Storytelling

Art is a significant facilitator of communication and language in education that takes both an educational and transforming role. It was based on this assumption that in 2010 the Young Storytellers Programme was initiated at CIV. This programme, within the framework of CIV’s Educational Programme, aims to deepen and diversify the methods of learning and the expressive capacity of children. It emerged as an artistic-educational and cultural experience that has sought to develop communication skills and a means of stimulus for other young storytellers. These skills are immensely significant to the active and creative participation of children, promotion of their well-being and its influence on their identity.

In 2011, based on the excellent results achieved by a pilot group, storytelling became a teaching method in Kindergarten and reflected throughout the school. The choice of a curriculum which is age-appropriate and encourages reading techniques, brought about a new dynamic towards learning. Simultaneously, the Magic of Storytelling (“Magia das Palavras Contadas”), run by the CIV Library, has developed a cultural bond within the educational community by inviting various writers, storytellers, sculptors, painters, film-makers, screenwriters and actors.

Storytelling, the art of communicating and the power of words allows children to perceive reality, and create tools to understand the world that surrounds them. 

Stories are indispensable in the development of language proficiency in both first and foreign languages, in promoting mathematics, geography, history, biology and even gastronomy. They also provide, through their narrative and children’s imagination, values and solutions to everyday situations.