Storytelling is used in classrooms to help children develop oral language skills. Preschoolers especially can benefit from storytelling, as their language skills are not advanced enough for a formal classroom. By telling stories, students learn to put words and phrases together in logical sentences and paragraphs. Building upon existing language skills is an important goal of classroom storytelling and can increase a child’s confidence in his ability to communicate ideas and perceptions.
Storytelling can teach children to listen and can enhance their reading comprehension. Listening skills are honed as children try to make sense of their classmates' stories. In addition, storytelling in preschool can ease the transition into learning advanced subjects by introducing students to new patterns and unfamiliar concepts, emphasizing the importance of listening and comprehending.
In the classroom, storytelling can be used to help students understand the world around them by teaching them to create complex worlds with complex characters. Teachers can use stories to help children understand fear, love, diversity, friendship and other complex concepts that aren’t easily explained. Storytelling can teach children about motivations and empathy through considering the characters' thoughts and actions. Preschool children can overcome shyness by telling stories in the classroom to their peers.
Students who participate in storytelling develop creativity. Storytelling requires students to create images based on things they’ve seen or imagined. Creating stories stimulates the imagination and encourages children to consider the world around them by teaching children to combine familiar concepts in new and different ways. By incorporating funny voices or dramatic gestures, preschool children learn how to gauge audience reaction and alter their stories accordingly.