Felt boards are wonderful for story telling -- or for purely inventive play -- and are the most popular form of felt accompanied storytelling. Many commercially manufactured felt boards are thematically designed and often go along with specific books, but they can easily be made to suit oral-storytelling techniques as well.
The boards are generally constructed of cardboard, very thin veneer or plastic covered in felt. Shapes, patterns, landscapes, people, farm animals, planets and various other objects are then designed from an assortment of colors, also out of felt, and placed on the board. Felt sticks to felt, so there's no need to worry about adhesives. Kids take great delight in arranging -- and rearranging -- imagery to suit a story, or their imaginations.
Crafting felt puppets to correspond with a story is another popular means of encouraging interactive learning. The puppets may be created prior to the telling of the story, or for older children they can be made following a story so as to be rehearsed, and then re-enacted. Various characters and props can be assigned to individuals, generating a sense of responsibility for acting out their parts, accordingly, in this dramatic play.
Hand puppets can be constructed first by cutting out a covering for the hand. If you're making a tree, for instance, use brown felt and make the bottom part (that covers the hand) wider than the top portion (the tip of the tree). For a person, you can have the base be narrower, but wide enough to cover the hand, and have the top be rounded in the shape of a head. Sew or glue any open edges. The puppet then can be adorned appropriately: with leaves, or eyes or hair, for example. The felt on the puppet will be more durable if sewn or attached with glue. If a hand puppet seems too elaborate, simply construct a stick-felt puppet using large craft sticks.