Storytelling trays are my ABSOLUTE favourite activity to set up for my students. One of our favourite storytelling trays this year was based around ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. We had this tray set up as part of our focus on retelling the beginning, middle and end of stories. Oral language development, story telling and retelling skills, exploring roles and identities as well as the opportunity to be creative and imaginative are just some of the benefits of storytelling trays. As children engaged with this set up, it was wonderful to see them using their knowledge from the text to inform their play. 

See Heidi Overbye's BLOG on MTA for more Book Week ideas