From the beginning of time, storytelling has been the means by which cultures and societies have preserved and celebrated their memories, passed on their values and belief systems, entertained, instructed and reported. Long before there were written records, storytellers taught through the oral tradition.

Brain-based
Today, teachers can employ this age-old educational tool with the assurance that it still works. In fact, recent brain-based research supports intuitive belief in storytelling with empirical evidence. In Making Connections, Teaching and the Human Brain (Addison-Wesley, 1994), Renate and Geoffery Caine state, "There is strong reason to believe that organization of information in story form is a natural brain process... We suggest that the brain research confirms that evidence and begins to explain why stories are important."

In a nutshell, neuroscience is discovering that the brain is wired to organize, retain and access information through story. If that is true, then teaching through story means that students will be able to remember what is taught, access that information, and apply it more readily.

Memory
Story aids memory because it puts information into a meaningful context, to which other information can be "attached." Story also puts information into an emotional context, and research indicates that emotions play an essential role in both memory and motivation. When emotions are present, hormones released to the brain act as a memory fixative.

Reading & Writing
Storytelling is indeed powerful. It provides the foundation for learning. Storytelling teaches students to listen actively and analytically, improves verbalization skills, increases imagination and visualization skills, and increases comprehension and retention skills. As educators know, listening is the basis for all language skills: talking is learned by listening, reading is based on verbal language, writing is based on reading. Without the building block of listening, you are building without a firm foundation. And once students have listened to a story and used that story to create their own, they become anxious to write them down.