The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of story bags in the Early Years and to find out if, and how, implementation supported children’s communication and language development. Using a whole class approach, the study followed the impact of using regular ‘story bag’ sessions on child development. For eight weeks children received ‘story bag’ sessions three times a week delivered by the class teacher. Support staff revisited these sessions throughout the weekly timetable to revisit and recap the key vocabulary that was previously taught and to embed this in different contexts. Throughout these sessions, children were taught
how to explore scenes, characters and plot development in a story book through the use of visuals and props.
Children used language and speaking skills to recreate and re-tell their own version of the story whilst adults facilitated topics for discussion. Overall, teacher response indicated that the use of story bags was an excellent facilitator to create and sustain children’s interest in books. Children enjoyed the interactive activities allowing more exploratory opportunity during story time, stimulating their minds and imagination by bringing stories to life. It created another dimension to the book and sense of what was going on in the story. It enabled them to apply this creatively and provided them with opportunities to think critically.