Discovering the Art of Storytelling with Ms Sheila Wee

As part of the National Arts Council Arts Education Programme, Hwa Chong’s Secondary 1 students attended Twice Upon a Time, a storytelling session led by professional storyteller Ms Sheila Wee. Through stories drawn from different cultures and an introduction to storytelling techniques, the session invited students to consider how stories can entertain, connect and communicate meaning. In the reflection below, Jason shares what he learnt from the experience and how the session changed the way he thinks about storytelling.

Written by: Wang Jason (1i2, 2026)

On 28 August, our school welcomed one of Singapore’s first professional storytellers, Ms Sheila Wee, to our Secondary 1 assembly.

She began by sharing two fascinating stories drawn from different cultural traditions. The first was about Raja Suran’s humorous quest to conquer China, despite not knowing where China was. His adventure eventually became connected to the legends surrounding the founding of Singapore.

The second story centred on a clever Jewish Ukrainian man who persuaded an innkeeper to give him food and a comfortable bed for the night. He warned that, if the innkeeper refused to help him, he would do exactly what his father used to do. The story ended with an amusing twist: what his father had done was simply go to bed hungry. Both stories had the Secondary 1 cohort laughing and listening closely.

After the storytelling session, Ms Wee introduced us to Kendall Haven’s story structure model. Haven, a scientist and storyteller, studied how stories affect the human brain and explored why certain narrative structures are especially engaging and memorable.

Ms Wee reminded us that storytelling is something we already do in our everyday lives. We communicate experiences, ideas and emotions through stories all the time. However, she also showed us that with a clear structure, careful planning and purposeful delivery, we can become more effective storytellers.

I learnt a great deal from Ms Wee’s sharing. Her stories showed us that storytelling can be both entertaining and meaningful. More importantly, the session helped me see that a good story is not simply about what happens, but also about how it is shaped and told.

With the techniques and insights we gained from the session, we are now one step closer to becoming more confident and effective storytellers ourselves.