THE STORY TELLING METHOD OF TEACHING IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS.

Children love stories,they make interesting images in the minds when listening to a story. Teaching by story telling is one of the best method of teaching ,the teacher can employ in any lesson presentation.
Oxford Dictionary defines,'' A story is a narrative of real or fictional events told inorder to amuse interests or illustrates something.'' A Story is therefore the action of narrating real or fictious.
The historical development of story telling dates back to the times when the societies began. Leaders of smallest social institutions,the family , such as parents,grandparents or other outspoken community members were always regarded as proficient good story tellers. The stories contributed to the moulding of children's charaters as stories carried many social values.
The teacher and primary school teacher in particular has assumed this important role of story telling. Since primary education is more concerned with teaching of moral values story telling becomes a very important method of teaching. Traditional folk stories ,therefore have great significance in the system of modern education.
The qualities of a good story according to Jacinta and Regina(1980)should have good morals were good behaviour is rewarded and evil deeds is punished and should be short precise to the point and not complicated to the children's cognitive conscience. Avoid stories with too many characters and too much dialogue , but should be dramatic and create much excitement. Weird stories which may frighten children should be avoided at all costs to promote a conducive learning environment.
A good story teller should have qualities that are abilities to use gestures,facial expressions,make use of the language that suits the cognitive level of the learners and to use appropriate aids ,like pictures ,audio-visual to motivate pupils.
Moreover the story teller 's appearance should not attract more attention than the story being told. The story teller must speak fluently ,using a clear voice tone and the expressions must be changed spontaneously to suits the moods of the story.
When using the story in a lesson ,the teacher can use story telling in an introduction and should be very short. In social and moral lessons story telling is best appropriate for use in the book stage of the child book child approach. It is necessary for the teacher to be observant of learners' reactions so as to take necessary measures.
Story telling has more benefits as an effective method of instruction ,because it involves many mediums of communication for example use of gestures,song and dance. It also moulds characters and provides enjoyment. Stories broadens the knowledge of the children and the cultural beliefs and activites. It also establishes good relationships among pupils and their teacher.
Story telling has also negative impacts as it can disadvantages learners ,if the story teller doesn't have the required skills.Extensively use of the story telling method tends to produce passive listeners who receive information without much probing questioning to understand much better. It is also the poor method of active participation by learners as it lessens the opportunity for them to learn by doing.