If you have been following this blog for a while, you know how much I love storytelling. I usually tell the story orally first, through Movie Talk or Story Listening, and then we read the text together.

However, sometimes my students are not very excited to read afterward because, well, they already know the story. So here are three strategies that support students’ literacy skills and motivate them to keep reading.

1. Embedded Reading + Short Film

Students read three versions of the same story. When using embedded reading, each version adds details, which helps sustain interest and motivation to keep reading. I also ask students to make predictions about words or phrases they may not yet know. I leave all three versions with a cliffhanger, and then we watch the short film together to confirm our understanding and see how the story ends. We then go back to the text to check whether our predictions were correct. This is a powerful tool for fostering effective reading strategies.

Here is a Novice example with the short film “Alma” (part of my story-based countdown to Halloween)

2. Reading + Story Listening

Students read the story first and underline what they understand. They then select a small number of words that, if understood, would help them better grasp the story. We discuss which types of words can likely be ignored and which are central to the plot. Then, they individually watch a video of me telling the story using Story Listening and pause the video when they see or hear a word they are missing, writing what it means. Finally, using their new understanding, they pair up with a partner and read the story together to ensure full comprehension.

Here is a Novice example with the holiday commercial “A Magical Story“.

A major caveat to these first two strategies is, as always with reading, ensuring that the text is within reach for our students. When I start with oral storytelling, I can provide a variety of scaffolds to support my students’ comprehension, which also supports reading later on. However, when we start with reading, they are largely on their own! This is why I don’t advise starting with these strategies, but rather use them once you have read lots of texts together and know the profile of your readers. Also, here is a good resource to craft comprehensible texts.

3. Oral Storytelling + Find the Errors

When I started telling stories to Intermediate students, the stories were naturally longer and more complex, and I sometimes inadvertently left out details or even misrepresented parts of the text. One student called me out on it, which led us to start playing a game called “Find the Errors.” Since then, after I tell the story, we read the text together and students try to find as many discrepancies as possible.

Here is an intermediate example with the story “The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs”. You will see how easy it is to make factual mistakes with such a complex story.

Reading does not have to come after storytelling, nor does it have to feel redundant. Whether students are uncovering new details, listening for missing words, or catching errors in a familiar story, these strategies invite them to read with purpose and curiosity. Ultimately, the goal is not just comprehension, but confidence: helping students see themselves as capable, strategic readers.