Adult Guidance: Storytelling Example

Read this script aloud to the class for them to evaluate how well you are storytelling using the
Features of Retelling a Story Marking Checklist.

Use a clear voice and the correct tone and intonation throughout the reading but try to not give
the audience eye contact and don’t include movement or gestures so that the children can pick
these things up as they complete the checklist. It may be necessary to perform the example more
than once.

Before beginning reading, it would be great to gather the attention of the audience, just as a
kamishibai storyteller would, by banging claves together and shouting, ‘Come gather round and hear
my story’.

Script
There was once a talented god by the name of Anubis. You may have heard of Anubis. He had
the head of a jackal and he was the Egyptian god of embalming. No one could mummify like the
mighty Anubis. He even mummified the great Osiris before he made his journey to the afterlife.
This story takes place one evening when Anubis was having a rare calm and quiet moment
sitting out in the balmy air on the banks of the Nile. He felt so relaxed but suddenly, he heard
a loud and ominous tapping sound. He got up to investigate immediately but there was no one
in sight. It was not until he sat down again that the sound started again. Next, a formidable
gust of wind came from nowhere and pushed against the surprised Anubis, knocking his mighty
frame to the ground.

English | Year 4 | Secrets of Ancient Egypt | Storytelling | Preparing to Retell a Myth | Lesson 1 of 2
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