With high stakes testing and a crowded curriculum, something fundamental is being left behind in education - storytelling.
Some might argue that speaking and listening have always been undervalued in schools, but the surge of technology has done nothing to stem the tide.
Digital storytelling is increasingly a popular way to represent narratives. But traditional methods of reading aloud and immersing young listeners in a story should not be forgotten. Narratives have long been recognised as central to our human experience. Teacher and author of The Cool Web, Margaret Meek, described them as "a primary act of the mind".
Stories are ways to create a sense of events and exchanges, as we organise our experiences into meaningful episodes. To do this, we call upon combinations of prior knowledge, assumption, expectation, inference, pattern matching and metaphor. As we create different scenarios, we build understanding of narrative structure and develop deeper kinds of cultural and historical understanding.
Moreover, traditional storytelling engages young learners in ambiguous and beguiling ways. It draws upon familiar and strange forms: fables, legends, folk tales, riddles, fairy stories, myth and conundrums. Such forms connect to deep memory. Told well, stories immerse young listeners in rich social, cultural, historical and anthropological content, encouraging wonder.