Most assemblies involve story-telling in some form. Why not try bringing assemblies to life by using drama. This can be done in lots of ways:

• Spontaneous Acting - choose some children from the "audience" to act, as you are telling the story. This can be very interesting, but you need to make sure you choose children who are confident in acting without rehearsals!
• Fully Rehearsed - give a group of children some time to rehearse your "script" beforehand, and they can perform the finished product in assembly.
• Puppets - can you use puppets in some way to tell a story? These could be acted by yourself, or by the children!