Literacy in the LibraryTOOLS FOR INSPIRING YOUNG PEOPLE TO BECOME LIFELONG READERS AND LEARNERS |
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Kids Tell Stories, TooMarch/April 2009Narrative skill, or the ability to tell and retell stories, is one of the six pre-reading skills needed before children learn to read. Parents and caregivers can help children develop narrative skills by asking children questions about events in their day or events in a story. Three-year-olds can tell about what happens when they get dressed or what happened in a story they read. The more they recount events and stories, the more words they will use to describe the details of their experiences. They will begin to use new vocabulary and will draw on these words when they learn to read. Telling or retelling a story requires children to sequence the story’s events and later will help children understand what they read. They learn that events in stories happen first, next and last, and that stories have a beginning, a middle and an end. After reading a story, you can build your child’s narrative skills by simply asking her what happened at the beginning, what happened next and how the story ended. One of our favorite author/illustrators for practicing narrative skills is Byron Barton. Both The Little Red Hen and The Three Bears give children the opportunity to repeat phrases and to creatively act out the stories. The sequence of events in The Little Red Hen, from planting the wheat seeds to eating the baked bread, is perfect for helping children answer “What happened next?” After hearing The Three Bears several times, children can repeat the sequence of events by taking on the roles of the different bears in the story. Try using puppets or a magnet board to retell these stories. Cut out illustrations from a coloring book, apply magnetic tape to the back of each cutout, and then use the figures and a cookie sheet as a backdrop so the child can retell the story. Once children become adept at answering the what, where and when questions, you can introduce questions that are more open-ended. “What do you think is happening in this picture?” “What will happen next in the story?” or “Why do you think the main character acted so sad?” Open-ended questions give your child the chance to provide longer answers, connect ideas and use more vocabulary. This also leads to richer conversation about the story. Other books that provide opportunities for developing narrative skills are:
When your child can retell stories with ease, he will have better comprehension skills when learning to read. Narrative skills will enrich all the conversations you have with your child. By Susan Oakes, Outreach Librarian, Central Children's Library, The Denver Public Library
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