A sensory story is a story brought to life with strong multisensory experiences. In other words, exaggerating the vision, hearing, touch, taste, smell, and movement aspects of the story. A strong, but simple narrative, with no more than 5 to 10 key sentences, reinforces these sensory elements. Examples can be seen at www.inclusiveresources.lgfl.net (multisensory stories created by Nick Wonham, London teacher).

A sensory story includes frequent repetition and may not just be used to support literacy, but other curriculum subjects as well as other skills too.

Sensory stories can be much more interactive and engaging than stories read in the traditional manner for all learners.

For learners with a sensory condition, a multisensory presentation of a story supports their weaker sensory skills using their stronger sensory skills. For example, a learner with a hearing condition is given the opportunity to experience the story by ‘feeling’ (for example with props to represent characters; settings and events) and ‘seeing’ the story, rather than just hearing it.

For learners with SEND, the repetition within sensory stories and the associated predictability reduces the learner’s anxiety about what is going to happen next, enabling them to engage more easily in learning.