life in this short musical work.
1. Imitation Children are invited to march in a large circle as a kitchen gadget would.
2. Exploration Next, instruct the students to change to a unique gadget each time you
(randomly) stop the music.
Introduce New Movement Elements: Shapes the Body Can Create, Beat,
Locomotor Movement
3. Creation The children will now settle on one gadget. Instead of marching in a circle,
what would happen if the utensils were interacting with each other in the sink
full of water? In a tiny drawer?
Multimodal Connection: Use fabric, yarn, paint, glitter, colorful card stock,
and wrapping paper to create life-sized kitchen gadgets. Perhaps groups of
children may be divided up into “chess pieces,” “kitchen gadgets,” and “zoo
animals” who go on parade!
16.6.3 Story Genre #3: Visual Forms
Iconic representations are useful for depicting, classifying, and sequencing move-
ments through visual means.
16.6.3.1 Pictograms
A pictogram is a small drawing whose meaning is conveyed by its resemblance to

an object or action. Hieroglyphics, most famously used in ancient Egyptian civiliza-
tions, are forms of pictograms, which, when taken together suggest a full
narrative.
1. Imitation The children are given a set of pictograms that depict the main actions in
“Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” These images are arranged in storyboard
order, and the scenes are acted out in sequence.
2. Exploration Students are invited to adapt the story by changing characters, plot points, and
setting.
Introduce New Movement Elements: Parts of the Body, Levels, Speed
3. Creation Children are now given a random set of pictograms and are asked to develop a
new story. These pictograms may be drawn from a deck of cards or from the
roll of a set of “story cubes,” which can be found at any store that sells games.
Multimodal Connection: Develop a coherent plot with these pictograms. Make
a silent film (with optional musical soundtrack). Share these films at a
glamorous “opening night” with popcorn and candy.
16.6.3.2 Tableaux
Tableaux, or tableaux vivants, are physicalized still scenes. French for “living pic-
ture,” tableaux are carefully posed to convey the most dramatic effect. Originating
in European Catholic masses to depict the Stations of the Cross, tableaux eventually
found their way to American frontier towns as forms of popular entertainment
(Faulk 2004).
Miska Miles’ Annie and the Old One (1971) is a beautiful story of an Indian girl
whose grandmother, the Old One, has announced that she will “return to the earth”
when she has finished weaving a rug. Though Annie goes to great lengths to delay
the completion of the project, the Old One teaches her that one cannot cheat time.
1. Imitation Children create movements from Annie and the Old One: weaving, sheep
running from the stable, sleeping.
2. Exploration The teacher selects a specific scene from the book, such as the one in which
the family is chasing after the sheep. All of the children form part of the entire
picture: People, animals, fences and buildings, et al. They create the scene
(without dialogue) as if it is happening in real time.
Introduce New Movement Elements: Levels, Non-locomotor Movement, Parts
of the Body
3. Creation Now the teacher reads the story again. At various pauses, the students create
still pictures (tableaux) of the main scenes.
Multimodal Connection: Students weave baskets, create tapestries, and make
braided rugs modeled on those in the story.
16.7 Conclusion
The preceding pages have demonstrated the significance of creative movement as

part of children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development. We have provided
a broad blueprint of principal dance literacy practices, instructional models, and
movement story genres so that parents and teachers may integrate creative move-
ment with confidence and ease. Classrooms and movement spaces can be places
where children move freely, exercise artistic agency and expression, collaborate
with others in vital and meaningful ways, and, perhaps most importantly, tell their
own stories.
References
Bowyer, J. (2016). Using children’s literature to inspire creative movement. Orff Echo, 48(2),
24–29.
Carle, E. (2008). The rabbit and the turtle. London: Orchard Books.
Dance NCAS: Standards, Resources, & Supporting Documents: Anchor Standards.
(2014). Retrieved August 11, 2017, from http://www.ndeo.org/content.
aspx?page_id=22&club_id=893257&module_id=159624
Eisner, E. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Faulk, B. J. (2004). Music hall and modernity: The late-victorian discovery of popular culture.
Athens: Ohio University Press.
Fritchel, M. (2017). We were the choreographers; the dance teachers were the helpers: Student
perceptions of learning in a dance outreach program interpreted through a lens of 21st-century
skills. Journal of Dance Education, 17(2), 43–52.
Gilbert, A. G. (2006). Brain-compatible dance education. Reston: National Dance Association.
Gilbert, A. G. (2015). Creative dance for all ages: A conceptual approach (2nd ed.). Champaign:
Human Kinetics.
Ginsburg, K. (2007). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and main-
taining strong parent child bonds. Pediatrics, 119, 182–191.
Guest, A. H. (2007). An introduction to motif notation. London: Language of Dance Centre.
Hanna, J. L. (2008). A nonverbal language for imagining and learning: Dance education in K–12
curriculum. Educational Researcher, 37(8), 491–506.
Laban, R. (1968). Modern educational dance. (2nd rev. ed.). London: MacDonald and Evans.
Miles, M. (1971). Annie and the old one. New York: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Newlove, J., & Dalby, J. (2004). Laban for all. New York: Routledge.
Padgett, R. (Ed.). (1987). The teachers and writers handbook of poetic forms. New York: Teachers
& Writers Collaborative.
Stinson, S. W. (1995). Body of knowledge. Educational Theory, 45(1), 43–54.
Chapter 17
Arts-Based Activities and Stories Convey
Children’s Learning Experiences
Juli-Anna Aerila, Marja-Leena Rönkkö, and Satu Grönman
17.1 Introduction
“Let me look into the well!” cries a little preschooler. The whole group is out to visit a
nearby museum. The children see old things, clay pots, an area for domestic animals, and
old red barn houses. “Is it really true?” the child asks. “Is it really true that someone has
fallen into the well?” It’s very cold down there, and very deep too. “Someone hold me so I
won’t drop!”
The day is hot and the sea breeze soothes the children. The museum is built next to a
river; the children play by the river and try out the cold water. It’s still spring—not a good
time for a swim. One child tries the water with his fingers and keeps them in there until his
little knuckles are cold and hardened.
“Did Kirsti swim here? Did she?” one asks. The children share an intrigue for the past.
“No, she didn’t,” the guide says. “She washed her clothes here but didn’t swim because
the river is so low and rocky.”
Then Pekka raises his hand. “My grandfather told me that they used to fish here and eat
the fish too, back in the days when he was as little as me,” he says shyly and scratching his
head. “I don’t like fish, but my grandfather does. He said he’ll take me fishing when summer
comes,” he adds.
“You’re a lucky boy,” the guide says, and Pekka smiles back. The children are immersed
in their summer plans; they babble and share them with each other.
Mia sits alone on a stump and thinks. “I wish Kirsti would come and play with us. We
could go together to the harbor and wait for her father,” she says.
It seems like the past and present had made a connection.
The introductory story shows how stories are intertwined with all learning and
are present in holistic learning processes. The introductory story was created by one
of the researchers during a holistic learning intervention to a historic house museum
environment with preschoolers. In the introductory story children reflect the stories
J.-A. Aerila (*) · M.-L. Rönkkö · S. Grönman

e-mail: julaer@utu.fi

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_17
334 J.-A. Aerila et al.
they have heard during the visit to a museum environment, make connections of the
historical stories in the museum environment to their family histories and create
their own stories on what has been experienced or thought during the visit.
Additionally, they tell each other stories and create collaborative stories amongst
them. Therefore, it is safe to say that children really think, learn, and remember by
narrating and the process of narrating is a natural way of understanding and describ-
ing different experiences (Schank 2002).
In this chapter, we aim to give the readers an insight to our contribution of using
both children’s literature and children’s self-invented stories in arts-based, holistic
learning processes. Different arts-based activities, like storytelling, creating arti-
facts, drawing and drama, could be used more to support the learning of different
content areas. Compared to the more traditional learning approaches, arts-based
learning processes allow children to use multiple modalities to learn and apply dif-
ferent learning strategies in an emotional and individual way (Klein and Stuart
2013). Additionally, the educators should be more aware of the information chil-
dren’s stories contain and how stories are a part of all learning.
The context of our studies is Finnish preschool education, which gives a rich and
wide framework for arts-based education and stories. In Finland, children attend
preschool at the age of five or six. Preschool is obligatory for all children and has a
rich curriculum that provides the foundations for learning at school. In Finnish early
childhood education (FECD 2016) arts-based education includes spontaneous as
well as pre-planned activities and it allows children to experiment and explore.
Additionally, early childhood education in Finland is based on supporting children’s
participation and individual growth by using child-centered ways of learning and
arts-based activities. Different arts-based experiences and expressions promote chil-
dren’s learning conditions, social skills, and positive self-image as well as capabili-
ties to understand and structure the surrounding world. Thinking and learning skills
are best developed when children explore, interpret, and create meaning by practic-
ing different expression skills, like stories (FECD 2016). In this chapter, we high-
light the role of stories in learning and arts-based activities by describing a holistic
learning intervention of preschoolers to a historic house museum environment. We
have previously described this intervention from the perspective of creating motiva-
tional and challenging tasks (Rönkkö et al. 2016a), investigating how museum ped-
agogy effectively supports field trips (Aerila et al. 2016a), and examined how
experiential activities contribute to learning in a child-centered way and may visual-
ize children’s thoughts and experiences (Aerila et al. 2016b). In our earlier research,
we have utilized the holistic arts-based education using stories to facilitate the
development of literacy (Aerila and Rönkkö 2015a) and to help children transfer
ideas from literacy into different artifacts (Rönkkö and Aerila 2015).
In most of our studies, we have investigated the role of children’s literature and
the individual story ending (ISE) method in arts-based education. The ISE method
means predicting the original ending of a story based on the beginning of a story by
drawing, telling, writing, or even acting. When children are predicting the ending of
a story, they use material from the beginning of the story and from their prior knowl-
17 Arts-Based Activities and Stories Convey Children’s Learning Experiences 335
edge of the world and literature. For this reason, the ISE method visualizes literacy
skills, knowledge of different content areas, and the worldview. (Aerila and Rönkkö
2015a, b; Rönkkö and Aerila 2013, 2015).
ISE method is used in our studies in connection to creating craft products. While
creating a craft product, stories can be used in different phases: stories may act as an
inspiration or as a design for an artifact, or children can make use of storytelling
while implementing the craft product and can reflect upon the meaning of the prod-
uct with a story (Rönkkö and Aerila 2015; Aerila and Rönkkö 2015a, b). Furthermore,
different artifacts can also work as an inspiration for a story or support us in memo-
rizing and recalling the thoughts, stories, and knowledge connected to the experi-
ence (Aerila et al. 2016b).
In this chapter, we first create a theoretical framework for arts-based learning and
the pedagogical approaches we use. In the following section our aim is to describe
the arts-based learning intervention in a preschool group in which we implement the
ISE method and create a craft product (a soft toy). The ISEs and craft products are
then investigated from the perspective of the learning experience and the role of
stories. The aim of this chapter is to describe how stories can be used more effec-
tively in learning and as a tool in arts-based education.
17.2 Arts-Based Learning
In this section we offer insights to children’s arts-based learning. Stories are useful
in different phases of arts-based education and they can serve as the content of
learning and as a tool for creative thought and activity or to reflect the creative pro-
cess (Aerila and Rönkkö 2015a; Rönkkö et al. 2016a).
Art has traditionally had a central part in the curriculum for early childhood edu-
cation. Different arts-based activities are valued since they enhance children’s
development diversely and support abilities and skills that have applications in dif-
ferent content areas (Englebright Fox and Schirrmacher 2014; Essa 2008). Children
themselves seem to prefer art activities, because in them children can find satisfying
emotional and sensory experiences and work in a free, uninhibited way. For chil-
dren, art is considered partly as an expression of the subconscious and art-based
activities give an insight into the personality and emotional experiences of children.
Additionally, children enjoy arts-based education since it allows them to release
emotion and express themselves freely (Essa 2008). Arts-based education means
learning in a concrete way and it is considered as a way to interpret experiences
(Mason 2005).
Arts-based education is an intergenerational communication process of con-
structing values, knowledge, and skills and it provides a context for learning by
creating in groups and achieving a collaborative emergence of a creative outcome
(Richards 1996; Sawyer 2010; Winner 2001). At best, it offers children multiple
opportunities to cultivate a creative attitude, experience a process, work on a prod-
uct, practice a skill, foster a set of creative personality traits, and create inspiring
environments (Fox and Schirrmacher 2012). A core advantage of the arts in
education is the way they expand and enrich our cultural perceptions, ideas, and
values (McClure et al. 2017). Arts-based education, as a part of the curriculum, can
also be viewed as a way for children to develop a secure sense of themselves, both
as individuals and members of various groups within multicultural societies (Arts
and cultural education at school in Europe 2009). Therefore, implementing arts-
based education enhances children’s participation in learning (McClure et al. 2017).
In early childhood and in preschool, children need organized materials and a rich
environment that invites discovery, interaction, sensory and kinesthetic exploration
and imagination that is implemented by sensitive, responsive teachers who support
children’s development through art-based experiences (McClure et al. 2017). Most
of the content that is taught in schools is well structured, where rules and principles
are applied across multiple cases. The arts, however, are often more complex, and
the knowledge is constructed through engagement with unique cases where rules
and generalizations may not always apply (McClure et al. 2017). As Efland (2002)
argues, through art we create representations of reality that use metaphors and nar-
ratives for thinking and feeling.
When children are allowed creative expression, each child will produce a differ-
ent outcome. This will give the children an opportunity to learn that people feel and
think differently (Essa 2008; Aerila 2010). Creativity enables the teacher to help
children visualize how their creative activity results from their knowledge and expe-
riences (Drew and Rankin 2004). The creative activity usually results in a product,
such as a story, picture, craft product, or dance. However, the process is as important
as the product itself. The younger the children are, the more important the creative
process is (Essa 2008; Rönkkö and Aerila 2015).
Preschool-aged children use different experiences and tasks to support their cre-
ative processes and to express their experiences in different products. Connecting
different themes, such as hometown history, friendship, or diversity, to creative
problem solving contributes to making different creative products such as craft
products and stories more meaningful and develops a personal attachment to learn-
ing. These themes are possible to present by exposing children to different environ-
ments and stories (Aerila and Rönkkö 2015b; Rönkkö and Aerila 2013). In preschool
and school environments, it is often difficult to get the ideas flowing and it is easy
to copy ideas from others or from the Internet (Laamanen 2016; Lawson 2006;
Rönkkö et al. 2016b). According to Eckert and Stacey (2000), inspiration can be
found almost anywhere, and any detail can stimulate the creative process.
17.3 The ISE-Method as an Arts-Based Approach
The individual story ending method (ISE) is an application of a storytelling activity

in arts-based education and an example of how stories and other arts-based activities
could be expanded to support the learning of different content areas. In our studies
(Aerila and Rönkkö 2015a, b; Rönkkö and Aerila 2013, 2015) we have used the ISE
to enhance literature discussions and to discover children’s perceptions about his-
tory, diversity, humor, and the value of reading. We have also used ISE to estimate
children’s literacy skills and to differentiate learning (Rönkkö and Aerila 2018).
ISE method means predicting the continuation of a fragment of a story and creat-
ing an individual ending to a story based on personal interpretation. The ISE is also
called the anticipatory story, personal story ending, and follow-up story. The start-
ing point of the ISE is usually a fictional text or a fragment picture book. However,
any written or oral story can be used as long as the story contains characters and a
plot to which children can relate. An inspiring starting point might be a story based
on an artifact or an experience (Aerila et al. 2016a, b).
The ISE method can be used to evaluate literacy skills, values, attitudes, and
knowledge, since it visualizes the creator’s thoughts and experiences. The most
common way to implement the ISE method is to write an ISE. In that case, ISE
method is a version of creative writing (Linna 1994). However, the ISE doesn’t have
to be written; it can also be implemented by narrating, drawing, acting, or using any
arts-based method that allows the creator to express their perceptions freely (Aerila
2010). When evaluating illustrations or other artifacts as ISEs, every detail is impor-
tant: facial expressions, postures, places, sizes, and colors all have meaning (Rönkkö
et al. 2016a).
ISE method resembles other storytelling activities in early childhood education.
Whalen (2002) suggests using an activity called finish-story. In this activity, one
child starts a story and other children in the group fill in the development of the story
and create an ending to it.
The manner in which the fragment of a story is continued is not arbitrary but
depends on the original story and is related to the background information of the
creator, including worldview, reading skills, values, and previous reading experi-
ences (Aerila and Rönkkö 2015a). This means that, similar to other thinking-aloud
tasks, ISE is a good method for visualizing how the reader interprets texts and expe-
riences (Aebli 1991; Grossman 2001). ISEs can be evaluated from multiple per-
spectives depending on the context of learning. From the perspective of literacy
skills, the ISE method helps with comprehension of different text entities, such as
the beginning, turning points, and conclusion (Aebli 1991; Heilä-Ylikallio and
Oker-Blom 2006). It can also be used to assess ability to manage the structure of the
story (Aerila and Rönkkö 2015a).
ISE method has many benefits in education. It makes the children’s interpreta-
tions of narratives visible to others; therefore, it is easier for the educator to have the
children participate in discussions about different themes depending on the story
chosen. ISE method enables the teacher to comprehend each child’s individual
interpretation and make the interpretations visible to the children themselves and
others. Therefore, it supports making the educational conversations more child-
centered, and the teacher has access to children’s thoughts and understanding. The
teacher can let children compare story endings, ask about details, and recognize
how people interpret texts and experiences differently and what the interpretation is
based on (Aerila and Rönkkö 2015a). For additional information about interpreta-
tion see Rosenblatt (1978).
17.4 Designing and Craft Making as an Arts-Based Activity
As a preschool content area in Finland, crafts are understood as multi-material

learning processes which result in a craft product implemented with craft techniques
(FECD 2016). Traditionally, craft making in education is considered as a product-
oriented and teacher-directed activity (McClure et al. 2017). This position is oppo-
site to crafts in Finnish preschool where crafts are seen as hands-on activities during
which the children are able to express their feelings and experiences and the chil-
dren are encouraged to design and implement different craft products according to
their imagination and skills (FECD (2016).
In this chapter, craft making is seen as an innovative problem-solving process
(Rönkkö and Lepistö 2015). It seems that children undergo the similar phases of
perceiving, making, and interpreting the craft process as older makers. (Rönkkö and
Aerila 2015; Yliverronen and Seitamaa-Hakkarainen 2016). In an innovative, holis-
tic craft process, the same person designs a visual and technical appearance, pro-
duces the design with craft materials and technologies, makes necessary changes to
the design during its production, and finally assesses the process and the finished
product (Lepistö and Lindfors 2015; Rönkkö and Aerila 2015). The holistic craft
process includes reflection in action, and the embodied process consists of collab-
orative action with hands, eyes, and mind (Seitamaa-Hakkarainen et al. 2016). In
preschool, the craft process could be supported with limitations set by the teachers
regarding the materials and techniques. This is due to the nascent skills of the pre-
schoolers. (Rönkkö and Aerila 2015)
The first phase of the holistic craft process involves brainstorming to generate
ideas and designs (Rönkkö and Aerila 2015). The ideas resulting from brainstorm-
ing will provide the craft maker with the cues to commence designing the craft
product. Laamanen (2016) used the concept of design ideation to describe this
phase. The aim of ideation is to create new creative solutions in an innovative way.
Ideation is the phase for identifying limitations within designers’ experiences and
memories. Traditionally, the essential part of ideation is mental activity, but
Laamanen (2016) emphasized material ideas and materiality as a source of shaping,
transforming and concretizing, testing, and validating.
The design phase acquires specific information for the production of the craft
product (Seitamaa-Hakkarainen 2000). The craft maker must obtain information
about craft techniques, materials, and tools by asking, experimenting, and examin-
ing (Pöllänen 2009). The aim of designing is to visualize an artifact, considering its
usability and appropriateness (Lepistö and Lindfors 2015). Children as designers
are novices, and they lack the modeling skills to explore their ideas and communi-
cate them to others (Welch and Lim 1999). Therefore, it is important to develop
different kinds of models for novice designers.
In the implementing phase, the maker transforms visual ideas into material forms
(Kangas et al. 2013) and plans technological solutions involving materials, struc-
ture, and the details of production (Seitamaa-Hakkarainen 2000) in his/her sur-
rounding material conditions (Laamanen and Seitamaa-Hakkarainen 2014). As the

final phase, the maker backtracks through all the phases and evaluates the whole
process and product (Pöllänen 2009).
Our studies (Rönkkö and Aerila 2015, Aerila et al. 2016b; Rönkkö et al. 2016a, b)
indicate that different forms of stories and storytelling can be used to support each
phase of the craft process.
17.5 Study
This section describes the learning intervention to a historic house museum environ-
ment and aims at highlighting the arts-based education we strive at and the context
of using the ISE and craft making. This intervention was implemented in spring
2014 and 16 preschoolers participated in this intervention. During the intervention
versatile data were collected: observations, photos and videos of the activities in the
museum environment, drawings, craft products, interviews with the children and the
individual story endings.
All the preschoolers in our hometown visit one of the historic house museums as
part of their education. In this intervention, the museum is the home of a sailor’s
family who lived there in the early 1900s (see Fig. 17.1).
Stories were present from the beginning of the visit. After a short period of freely
exploring the museum, the preschoolers participated in a guided tour (see Fig. 17.2).
During the tour the children were allowed to freely explore the environment and ask
the guide questions based on the guide’s presentation and their experiences (Rönkkö
et al. 2016a).
After getting to know the environment and its history, the researchers introduced
the assignment of the individual story ending (ISE). The starting point of the ISE
was a picture book which illustrated the life in the museum environment in the early
1900s. The picture book is written by Annastiina Mäkitalo in the year 2012 and
called Kirsti of Old Rauma. It is a fictional picture book that includes real informa-
tion about the visited historic house museum, the artifacts in it, and the events of the
time. In the picture book, Kirsti’s father is a sailor and her mother is a washer-
woman. Her father has gone to sea and Kirsti and her siblings miss him. He has
promised to return when the apple tree blossoms. Kirsti tries to hasten his return by
making lace flowers that she attaches to the apple tree. However, he does not come
back and money becomes scarce. Kirsti’s mother tells her that she must sell the lace
flowers at the market to get money for food. Kirsti does not want to sell the lace
flowers, but she does not know what else to do. Not long after that, her father returns
and the entire family celebrates. The name Kirsti comes from the name of the his-
toric house museum. (Rönkkö et al. 2016a)
Fig. 17.1 The historic house museum Kirsti
Before reading the beginning of the picture book, the researchers told the chil-
dren a story about a girl, Kirsti, who had lived in the house and had hidden a p ostcard
in the yard area. The postcard was found and there was a story told by Kirsti. In the
postcard (written by the researchers) Kirsti wrote that there is a story about her, but
the ending of the story has disappeared. The researchers then read the beginning of
the story from the children’s book and after reading asked the children to tell the
ending of the story. (Rönkkö et al. 2016a) Since the children could not yet write
themselves, they dictated their ISEs to the adults. After telling their stories, children
illustrated them.
When all the children had finished the ISE-activity, they made craft products
based on porcelain dogs, whose symbolic meaning was discussed: sailors had a tra-
dition of using porcelain dogs as indicators of their absence. The children and
researchers also discussed longing for a family member, which is a central theme of
Mäkitalo’s picture book. Afterward, the children sketched a character named Longing
Larry, which reflected someone for whom they longed. Children designed and made
patterns for soft toys based on their sketches and designs. (Rönkkö et al. 2016a)
The children implemented their designs into craft products at their preschool
over the next 3 days. Making the craft product demanded using several craft tech-
niques. First, the children felted the body of the soft toys. Following their pattern,
they cut the characters out of felt and either embroidered the details or made them
with needle felting.
Fig. 17.2 A guide

presenting the historic
home museum
environment
Learning the felting technique was supported with a story: The story began by
imagining the sheep in the courtyard of the museum and continued by describing
how the wool is sheared from the sheep and then shaped and molded to be used in
felting. The children were also told illustrative stories of how people have made
crafts, such as slippers, mittens, and hats, by felting the sheep wool, and how they
were going to use this same technique to make our own soft toys. During the pro-
cess, one child told his own story of a craft technique: “Needle felting is easy if you
imagine yourself as being a sewing machine and acting like one.”
When children were satisfied with their characters, they were asked to describe
the soft toys and the process using the iPad application BookCreator. The interven-
tion ended in the preschoolers’ classroom. The ISEs were read and then discussed
in relation to historical times and feelings of missing someone or being happy. After
the discussion, the ending of Mäkitalo’s picture book was read, and the children’s
solutions were compared to the author’s. (Rönkkö et al. 2016a)
Figure 17.3 illustrates the phases of the learning intervention and the connection
between stories, the learning intervention and the activities.
Fig. 17.3 Stories implemented during the intervention
17.5.2 Data Analysis
The empirical data of this chapter consist of the individual story endings and soft
toys (the craft product) of the preschoolers. These data were supported by the illus-
trations of the stories as well as the designs and reflections of the craft products. The
analysis of the data was implemented by thematizing the stories and soft toys in
accordance to the rules of traditional qualitative content analysis (Lee 1999). The
aim of the analysis was to investigate what are the sources of the details in children’s
outputs.
The framework for the analysis was created based on the details of the picture
book, the activities and details in the museum environment and details outside these
categories. The starting point of the analysis is the beginning of the picture book and
the turning point where reading was interrupted. In the turning point, Kirsti was
asked to sell the lace flowers she had made to get money for the family. She had to
decide whether to keep the lace flowers and hope it will bring her father back or to
sell the lace flowers and give the money to her family. In this chapter, the analysis
concentrates on the materials children use in their outputs (stories and soft toys) and
the perspective of literacy skills is more or less left aside. The aim of the analysis is
to highlight the significance of the art activities. The results are described with sev-
eral examples of the individual story endings and craft products made by children.
17.5.3 F
inding 1: Children’s Storytelling Through ISE Method
Reveals Their Thought Processes and Values
All the individual story endings are different, even though they are inspired by the
same picture book and the same visit. The individual story endings contain material
from children’s lives and prior experiences, the historic house museum visit, and the
historical picture book (Aerila et al. 2016b). The picture book supports children in
comprehending the structure of a story and inventing the characters, while the visit
to an inspiring environment gives the children material for the details of their story,
and prior experiences and knowledge are used if they don’t acquire the material
from the book or the visit (Rönkkö et al. 2016a).
The analysis of the ISEs reveal that the picture book helped the children to
immerse themselves in the historical period and to empathize with Kirsti and her
situation. This finding is made apparent by the fact that all the ISEs have a happy
ending. For the children, a happy ending means that the family is united. Many of
the children also decided to figure out how to get money without selling the lace
flowers. William tells a story where Kirsti and her mother sell wooden products, not
the lace flowers. Additionally, the father sees the lace flowers in the apple tree and
comes home.
The mother asked what they should do. Kirsti suggested that they sell something else than
flowers. Maybe they could sell something they didn’t need themselves or make something to
sell from wood. Kirsti and her mother started making wooden products, and they sold them
and bought food and drinks. They were still concerned about the father. However, the father
had noticed the apple flowers and came home. They had a big homecoming party. (William,
May 6, 2014)
In Lucas’s individual story ending, Kirsti sells the lace flowers and gets a lot of
money. Lucas adds to his story the porcelain dogs that were present at the museum
and mentioned in the original story. Additionally, the guide told the children that the
porcelain dogs informed others whether the sailor was at home or not. This detail
and the story connected to it had clearly intrigued Lucas.
Then Kirsti realized that she has to sell the flowers. When all the lace flowers were sold,
she ran home. She only got 50 pennies, and she had to make more lace flowers. She sold
them and got 110 euros. Then she made some more flowers and got enough money to buy
50 porcelain dogs. The dogs started barking and asking the father to come home. (Lucas,
May 6, 2014)
The need for a happy ending tells us about the worldview of the preschoolers.
The children seemed to hope that, despite difficulties in life, things will change for
the better (Lukens 2007) and fulfilled this need in their stories. Furthermore, the
ISEs illustrated the importance of family.
It was apparent that the porcelain dogs and their meaning was the most memo-
rable detail of the museum visit. Casper forgot the lace flowers and concentrated
totally on the porcelain dogs. The well was the other detail of the intervention the
children clearly had experienced strongly and also Casper connected it to his
ISE. The well was not mentioned in the picture book at all, but the guide told about
the well and let the children peek inside it during the guided tour. The museum
guide told the children that the well had served as a refrigerator, and people used to
keep milk in the well to keep it cold. The guide also told the children a story of an
incident where someone had fallen in the well and almost died. Furthermore, the
well was located in the middle of the yard. In Casper’s ISE the porcelain dogs fall
into the well and Kirsti saves them.
The porcelain dogs began to be sick and afraid. The mother came and gave them medicine.
They didn’t want any. It was winter time, and the dogs went outside. Suddenly, they fell into
the well. The well was empty, and the dogs were in the bottom. Kirsti got a bucket and threw
the bucket into the well. The dogs climbed into the bucket, and Kirsti got them up. They were
now saved. (Casper, May 6, 2014)
The ISEs give us information on children’s perceptions of the past and knowl-
edge of the history. The most common detail outside the museum visit and the pic-
ture books were references to pirates and fighting at sea. It appears that children
connect the past times and being a sailor immediately to pirates. This is also a good
example of how to use ISEs as a source for evaluating children’s conceptions and
knowledge of different events. It seems that the children connected the seamen’s
history to pirates and fights (Aerila et al. 2016b). This connection is probably due to
other children’s books and movies. In Viktor’s ISE, Kirsti’s father is being robbed
but luckily manages to escape and comes back home (See Fig. 17.4).
Kirsti and her mom found money. Then they bought food. Then they went home and ate.
Then they waited dad to come home, but he didn’t come. And then they had to take the lace
flowers into a rock by the sea so dad would see them. Then, after a long time, dad’s ship
came at night. But it wasn’t dad. It was a robber who had stolen dad’s ship and now stole
the flowers. He was taken into a jail. Dad escaped and the other robber didn’t see that,
because they were sleeping. Finally dad got home and they lived happily ever after. (Viktor,
May 6, 2014)
The personal material outside the museum environment and the picture book
comes from many sources (Schank 2002). It seems that one of the favorites was the
Pirates of the Caribbean movie, which meant that the stories were full of fights,
pirates, and skeletons. This movie was presented in the Finnish television earlier in
the spring. Also in Tobias’s ISE, Kirsti’s father fights against the skeleton pirates.
He wins the fight and finds a treasure at the end.
Kirsti ran home. At home, there was her mother. Kirsti told her that she had been able to
sell all the lace flowers. Since the flowers were so beautiful, she was able get a hundred
marks. With this money, they bought a pirate ship and sailed to get the father home. The
Fig. 17.4 Viktor’s ISE and the illustration
father came home with them. The mother made the father a new shirt, and they went to bed.
Then they woke up, and the father went to sea again. During his trip, there were some
pirates, but the father won against the skeleton pirates. Then the father went to an island
and found a treasure. Then he went home to sleep in his own bed. With the treasure, they
were able to buy a new house. (Tobias, May 6, 2014)
The ISEs narrated at the museum give us detailed and useful information about
children’s experiences of the visit and learning during the visit. It also highlights the
meaning of stories in general in enhancing learning. The ISEs indicate that out of
the many details of the museum environment, the most memorable are the ones
which are connected to the picture book and awake children’s strong emotions, like
porcelain dogs indicating missing someone, or the well indicating danger. (Aerila
et al. 2016a, b; Rönkkö et al. 2016a, b)
The ISE method, like other arts-based activities. Embody children’s and teach-
ers’ understanding of the different learning experiences. They help the teacher dis-
cover what kinds of thoughts children have related to the stories and the themes
within.
17.5.4 F
inding 2: Designing and Craft Making Are Supported
by Children’s Picture Books and Story Telling
In the learning process at the museum, creative problem solving was made concrete
by an innovative craft-making process in which the children designed a product,
implemented their designs as a self-made product, and evaluated the whole process
(Lepistö and Lindfors 2015; Rönkkö and Aerila 2015). Stories are useful in differ-
ent phases of creative problem solving, like making a craft. In this chapter, stories
became the source of inspiration for children while designing and making a soft toy.
Additionally, children told stories about their craft process and about the product
(soft toy) as an activity reflecting the process.
In the holistic learning process at the museum, children heard several stories
from adults, a story based on Mäkitalo’s historical picture book, and then they cre-
ated an ISE. These were used as material for brainstorming ideas for the craft prod-
uct implemented during the learning process. One preschooler’s (see Lucas’s story)
craft toy illustrates how the stories heard and created during the intervention can
inspire children while creating their own products. Lucas was clearly impressed by
the meaning of the porcelain dogs in the historic house museum and in the picture
book. His ISE concentrated on the porcelain dogs and he described in his ISE how
Kirsti buys 50 porcelain dogs to hasten her father coming home. During the craft
process, he also designed and implemented a good-natured dog as a soft toy. As a
significant detail, he narrates in his reflection how the dog will wait for him on the
windowsill during the day and will come to sit in the crook of his arm at night
(Fig. 17.5).
In a sense, the product is the highlight of the self-told story (the ISE in this chap-
ter) and its central idea. An example of this modeling is the following process: One
preschooler implemented his ideas systematically from brainstorming to the final
product and the reflective story. In his ISE (see Viktor’s story), a thief steals the lace
flowers, and later even steals the father. Fortunately, the father escapes and arrives
at home, and the family lives happily ever after. Inspired by his story, he designed
and implemented a dinosaur as a soft toy; dinosaurs can protect his home and family
against thieves and robbers. The idea for the toy comes from the process, but only
has a connection to the ISE. According to Viktor, the dinosaur ensures that there
won’t be any thieves or robbers in his home while he is at school. It sits on the stairs
and attacks them if they come (Fig. 17.6).
The reflective stories created after this intervention reveal that the children feel
emotionally connected to their products and are happy with the results. For example,
Fig. 17.5 Lucas’s dog that waits on the windowsill during the day and sleeps with him at night
Fig. 17.6 Viktor’s dinosaur that protects the family against thieves and robbers
Tony made a cat as a soft toy, because he is longing for his cat when he is at mother’s
house. His parents have divorced and his beloved cat is living with his dad.
She is a normal cat. Its name is Vilpertti. It is for real, it is not just a toy…. I play with her.
It is funny when she bites me and licks my head. …. She observes things from the window.
(Tony 9th May 2014)
It seems that modeling the structure of a story by telling an ISE helps children to
express their experiences. The meanings of the hands-on activity and the output of
the process are emphasized while children thought of soft toys as a living character.
The interpretations of the soft toys in this chapter are based mainly on the reflective
stories made by children after the process. Reflecting and evaluating creative prob-
lem solving is a vital part of the creative learning process. The younger the children,
the more important stories are as a tool for reflecting and evaluating arts-based
activities. (Aerila et al. 2016a, b)
17.5.5 F
inding 3: Stories Develop Children’s Ability
to Interpret Their Surroundings
Arts-based learning helps us to experience the world in more holistic ways that
deepen understanding of self, others, and the world around us. The meaning of art
lies simultaneously in the conscious or subconscious intention of the creator, the
viewer, the output and the context (Lawrence 2008). The arts-based activities in this
chapter aim at highlighting how arts-based learning conveys children’s conscious
and unconscious learning to themselves, to other children and to adults. Without
arts-based activities this can be difficult since children are not always able to
describe their learning verbally and since part of the learning happens at a subcon-
scious level (Aerila and Rönkkö 2015a; Malin 2013).
Arts-based activities are powerful resources in early childhood education. They
can be used more effectively in education to make learning more child-centered and
meet the skill levels of children in order to give the children the opportunity to
develop their skills at their own pace. The way children implement the arts-based
activities and highlight the details is never completely random and contains infor-
mation about the content, the activity, or the child itself. The outcomes of a creative
process do not have to be at an artistically high level, but should be based on chil-
dren’s own perceptions (Molloy 2007).
In this chapter, we presented two arts-based activities in the context of a holistic
learning process to a historical house museum with preschoolers in Finland. Both
activities serve as an example of connecting the freedom of choice to joined learn-
ing goals (Harsin 2012). These kinds of activities give children the opportunity to
create personal, and unique outputs and enable them to use their own experiences,
knowledge and observations while implementing the assignments. During the inter-
vention all the children learned about the history of their home town, created a story
and implemented a craft product, which were the aims of this intervention. However,
they all had the possibility to incorporate their own ideas and work at their own
level. This freedom brings engagement and motivation to learning, which means
that the children are supported to use their full potential, and they are developing
their skills (Lawrence 2008).
Arts-based activities bring a collaborative factor to learning and help children
participate in classroom discussions and develop their social skills. In this chapter,
the factor is the joined starting point. Listening to the ISEs and the original ending
as well as presenting the craft products based on a joined starting point resembles
solving a mystery or a problem and children like comparing and discussing the
outputs (Aerila 2010). As McNicol (2017) says, stories engage us with our curiosity,
open-mindedness, imagination, and problem solving. These activities might also
help the children to develop their empathy by concretizing on how the same situa-
tions and texts can be interpreted differently (Bruner 2004).
Stories are at the root of our ability to communicate and understand what’s going
on around us. Additionally, understanding and memory are intertwined. Therefore,
stories help us remember things and should be used in learning of all content areas,
like history (Shawn 2016). According to Shawn (2016) there is a high correlation
between stories and the amount of information recalled. Stories in connection to
other arts-based activities are even more effective in supporting memorization. The
soft toy (implemented during the intervention described in this chapter) with strong
emotions and engagement holds the memories of the stories in a concrete way.
Stories make activities meaningful, soft toys bring them alive and both of them
emphasize children’s uniqueness. Therefore, arts-based activities are rewarding and
support the children’s desire to renew similar tasks (Karppinen 2008; Rönkkö 2011).
In the learning intervention to the historic house museum environment, the pre-
schoolers expand their thinking with different stories. The outcomes of the assign-
ment produce new stories that make experiences concrete. The learning intervention
of this chapter shows how stories are everywhere and children use stories to describe
interesting details, details that are not understood, details that are worrisome and
details that remind us of something else. Hopefully, the chapter also makes us think
how we could take advantage of stories even more and more aimfully.
17.6 Practical Tip
When implementing the ISE method with children, it must be done carefully. First,
the narrative must have appropriate content and there must be clear turning points in
the text. Figure 17.7 shows how the ISE method progresses in practice.
Implementing a craft product in a holistic craft process has many options. In the
following figure (Fig. 17.8) there are some suggestions for a creative learning pro-
cess with craft techniques and in connection to stories.
17.7 Conclusion
Arts-based activities take many forms and offer learners multiple ways of learning,
gaining information and being engaged (Appleton et al. 2008; Glass et al. 2013).
They are designed to help children develop a solid knowledge base and effective
problem solving and collaborative skills, as well as become self-directed, effective
collaborators and motivated learners. Through arts-based activities like stories, it is
easy to produce realistic learning problems that resonate with children’s experi-
ences, foster flexible thinking, and engage children in learning (Hmelo-Silver 2004;
Pino-James 2015; motivation in learning e.g. Deci and Ryan 2000).
Stories and storytelling in connection and as arts-based education have the power
to bring the curriculum to life, enabling vivid and embodied learning and under-
standing across different subject areas (McNicol 2017). As shown in this chapter,
stories and storytelling are great ways to explore themes and projects that meet
Fig. 17.7 Implementing the ISE method

Fig. 17.8 Implementing the design and making crafts
cross-curricular experiences and outcomes. As in this chapter, story making is a

creative activity that connects us with the people around us and with our past, pres-
ent, and future, opening the world of imagination.
Stories attract children. The arts-based activities connected to stories help teach-
ers develop children’s understanding of different themes of learning, allowing the
teacher to be informed of their thoughts. Making a story and connecting it with arts-
based activities allows children to articulate their thoughts in their own ways and
their own words.
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Chapter 18
The Tales That Bind Us: Family Stories
in Young Children’s Development
18.1 Introduction
As a young child, I was fascinated by stories of my great grandmother’s childhood. She had
been orphaned at a young age and spent the rest of her childhood and adolescence rotating
through relative’s homes as her aunts and uncles took turns caring for her. Around the age
of 10 she lost her eyesight and was blind for about 2 years until her sight miraculously
returned. Despite these many trials, she became a happy and generous woman who was a
crucial influence on my mother, and by extension on me. Stories of my great grandmother’s
childhood, and others like it, exposed me to attributes of my ancestors and their lives that
would have been incomprehensible to a young child outside the context of stories. Unlike
the books, plays, and other forms of children’s literature that were part of my childhood,
family stories were entirely about us—an “us” that included my parents, siblings, aunts,
uncles, cousins, and me as well as our ancestors. Family stories were shared around the
dinner table and at picnics or while running errands in the car. There was never a time I
can recall when my parents or other adults pulled the children together for the purpose of
sharing family stories. Our stories emerged naturally through the routines and rhythms of
our daily lives, but the inconspicuousness of them did not make them less important in
defining what it meant to be part of our family.
The family is the group to which young children first belong and these bonds
may be children’s strongest interpersonal ties (Pratt and Fiese 2004). Families are
also the most dominant and prevalent social organization in the world. Virtually all
children are raised within a family unit regardless of how families vary in configura-
tion, ethnicity, culture, class, religion, sexual orientation, or marital status. Most
research on family stories focuses on how they benefit individuals (Merrill and
Fivush 2016), but since the family is the group most important to young children’s
K. J. Kerry-Moran (*)
e-mail: kjkmoran@iup.edu

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-19266-2_18
356 K. J. Kerry-Moran
development there is no more important unit for early childhood educators to sup-
port as they seek to nurture children.
While the composition of families varies, the significance of them does not.
Family structures and cultures are diverse as children join them through birth, adop-
tion, or other means; however, all families have a heritage and most often this legacy
is shared with the young through family stories. This chapter describes the positive
role that family stories can play in young children’s lives. I begin by defining family
stories then describing the way family stories benefit infants and young children
across developmental domains through helping them to develop language and mem-
ory and making sense of self, family, and world. Next, I discuss implications for
early childhood educators supporting families in sharing family stories with their
young child. The chapter concludes with practical suggestions for families and
other caring adults invested in supporting young children’s development through
family stories.
18.2 Defining Family Stories
Family is where children encounter their first stories, but not all stories shared in the
home are family stories. Scholars hold both subtle and glaring differences in their
definitions of family stories. Within the field of English literature, family stories, a
now dated genre that depicted nuclear families with strong father figures and tradi-
tional family structures, were popularized in the 1800s but the genre evolved so that
by the late twentieth century families dealing with challenges such as divorce and
mental illness were included (Birch and Hooper 2016).
In contrast, both educators and social scientists consider family stories to be the
stories families create and tell within their family unit. These stories focus on the
people and events that are part of the family dynamic and history. Family stories are
meaningful in forming and shaping relationships across diverse family structures
(Fiese et al. 1999; Fiese and Spagnola 2005). Buchoff (1995) in one of the few texts
on family stories written for classroom teachers describes family stories as “narra-
tives in which the youngsters or other relatives are the featured characters in simple
home adventures of days gone by” (p. 230). This definition highlights the longevity
of family stories and the central role family members play but limits these tales to
recollections of events from the past. Many scholars have shared this same perspec-
tive. Stone (1988/2008) claimed “Almost any bit of lore about a family member,
living or dead, qualifies as a family story—as long as it’s significant, as long as it
has worked its way into the family canon to be told and retold” (p. 5). Fiese et al.
(1999) focus on the function of family stories as they “typically involve the creation
and maintenance of relationships, depict rules of interaction, and reflect beliefs
about family and other social institutions” (p. 6–7). Reese (2013) provides the most
expansive view of family stories, describing them as the stories shared about living
and deceased family members and their experiences. I follow Reese’s lead in
18 The Tales That Bind Us: Family Stories in Young Children’s Development 357
d efining family stories as events from the past and present that describe experiences
that living and deceased family members have had individually and together.
My great grandmother’s story described at the beginning of this chapter is a fam-
ily narrative about the events of her life that were remarkable enough to be remem-
bered and shared generations later. It is an intergenerational account because it was
told from one generation to another with the goal of forging bonds between genera-
tions (Merrill and Fivush 2016). Yet, stories told in families about the ordinary and
routine aspects of their lives are also important components of childhood.
Conversations held around the dinner table today may not be remembered next
week, but these tales are family stories as well. The informal and collaborative way
most family stories are told is described as reminiscing, an act involving one or
more family members in retelling an experience or personal event narrative from
memory (Bohanek et al. 2009; Fivush et al. 2004; Fivush 1998). These narrations
often recount mundane experiences such as a trip to the grocery store but may also
recall extraordinary events such as an exciting family vacation that is remembered
for years. Whether ordinary or extraordinary, reminiscing about personal events is
appealing to young children. A review of research on personal event narratives indi-
cates these tales are both the first stories children tell and the most frequently told
stories in early childhood (Westby and Culatta 2016). The pervasiveness of personal
event narratives in young children’s lives extends across home and school contexts
as many common activities in the early childhood classroom draw upon children’s
personal narratives such as telling about one’s doings over summer break or the
winter holidays.
Family stories appeal to the young child’s focus on self. These stories are univer-
sally engaging because they are about the young child: presenting the child or her
ancestors as protagonist in the leading role. All families have joys, sorrows, tri-
umphs, and challenges—life’s day to day happenings are the substance of family
stories so these tales are a universal component of childhood across cultures.
Consequently, family stories about ancestors or the experiences families share
together are promising sites for encouraging young children’s healthy development.
However, much of the research on family stories does not focus on the act of telling
these tales but on related areas such as mother’s style of reminiscing with young
children (Fivush et al. 2006), family interaction styles (Salmon and Reese 2016;
Song and Wang 2013; Starkweather 2012) and development of memory (Friedman
et al. 2011; Jack et al. 2009; Reese et al. 2008; Reese and Newcombe 2007; Salmon
and Reese 2015). Additionally, this research is primarily correlational, so questions
of causality remain, yet, there are many indicators that family stories hold value in
the lives of young children and their families.
The following section summarizes research findings on the benefits of family
stories for young children through language and memory development; developing
a sense of self, family bonding and social development including considerations for
young children who are adopted or join blended families; and young children from
broken, displaced or troubled families. The chapter concludes with suggestions for
families, teachers, and other caring adults seeking to enrich young children’s lives
through family stories.
18.3 Benefits to Language and Memory Development
From birth, infants begin developing language as they communicate wants and
needs through vocal cries and body language. Oral storytelling plays an essential
role in infants’ language development, and family stories can be rich sources of
daily storytelling in the family unit. Caregivers who narrate their actions and
describe objects such as “It’s time for a diaper change; here are the diapers, the
wipes, and lotion…” help young children to learn oral language and enhance social
and cognitive development. These short, spontaneous interactions that take place
before and during activities are “event talk” (Fivush et al. 2006) and they describe
the myriad small, seemingly inconsequential interactions within families that make
up daily life. It is through thousands of these observations and dialogic interactions
that language is built.
Young children develop and practice language through conversation and many of
these conversations take the form of family stories in the home. Tales told in casual
conversation about the day’s events may not seem like family stories. Indeed, these
types of stories are very different from those of my Great Grandmother’s childhood
that opened this chapter because tales of daily activities may not appear meaningful
enough to be passed between generations. Yet despite their common simplicity,
these are stories about family members and events told within the family unit by
family members. While these stories are not of individual significance, they are col-
lectively powerful in their impact on young children because they are pervasive in
the stories young children hear and tell within families. Consider a common child-
hood experience of going to the park with a parent. Conversation about the outing
occurs naturally as parent and child reminisce about their day. While the conversa-
tion and even the outing might soon be forgotten, they represent a family storytell-
ing event that regularly takes place in homes throughout the world and can play a
key role in young children’s language and memory development. The following
vignette has been written to represent a typical family storytelling interaction that
might take place between a father and daughter. It is used to highlight the ways that
reminiscing or family storytelling about common occurrences helps young
children.
A father and his 2-year-old daughter return to their apartment late one afternoon
after an outing in the park. As the father helps his toddler remove her coat and shoes,
he talks with her about their excursion.
Father: We had fun today at the park, didn’t we? [Daughter smiles] What did you like best?
[no response] Did you like the swings?
Daughter: Swings!
Father: Yes, I think you liked the swings best. Remember how fast you went when I
pushed you? (Father picks up the little girl and gently swings her from side to side) Whoosh!
Daughter giggles and throws her hands up in the air before her father puts her down.
Father: Then we watched the ducks in the pond. What did the duckies say?
Daughter: quack, quack, quack
Father: [laughs] They did lots of quacking!
Daughter: Duckies bwead (bread)!
Father: That’s right! A lady at the park was feeding the ducks bread. They were noisy
when they tried to catch the bread.
Daughter scampers around the living room exclaiming “quack, quack duckies!” as her
father smiles and laughs with her.
Parents and families are children’s first and most important teachers. During this
brief exchange with his toddler, this father used reminiscing to encourage her devel-
opment of memory, oral language, and story sequencing skills. Shared or elabora-
tive reminiscing is a collaborative storytelling approach in which the child and adult
reminisce together in a detailed, collective way that includes a focus on emotions
(Salmon and Reese 2016). Adults may encourage shared reminiscing by asking the
child questions about the event. The purpose of these questions is to engage the
child in remembering and retelling the story, not to quiz her on story facts. Questions
should allow children to meaningfully contribute their views and perspectives on
the event in the telling of the story.
Retelling a personal event requires memory of that event, and memory is a
learned skill that can be developed in interactions with caring adults (Bohanek et al.
2009; Jack et al. 2009). Memory formation is discussed elsewhere in this volume
(see Chap. 2), but family stories can be powerful tools in helping infants, toddlers,
and other young children to develop both memory and oral language (Fivush et al.
2006; Reese 2013). Scholars have long argued that narrative provides a framework
for sense making and memory development (Bruner 1990; Fivush 1998). For exam-
ple, many family members, like the father in the vignette, help toddlers practice oral
language skills by dialoging with them about outings and events. The young child’s
participation in retelling the story is encouraged by asking instead of telling her
what she did. Parents can focus on young children’s contributions to the story, by
being attentive, a benefit Engel (1995) claims eludes many young children as they
struggle to find an adult willing to listen to their stories. When the toddler in our
example responded that there was bread with the ducks, her father acknowledged
her contribution and elaborated on it by adding details about the woman feeding the
ducks and the birds’ reaction. This father’s elaboration by building on his child’s
contribution to the story helps her recall details about the event that may be solidi-
fied in her mind. This type of elaboration in reminiscing is associated with increased
memory in young children (Fivush et al. 2006; Reese et al. 2008; Reese and
Newcombe 2007).
Furthermore, the father in our example took cues from his daughter as to which
parts of the outing appealed to her most and actively reinforced those experiences
through play. Reese (2013) reminds parents and caregivers that young children
experience stories physically by climbing, moving, wiggling, and myriad other
physical responses. The young child participates through multiple modalities so that
the meaning making process includes exploration and expression through sound,
gesture, and movement. When the father gently swung his daughter from side to
side, he helped her experientially recall the swings and through his laughter and
focused attention on her actions, he encouraged her to explore the themes from their
outing by romping around the room while quacking like a duck. In this exchange,
the toddler and father participated in their reminiscing through oral language, sound,
movement, and gesture. Finally, the father directed the conversation so that the
events at the park were described in the order in which they occurred, laying a foun-
dation for understanding story sequence.
This example of the father and daughter’s reminiscing about their outing to the
park highlights many of the outcomes and benefits young children derive from fam-
ily storytelling in the home. Young children can participate in family storytelling
verbally through words and sounds and kinesthetically through action and move-
ment. Brief and seemingly inconsequential family storytelling through reminiscing
can support young children’s language, memory, and other skills across domains.
As young children grow and mature, the extent to which they can participate in and
benefit from family storytelling increases so that family stories influence a growing
sense of self, family bonding, and other attributes of social development.
18.4 Making Sense of Self, Family, and World
Children begin developing a continuous sense of self in early childhood. Much of

this development is accomplished through guided reminiscing with a caring adult
like that portrayed by the father and daughter in the previous section. This sense of
self continues to develop throughout childhood and is evident in adolescence and as
youth become young adults (Merrill and Fivush 2016). Research on self-concept
focuses on adolescents and young adults, but the seeds for how we think about our-
selves are planted in early childhood. Sharing family stories with young children
helps them to develop a strong sense of personal and narrative identity (see Chap.
4). Family stories about young children may also help them establish a strong self-
concept. Fivush et al. (2006) suggest in their review of research that elaborative
maternal reminiscing about emotions is related to a stronger self-concept in children
as they learn to identify, process, and manage emotions.
For example, when my oldest son was 3-years-old, his father served an intern-
ship in another country and was away for 6 weeks. My son missed his father pain-
fully and was so confused and angered by his absence that one day he took a
children’s push toy and, wielding it like a baseball bat, began to beat the staircase
banister. I calmed him, but those 6 weeks were a difficult time in my son’s young
life and for us as a family. My son and his father had a joyful reunion at his home-
coming and for weeks my son would not let his father leave the house without a
promise to return right away. We retold that story many times throughout his child-
hood, always emphasizing how much my son and his father love one another. At
times we discussed how hard it is to be away from someone you love and other
times the ways people sometimes do things they would not normally do when they
are angry and hurting inside. These family reminiscings helped us to develop a
shared understanding of this difficult time as well as a sense of accomplishment
because we got through it together.
Kiser et al. (2010) describe the process through which family stories result in
shared meaning making within families.
Family stories illuminate the content (the details of “what happened”), the affect (the “how
it felt”), as well as the meaning the family’s sense of “why this happened”). Collaborative
storytelling allows for each member to share a perspective of the experience, including the
emotions attached, which then allows the family to develop a shared understanding of
events. (p. 243)
While collaborative storytelling can result in shared understandings within families,

differences in developmental levels can also cause discrepancies in how family
members remember the same event. For example, two siblings might have very dif-
ferent recollections of a family picnic at the beach if the older sibling, with her
greater maturity and ability to notice nuances in body language and conversation,
recalls the icy interactions between her parents, but her younger brother remembers
only the day’s activities of swimming, hunting for seashells and building sand cas-
tles. These dissimilarities in memories can cause conflicts between family mem-
bers. Yet, varying memories can also open opportunities for family member’s
individual perspectives to be discussed and combined into shared meanings that are
more complete and complex collective interpretations of past events.
Driessnack (2017) insists that children need family stories to make sense of
themselves, their families, and the world in which they live. Family stories allow
children and adults to think more holistically about their experiences and by retell-
ing stories, they may “connect the dots” in making meaning of life’s events.
Collaboratively retelling the story of my son’s reaction to his father’s absence helped
my son remember this time and, as he matured, gain an increasingly complex under-
standing of how sorrow can turn to anger. The story has also become part of our
family lore as a testament to how much my son loves his father and a reminder of
the strength of their bond.
The way families talk about young children, and the way they frame stories of a
young child’s past actions may have lasting impact on how children think about
themselves. Learning to appropriately express and process emotions of self and
other is an important aspect of young children’s social competence (Marin et al.
2008) and some of the most important emotions for children to learn to regulate are
negative emotions that come with sad or scary incidents. Joint reminiscing about
negative family experiences can be beneficial for children’s social and emotional
wellbeing (Marin et al. 2008; Salmon and Reese 2015) when families model for
children how to process and deal with negative emotions. Consequently, family
stories of sad or unfortunate events should be retold honestly but from a perspective
that invites hope.
There are cultural differences in the content or style of family stories (Brown
et al. 2014a; Reese et al. 2017b; Tõugu et al. 2011; Wang 2007) such that teachers
must be aware of and respect that in some cultures bringing up a child’s past mis-
takes is an important component of family stories (Fiese and Bickham 2004; Fung
et al. 2004). Well prepared early childhood professionals recognize, respect, and
value cultural differences in families. Culture influences how all narratives are
shared (Brown et al. 2014a), especially family narratives. Numerous studies docu-
ment differences in family story telling from differences in the role of listening in
family stories (Fung et al. 2004) to differences in story content and emphasis on
individualistic or collective achievement (Reese et al. 2017a; Wang 2007). However,

despite cultural differences family stories should be hopeful. Song and Wang (2013)
describe this type of talk as positive framing, and it means that adults emphasize
positive outcomes when reminiscing with the child. Positive framing may be espe-
cially important when talking about negative events or experiences. The story of my
son’s anger while his father was away portrayed a negative experience but con-
cludes with my son calming and the happy reunion with his father. Similarly, a study
by Song and Wang (2013) with children ages 3–5 and their mothers demonstrated
that children whose mothers emphasized a positive outcome when discussing nega-
tive events had higher self-concepts.
Family stories also play important roles in children’s social development by
encouraging family bonding. Humans are social creatures and major theories of
human development acknowledge social ties and networks as essential to healthy
growth (See Piaget 1999; Glassar 2010; Vygotsky 1930–1934/1978). Family stories
and family history can help satisfy a need for social connection by anchoring the
child to a lifelong social group—a family (Fiese et al. 1999) and creating bonds that
help establish a sense of belonging (Fivush et al. 2004; Koenig Kellas et al. 2014).
Shared reminiscing of family stories with young children can help them feel part of
their family unit (Reese 2013). Through family stories, children may also come to
understand, and value their family history and heritage (Fiese et al. 1999), and part
of that understanding includes learning the family’s values and expectations (Merrill
and Fivush 2016).
The intergenerational story that opened this chapter about my great grandmoth-
er’s experiences as an orphan is one example. It embodied values that were impor-
tant to my family and that my parents’ and grandparents’ generations wanted to pass
down to their posterity. Despite enduring many hardships, my great grandmother
persevered. Her childhood story holds the theme of not giving up in the face of dif-
ficulty. This theme was evident in many of the family stories shared with me as a
child, including stories from the lives of my parents and other relatives. Stone
(1988/2008) elaborates on how family stories pass values from generation to gen-
eration by instructing family members on what it means to be part of the family:
how to act, how to think, and what to value. Perseverance was valued in my family,
so it was communicated in many of the family stories adults shared that socialized
children into what it meant to be part of our family unit.
Social development in young children depends on interactions with others.
Bronfenbrenner theorized that parents and families are at the center of a child’s world
and consequently play a large role in social development (Bronfenbrenner
1979/1996). In a study of father’s and mother’s home literacy practices, Baker (2013)
speculated that because young children learn many social behaviors and responses in
the home, the quantity and quality of their interactions with family members are
important. When families share family stories in a collaborative way, using a joint
reminiscing approach, young children learn and practice social cues and exchanges
with family members. Both the quantity and quality of interactions with adults mat-
ters for young children’s development and telling family stories can encourage a
high-quality interaction if adults focus on the child in telling a shared story together.
18.4.1 O
rigin Stories Across Family Compositions
and Structures
Origin stories describe how families are formed. These stories can be powerful
sources of unification and bonding and may include tales about births, adoptions,
marriages and partnerships (Suter et al. 2016), the creation of stepfamilies (Koenig
Kellas et al. 2014), as well as other means by which people form family groups.
Blended families in which children become part of a family unit including step-
parents and siblings may present significant challenges in forming family bonds,
and these origin stories can be emotionally tumultuous. Research with adult step
children conducted by Koenig Kellas et al. (2014) suggests that children’s involve-
ment in the formation of a new family may be important in determining that child’s
future satisfaction with the family unit. Consequently, the extent to which children
play an active role in “writing” the origin story for a stepfamily may influence a
child’s happiness in the blended family.
A conviction that one is loved and wanted can be cultivated within any family
composition or structure. Bonding to families through family stories is not limited
to children living with their biological parents. Young children who have been
adopted or join blended families can also have family ties strengthened through
family stories. Shotton (2013) discusses collaborative reminiscing with children liv-
ing in foster care in the context of Maslow’s (1954) research on the basic human
need to belong to a social group. Harrigan (2010) explored adoptive parents’ telling
of their adoption story to their child and the importance of the adoption story in
providing the child with a more complete personal history as well as other benefits.
Adoption includes complex circumstances and feelings, in large part because the
formation of one family unit is made possible through the loss or radical change of
another.
Likewise, families of all origins and types can live in complex circumstances
with family members experiencing disparate feelings about the family and its sto-
ries. While family stories are exceptional resources for nurturing and developing
young children, teachers must understand the complexity of family stories and the
individual circumstances of the families and young children in their care to best
support them.
18.5 Implications for Teachers
Many families share family stories with one another through the natural course of
conversation and socialization in their homes, yet teachers can encourage and
strengthen families in their use of family stories in home and school settings.
Inviting families to share a family story in the early childhood classroom places
these stories in a prominent position while providing all children with an opportu-
nity to share a part of themselves and their heritage with others. Gadzikowski (2007)
advocates for storytelling as a way to strengthen bonds between children and par-
ents and inviting the inclusion of family stories in the classroom is a way of encour-
aging this bond-building within families. School-age children may be invited to
interview a family member, share a family story on their own, and to bring in pho-
tographs and drawings depicting family stories (Buchoff 1995). Classroom bulletin
boards can be used to highlight family stories and family story themes such as
“Activities we like to do with our grandparents” or other themes to which each child
can contribute. A unit of study on family stories may culminate with families visit-
ing the school for a celebration of the children and their families.
At the same time, teachers must be knowledgeable of the family situation of
children in their care and sensitive to children’s individual circumstances and needs.
In a classroom where some children no longer have any living grandparents, a bul-
letin board depicting activities the children like to do with their grandparents may
be insensitive to these family situations. Focusing instead on activities children like
to do with family members may be more inclusive as it invites participation of all
children regardless of whether or not their family structure includes grandparents.
Painful circumstances can distress families of all types. While family stories can
be a source of pride and joy for most young children, a focus on family can be con-
fusing or even agonizing for others. Regrettably, some families face circumstances
that are troubled and even dangerous and young children in these families may be
vulnerable to the destructive effects of their environment. Young children who have
been abandoned or removed from their families and placed into the foster care sys-
tem may know little about their families or lack access to caring family members
who will share family stories with them. Furthermore, family stories can be sites for
contention as families may disagree on if stories should be told (Barnwell 2015).
Merrill and Fivush (2016) noted in their review of research on intergenerational
stories that nearly all research on family stories has been done with families who are
able to provide safe and psychologically stable home environments for their chil-
dren. However, an increasing number of families around the world must live in cir-
cumstances that offer significant challenges for physical and psychological safety.
A study with children of Holocaust survivors (Wiseman et al. 2006) found that par-
ents and children were “mutually overprotective” as parents who were survivors
were overprotective of their children and children responded with an overprotec-
tiveness of their parents and their own emotional needs. Children living in families
experiencing trauma such as the incarceration of a parent or children who have been
victims of violence or abuse from family members may not want to share or cele-
brate family stories (Salmon and Reese 2015).
Teachers must know the young children and families within their care. One of the
early childhood educator’s most important roles is supporting families in providing
a healthy and nurturing environment for young children. Children living as mem-
bers of a family unit that is troubled may find initiatives to include families in the
classroom embarrassing and even painful. In these circumstances, teachers must
make alternative sites for participation that do not single out children and allow all
young children to participate meaningfully in the classroom community.
The final section of this chapter includes ideas and activities that teachers may
share with families as well as incorporate into their classrooms.
18.6 P
ractical Tips for Creating and Cultivating Family
Stories
Teachers and caregivers are partners with parents and families in ensuring young
children’s healthy development. Teachers can support families in more frequent and
effective sharing of family stories by passing along strategies and resource recom-
mendations that families can adapt and incorporate into their own family practices.
The following tips include practitioner and research-based approaches for encour-
aging family storytelling in families with young children.
18.6.1 Travel
Every story has a setting and visiting places of importance to the family can provide
a sense of place for family stories while helping young children to better compre-
hend these stories. Fairbanks (1991) describes in a magazine article how he took his
children to tour a home that had been built by one of his ancestors and is now part
of a historic site at a state park. Not surprisingly, the tour inspired family conversa-
tion about this ancestor. Visits to less auspicious locations such as the neighborhood
in which a parent grew up or a grandparent’s school building can have just as great
an effect on young children by allowing them to see the places where the stories
they’ve heard took place. An added benefit to visiting the sites of family memories
may be enhanced recall of events and stories. Brown et al. (2014b) point out that a
setting or situation may trigger memories. If the parent or grandparent who grew up
that area is included in the visit, revisiting a place from their youth may help them
recall seemingly forgotten events.
18.6.2 Document Children’s Life Stories
Young children can participate in documenting their life stories by saving and stor-
ing pictures, creating artwork, video and audio recording, and telling and writing
stories to remember the events of their lives. There is a body of literature on looked
after children, children living in foster care, and adoption that focuses on collecting
and preserving children’s life stories. While there is some controversy surrounding
how life stories should be documented and preserved with children not living with
their birth families (Hooley et al. 2016), the various approaches to documenting
young children’s life stories can be adapted for children in any home or family situ-
ation. One approach is the Memory Store, which has been used with children pre-
paring for adoption or living in foster care/looked after children. Shotton (2013)
conducted a study with a Memory Stores approach used with looked after children
living in Great Britain. Children collaborated with their care giver to create a mem-
ory store that might take the form of a box, book, or electronic media. The Memory
Store was used for collaborative reminiscing between the child and care giver and
was a cherished way of remembering good times and helping the child to feel loved
and part of the family unit. Even very young children can work with supportive
adults to select photos and memorabilia to record a special time. The adult and the
child can use the Memory Store to jointly reminisce about the shared event in a way
that helps the child to remember and strengthens the child’s sense of self and bond
with the family. Lifebooks are similar to memory stores in that they document chil-
dren’s life stories including the known past and present.
18.6.3 Document Family Stories
Similar to documenting children’s life stories, working with young children to doc-
ument family stories has benefits as these stories are preserved for future genera-
tions (Buchoff 1995). Strategies for documenting life stories such as the memory
box can be adapted for use with families as well as the creation of scrap books,
photo books, and other types of memory books. Social media and both free and fee-
based web and computer applications for recording and preserving documents,
audio, and video can be engaging and valuable tools for preserving and sharing
family history (see Hendrickson 2018). Children can participate in many genealogi-
cal and family history initiatives, and some resources (See Family Tree and Family
Search Family History Activities for Children) and activities (see The Family
History Guide) are designed for young children.
18.6.4 Share Name Stories
The story of how a child was given his or her name is a related activity to family
origin stories. Children who have been named after a relative or historical figure
may find inspiration in their connection to an admired person while other children
may simply enjoy learning more how they got their name or why it is spelled in a
particular way. School age children may be encouraged to interview a parent about
how they were given their name and to research the meanings and origins of their
names similar to the account of Larry Echo Hawk about how his Native American
family gained their name as described in an interview with Davies (2013).
18.6.5 Share Birth Stories
Reese (2013) advocates that birth stories can play an important role in helping a
child develop positive self-concept as well as a sense of belonging within the family
unit. Stories about birth and the important place of children in the family are popular
books for infants, toddlers and other young children (see On the Night You Were
Born by Nancy Tillman (2010), Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown
(1942/2017), and Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney (1995/2008)
among others). Birth stories are good starting places for introducing family stories
that took place before the child was born or can remember because these stories are
focused on the young child. Toddlers and preschoolers, are developmentally less
able to focus on the wants, needs, and perspectives of others so stories about how
they joined the family are excellent starting places for telling family stories about
the past.
18.6.6 E
xplore Resources from Community and Faith-Based
Organizations
Religion and membership in a church, synagogue, mosque, or other faith-based

organization is an important part of life for many families around the world. Faith-
based organizations often include strengthening families as part of their missions
and many practices and programs support developing and sharing family stories.
Similarly, community organizations such as public libraries may offer programs
focused on research, family history, and recording family stories (Barnwell 2015).
While the resources provided by these organizations are most often directed toward
adults, there are offerings for children and family-based programs that children can
work on with a caring adult. For example, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints sponsors FamilySearch, a nonprofit family history organization and website
that provides access to free genealogy resources as well as free data storage for fam-
ily history photos, documents, audio recordings, and stories (FamilySearch).
Children can participate with their families in recording family stories and upload-
ing them to the website to be shared with other relatives. The Cooperative Baptist
Fellowship (Cooperative Baptist Fellowship) supports ministry efforts with refu-
gees that include resources focused on family history. Families and teachers can
search for resources in their local community that support their efforts in sharing
family stories.
18.6.7 Incorporate Children’s Literature
Children’s picturebooks, films, songs, and fingerplays often include families in

ways that can support young children in discovering, creating and exploring their
own family stories. Because the family is a central topic in literature for young chil-
dren, appropriate books and media may be found for any language and culture.
18.7 Conclusion
Families are the most important people in young children’s lives and family stories
can be strengthening influences for children around the world. When families make
and share stories together, they help young children develop language and memory
through reminiscing. As children grow, family stories help them in developing a
sense of self and bonding within their family unit. Early childhood educators work
as partners with parents and families in creating home environments and cultures
that support the young child’s healthy development. Many parents, grandparents,
and other caregiving adults are unfamiliar with the benefits these family stories hold
for their young child. Early childhood professionals can play a vital role in encour-
aging families to share family stories with their young child and helping families
understand the many benefits these stories can bring.
The stories my mother shared with me about her grandmother have since been
passed to my own children, and we have added to them with stories of our own.
These tales are the ties that bind us in a cycle that bonds generations across time and
distance. Early childhood educators who help families learn and establish healthy
habits of sharing family stories contribute to a cycle of nurturing and building rich
relationships that can last for generations. Sharing family stories costs nothing more
than time and attention but promises rewards that may be passed to future
generations.
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Story in Children's Lives: Contributions of The Narrative Mode To Early Childhood Development, Literacy, and Learning

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Educating the Young Child 16

Advances in Theory and Research, Implications for Practice

Story in Children’s Lives:

Advances in Theory and Research, Implications

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7205

Story in Children’s Lives:

ISSN 2543-0610 ISSN 2543-0629 (electronic)

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

The Organization of the Book

Pittsburgh, PA, USA Kelli Jo Kerry Moran

1 Introduction: The Strength of Stories���������������������������������������������������� 1

Part I Hearing Children’s Voices

Part II Recognizing and Applying Stories

9 Scaffolding Children’s Narrative Comprehension Skills

Part III Holistically Supporting Children’s Wellbeing

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 1

1.2 Defining Story and Its Forms

In contemporary Western cultures, stories are most commonly associated with

One of the fundamental principles of child development is that experiences in early

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 11

episodic memory generally is regarded as a higher level cognitive process because

interact with responsive adults about memories, understanding of temporal con-

Where young children are concerned, a major influence on memory formation is

Table 2.1 Developmental sequence of personal narrative in young children

Autobiographical memory is affected by the characteristics of the people involved

2.4.1.1 Implications for Practice

2.4.2.1 Implications for Practice

2.4.3.1 Implications for Practice

It is important to use different modalities to elicit children’s autobiographical mem-

2.4.4.1 Implications for Practice

Autobiographical memory can be conceptualized as a record of a series of selves

Liisa Karlsson, Minna Lähteenmäki, and Anna-Leena Lastikka

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 29

additionally, how can these children, living in tenuous circumstances, be helped to

3.2 Background and Previous Literature

Permanent migration flows in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation

3.2.1 Child Welfare, Safety and Hearing Children

3.2.3 Culture of Silence and Lack of Communication

Silence can also be collective: subjects considered too inappropriate or unsafe to

3.3.1 The Storycrafting Method

The Storycrafting method provides a solution to this problem by simultaneously

3.3.2 Background of the Storycrafting Method

3.3.3 Theoretical Underpinnings

The narrative knowledge gained through Storycrafting is very different to a tradi-

3.3.4 Storycrafting in Action

3.3.5 Research Questions

We aim to explore the information provided by children seeking asylum, via

3.3.6 The Research Data

3.4 Results: From Silence to Telling

3.4.1 From Silence to Telling

3.4.2 Emotion Words and Agency in the Children’s Stories

Given the difficulty of examining well-being by studying the emotion words

3.4.3 Threats and Dangers in the Stories

Table 3.1 Threats and victims

3.4.4 Agency and Inability in Dangerous Situations

Fig. 3.3 Dangerous Unknown

Other indoor places

The threatened characters often take a passive attitude to threatening situations

There are some challenges and limitations to Storycrafting. First, it is important

We would like to conclude by stressing that Storycrafting is a valid and therapeu-

Acknowledgements We would particularly like to thank the asylum-seeking children involved in

Alderson, P. (2001). Research by children. International Journal of Social Research Methodology,

OECD. (2009). Doing better for children. Retrieved from: http://www.oecd.org/social/family/

The Organization of the Book

Pittsburgh, PA, USA Kelli Jo Kerry Moran

1 Introduction: The Strength of Stories�� 1

Part I Hearing Children’s Voices

Part II Recognizing and Applying Stories

9 Scaffolding Children’s Narrative Comprehension Skills

Part III Holistically Supporting Children’s Wellbeing

1.2 Defining Story and Its Forms

2.4.1.1 Implications for Practice

2.4.2.1 Implications for Practice

2.4.3.1 Implications for Practice

2.4.4.1 Implications for Practice

3.2 Background and Previous Literature

3.2.1 Child Welfare, Safety and Hearing Children

3.2.3 Culture of Silence and Lack of Communication

3.3.1 The Storycrafting Method

3.3.2 Background of the Storycrafting Method

3.3.3 Theoretical Underpinnings

3.3.4 Storycrafting in Action

3.3.5 Research Questions

3.3.6 The Research Data

3.4 Results: From Silence to Telling

3.4.1 From Silence to Telling

3.4.2 Emotion Words and Agency in the Children’s Stories

3.4.3 Threats and Dangers in the Stories

3.4.4 Agency and Inability in Dangerous Situations

4.3.1 Setting and Participants

4.3.2 Co-composing Everyday Narratives

4.3.3 Interpreting and Re-telling Everyday Narratives

4.4.1 I Have: Performing Children’s Identities

4.4.2 I Can: Performing Children’s Identities

5.2 Theories of Humor

5.3.1 Type of Humor Employed

5.3.2 Types of Stimuli

5.3.3 Learning and Development Connections

When we consider humor as “a type of mental play involving a lighthearted, non-

5.4.2 Humor Analysis

5.5 Practical Suggestions

6.2 Storying Boys’ Experience in Story Circles

6.3 Current Study

6.4.1 Everyday and Exceptional Experiences with Family

6.4.2 Real and Imagined Encounters with Ferocious Animals

6.4.4 Making Connections Through Story

6.6 Implications for Practice

7.2 The Action Telling Method

7.3 Theoretical Insights on the Action Telling Method

7.3.1 Image of a Child

7.3.2 Narrative Approach: Focus on the Experience

7.3.3 Research Outcomes of the Action Telling Method

7.4 Action Telling in an Early Childhood Classroom

7.5 I mplementing Action Telling Method in the Early

7.5.1 First Phase: Select the Scenario and Prepare Materials