Switching on to stories

Talking Sense – Volume 45, No 4, Winter 1999

Keith Park, Advisory Teacher for Sense, describes how children of all abilities can enjoy and take part in stories like ‘A Christmas Carol’.

One of the amazing things about stories - especially well-known stories and myths - is that they can be enjoyed and appreciated at all sorts of levels. A myth like the Odyssey for example, can be understood as a poem about exile. Or it can be enjoyed as a good yarn with shipwrecks, fights and monsters. Perhaps because of their roots in community story-telling, stories appeal to people of all ages, from different backgrounds and with all levels of ability.

The groups of children and young people I work with face a wide range of challenges - including physical disabilities, learning disabilities and multi-sensory impairments. So it can be difficult to design activities that include and engage everyone at a level that is suitable for them. This is especially true for children with sight and hearing difficulties who may find it very difficult to take part at group activities.

This is where stories like 'A Christmas Carol’ come in. By adjusting the stories to the needs of a particular group of children, and using a `call and response’ technique which emphasises the rhythm and musicality of the stories, children of all abilities can take part. For children with sensory impairments other support, such as a member of staff who can sign to them, or act as an intervenor may also be needed. Technical adaptations can also be helpful. For example, I use a `step-by-step communicator’ with children with sensory impairments. This is a wedge-shaped switch, about 3 inches in diameter, which is used to record each of the lines in the call-and-response. The recorded speech is activated by pressing the switch, which means, for example, that teenagers who do not have speech can not only participate in the sessions but also run them.

A Christmas Carol in Greenwich

One of the schools that I work at, Charlton Park School in the London Borough of Greenwich, works with children with physical disabilities and associated learning disabilities. In the build up to Christmas, we have used ‘A Christmas Carol’, by Charles Dickens, as a means of developing inclusive storytelling techniques. This is how we have adapted the story:

Episode 1: Scrooge

Storyline: It is Christmas Eve and everyone is having fun except Scrooge. When anyone mentions Christmas, he says ‘Bah, Humbug!’ While everyone is having fun, he goes home alone to his cold and dreary house.

Game: Bah, Humbug! Scrooge and the rest of the group (poor but happy) engage in a call-and-response dialogue:

Everyone shouts out the final line ‘Humbug’. Alternatively, someone can activate a BigMack switch that has the word ‘Humbug’ recorded on it.

Episode 2: Marley’s Ghost

Storyline

Scrooge, alone in the darkness of his home, sees the ghost of Jacob Marley, his former business partner, who appears in chains to tell him that he will be haunted by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.

Game: Marley’s Ghost: Everyone sits in a circle: try this in a darkened room, and begin quietly to contrast with the preceding episode. Marley’s ghost goes around the circle making spooky noises, covered with a space blanket or cloth of some kind, and chants:

BOO!!

On the word 'BOO!’, the ghost throws a blanket over his/her chosen victim, who can be the next ghost.

Episode 3: The First of the Three Spirits

Storyline:

The first spirit takes Scrooge back to Christmas past to see his old boss, Mr Fezziwig, a jolly and generous man. They see lots of seasonal merrymaking, including Mr Fezziwig’s Ball

Episode 4: The Second of the Three Spirits

Storyline

The second spirit shows Scrooge how Bob Cratchit - one of Scrooge’s employees - and his family, are enjoying a Christmas dinner of roast goose despite their poverty. They toast Scrooge, despite the fact that he is mean and horrible to them.

Episode 5: The Last of the Spirits

Storyline

The third spirit is Christmas-Yet-To-Come. He shows Scrooge the Cratchit household where Tiny Tim’s place by the fire is empty. No one remembers Scrooge. It’s time for Scrooge to make his moral choice!

Game: Saving Tiny Tim: try this with the lights out and the words spoken quietly.

At 'THIS!’ a blanket is thrown over a chosen victim, who can then choose the victim for the next go.

Episode 6: The End of It

Storyline

Scrooge wakes up a changed man - kind and generous, he makes his way around the group, shaking everyone by the hand and saying things like ‘How nice to meet you’ or ‘Have a pay rise’ (this always gets a laugh!).

All the teenagers in the group have enjoyed participating in ‘A Christmas Carol’ and it has taught us all a lot about the potential of inclusive storytelling, and about the importance of using communication devices throughout the school day. Anyone who would like more details please contact me on 0771-502 6354. Happy New Year!

Keith Park