English · Year 1 · Spoken Language: Listening, Speaking, and Performing · Summer Term

Telling Tales and Chanting Rhymes

Become a storyteller by learning to retell your favourite tales and recite fun poems for your friends to enjoy.

TL;DR:Step into the world of storytellers and poets with this topic, designed to unleash your pupils' creativity and confidence with spoken language.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• National Curriculum for England: English - Spoken Language - speak audibly and fluently with an increasing command of Standard English

About This Topic

This topic, 'Telling Tales and Chanting Rhymes', is fundamental to the Year 1 English curriculum in Great Britain, building directly upon the Communication and Language and Literacy areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). It focuses on developing pupils' oral literacy, a cornerstone for future reading comprehension and writing skills. The National Curriculum for England specifies that pupils should be taught to become familiar with key stories, fairy stories and traditional tales, retelling them and considering their particular characteristics. This topic directly addresses that objective by encouraging children to internalise narrative structures (beginning, middle, end) and explore the musicality of language through rhyme and rhythm.

By engaging in storytelling and poetry recitation, pupils develop their confidence, expressive language, and listening skills. They learn to sequence events logically, a crucial skill for both comprehension and their own narrative writing. Furthermore, exploring rhyme enhances phonological awareness, which is vital for decoding and spelling as they progress through their phonics programme. The performance aspect encourages pupils to think about audience and purpose, using prosody, gesture, and expression to convey meaning and engage listeners, laying the groundwork for later work in drama and public speaking.

Key Questions

1. Explain the sequence of events in a familiar story.
2. Identify the rhyming words in a poem you have learned.
3. Compare telling a story with just your voice to telling it with actions.

Learning Objectives

• Retell a familiar traditional tale using sequencing language like 'first', 'next', and 'finally'.
• Recite a simple poem from memory with appropriate expression.
• Identify and generate simple rhyming word pairs.
• Use voice and simple actions to enhance a story or poem for an audience.
• Listen to and respond thoughtfully to stories and poems told by others.

Key Vocabulary

Storyteller	A person who tells stories.
Rhyme	When words have the same ending sound, like 'bee' and 'tree'.
Sequence	The order in which things happen in a story.
Beginning	The start of the story where we meet the characters and setting.
Middle	The part of the story where the main events or problems happen.
End	How the story finishes and the problem is solved.
Character	A person or animal in a story.
Poem	A piece of writing, often with rhyme and rhythm, that expresses feelings or ideas.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Rhyming words are words that start with the same letter.

What to Teach Instead

Explain that rhyming words are words that sound the same at the end, like 'cat' and 'hat'. Words that start with the same sound are called alliteration, like 'slimy snake'.

Common Misconception

A story can only be told by reading it from a book.

What to Teach Instead

Show examples of oral storytelling from different cultures and explain that stories were told long before they were written down. Emphasise that their own memories and imagination are powerful tools for storytelling.

Common Misconception

The order of events in a story does not matter.

What to Teach Instead

Use a familiar story and deliberately mix up the sequence of events. Ask pupils if it makes sense and discuss why the beginning, middle, and end need to be in the correct order for the story to work.

Active Learning Ideas

Morning Circle

Story Map Creations

After reading a familiar tale like 'The Three Little Pigs', the class works together to draw a large 'map' showing the key events in order. Pupils can then use the map as a visual aid to retell the story to a partner.

30 min·Whole Class

Morning Circle

Rhyme Detectives

Provide pupils with picture cards of objects (e.g., cat, hat, dog, log, car, star). In pairs, they must find the pictures that represent rhyming words and match them up.

15 min·Pairs

Morning Circle

Puppet Theatre Retelling

In small groups, pupils use simple stick puppets or finger puppets to retell a well-known fairy tale. This encourages them to use different voices for characters and consider actions alongside words.

45 min·Small Groups

Real-World Connections

• Telling a family member or friend about what happened at school, in the correct order.
• Singing nursery rhymes and pop songs, which often use rhyme and rhythm.
• Following a sequence of instructions to build a toy or play a game.
• Understanding the plot of a favourite television programme or film.
• Sharing a funny joke, which relies on careful timing and telling.

Assessment Ideas

Quick Check

Observe pupils during paired retelling activities. Use a simple checklist to note if they include a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Discussion Prompt

Pupils choose a favourite short poem learnt in class and recite it to the teacher or a small group. Assess for memory, clarity of speech, and use of expression.

Quick Check

After a storytelling performance, pupils use 'two stars and a wish' to say two things they did well and one thing they would like to improve next time.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if a child is too shy to perform in front of the class?

Allow them to perform to a smaller, more comfortable audience first, such as a partner, a puppet, or just the teacher. Build confidence gradually and never force a performance.

How can I help pupils who struggle to remember the sequence of a story?

Use visual aids like story maps, picture cards, or story stones. Breaking the story into three main parts (beginning, middle, end) can also provide a simpler framework for them to follow.

Why is it important to learn poems by heart?

Learning poems by heart, or 'by rote', helps children to internalise language patterns, rhythm, and vocabulary. It improves memory and builds confidence in speaking aloud.