CircleTales® for Education:

Collaborative Storytelling & Creative Literacy

CircleTales is a screen-free collaborative storytelling experience that encourages learners to use imagination, language, listening and creativity to create stories together. Originally developed through family-led research and tested with children, families and educators, CircleTales has since been explored in classrooms, homeschool settings, storytelling workshops and English language learning environments. Rather than focusing on competition, CircleTales invites participants to build stories together through conversation, creativity and shared decision-making.

Educational Outcomes Supported by CircleTales

CircleTales encourages learners to:

Listen actively to others
Build upon ideas contributed by peers
Develop confidence speaking in groups
Practise verbal communication in a supportive environment
Take turns contributing to a shared narrative

Through collaborative storytelling, learners are constantly required to interpret, respond and contribute ideas, helping to develop communication skills through meaningful participation.

Language development was an important consideration during the design of CircleTales.

The game incorporates vocabulary prompts inspired by Key Stage 3 language development, encouraging learners to encounter unfamiliar words and use them within stories they create together.

Rather than memorising vocabulary in isolation, learners explore language through narrative context, imagination and conversation.

Players often discover that new words become easier to remember when they become part of a story they helped create.

Learning Environments

CircleTales has been explored in:

Upper Primary classrooms
Secondary education
Homeschool groups
Libraries and storytelling clubs
English language learning environments
University workshops
Adult learning settings
Facilitated group session

Recommended age: 9+. Younger children may participate with support from an older player, teacher or facilitator.

Classroom Applications

CircleTales can be used for:

Speaking and listening activities
Literacy enrichment
Vocabulary exploration
Creative writing inspiration
Small-group learning
Storytelling workshops
Library programmes
After-school clubs
Homeschool learning groups

Because the game works particularly well in small groups, multiple storytelling circles can run simultaneously within a classroom environment.

English Language Learning [ESOL/EAL]

CircleTales has shown promise as a complementary tool for intermediate English language learners.

The game encourages learners to:

Practise spoken communication
Develop conversational flow
Use vocabulary in context
Build confidence expressing ideas in English
Collaborate through storytelling

Educator feedback suggests CircleTales may be particularly effective when used alongside grammar and language structure activities at intermediate levels.

Communication Through Storytelling

One of the distinctive aspects of CircleTales is that communication becomes part of the game itself. Players listen, respond, and build stories together through imagination, conversation, and occasional role-play.

This process naturally encourages communication, collaboration and creative thinking. In feedback provided after experiencing CircleTales, a licensed educational psychologist noted that the game "asks players to access collaboration, creativity, critical thinking and communication in order to succeed" and could be "a useful tool to aid the development of prosocial communication skills in a non-threatening, collaborative and creative environment."

Flexible Ways to Play

CircleTales can be adapted to different educational contexts.

Story Sprint (15 Minutes)

A shorter version ideal for:

Classroom starters
Literacy warm-ups
Workshop tasters
Small-group activities

Full Story Journey

A deeper storytelling experience suitable for:

Literacy sessions
Storytelling projects
Creative learning programmes
Clubs and enrichment activities

Classroom Storytelling Packs

CircleTales is available for schools, homeschool collectives, libraries and educational organisations through Classroom Storytelling Packs.

Each pack contains 8 games, making it possible to run multiple storytelling circles simultaneously.

Please contact us for educator pricing, pilot programme opportunities and classroom pack information.

Educator Pilot Programme

We are currently seeking educators interested in exploring CircleTales within literacy, storytelling, communication and language-learning contexts. Pilot participants will help us develop future educational resources, classroom activities and play formats. If you are interested in becoming an educator partner, we would love to hear from you.