Visual Storytelling

Share the wonder of visual storytelling with children using these imagery-based activities.

Wordless Books

Introduce the concept of visual storytelling with these wordless books.

Journey by Aaron Becker
A lonely girl draws a magic door on her bedroom wall and through it enters a world where wonder, adventure, and danger abound. The first in a trilogy.

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
A little boy rushes out into the wintry day to build a snowman, which comes alive in his dreams that night.

Sunshine by Jan Ormerod
Experience the start of the day from the perspective of a young girl.

Flashlight by Lizi Boyd
What is going on outside? Is it dark? Is it scary? Not if you have your trusty flashlight! An exploration of night, nature and art.

Tuesday by David Wiesner
Tuesday tells the story of an extraordinary day. A Caldecott Medal book.

Flotsam by David Wiesner
A day at the beach becomes a wildly imaginative exploration of the mysteries of the deep.

Discuss

Ask children the following questions to prompt a discussion around visual storytelling.

  • Why are pictures important in storytelling?

  • Can a story be a story with no words? What are some examples?

  • Can a story be a story with no pictures? What are some examples?

  • If you hear a story with no pictures, can you imagine the pictures in your mind?

  • In what other ways have you seen pictures used to tell stories?

Provide children with examples of stories without words and without pictures.

Also consider animations, podcasts, radio plays, films and paintings.

Group Storytelling

Do this as a whole class, in small groups or in pairs.

  • Collect a range of images and put them into categories: settings, objects and characters

  • Give each group one image from each category (e.g. a clown, a hospital and a ukulele)

  • Ask them to create a story using these as starting points

  • Share the stories

Aboriginal Storytelling

Storytelling by Aboriginal People takes many forms - from oral traditions to visual symbols and performance. These rich knowledge-sharing traditions are a vital way of passing down cultural wisdom and maintaining deep connections to land, community and ancestors.

Show children a series of symbols from Aboriginal art and a variety of Aboriginal artworks. Explore what a symbol is, what they might represent and discuss the artist’s intention.

Encourage the group to think about how our own experiences, cultures and beliefs can influence the way we interpret symbols and reflect on how deeply personal the meaning can be.

Symbol Story

Ask children to paint or draw their own artwork, using symbols to tell a story.

Consider:

• using paint, pencils, collage

• co-creating it with a partner

• will it be a simple story or a complex one?

• will it be fiction or biographical?

• remember that the symbols can represent people, animals, nature, landscapes and also modern things like a television, a chair, a bicycle, etc

• older students can write the story underneath

More activities to try

Elements of Drama: Movement Building blocks for drama-based learning
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Shadow Diorama Activity Create a shadow diorama and explore light and shadows.
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It's a String Thing Visual Story A resource designed to help teachers and parents prepare children for their It's a String Thing incursion.
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