Extension Activities for Story Time

Image taken from Michigan Health

Reading is great! It supports children in developing their language and imagination while teaching them about the world they live in. I am sure a lot of you know by now that reading comes with not just tons of benefits for children’s learning and development, it is also a very fun and bonding experience!

Here comes the question: What can we do AFTER reading to children? How can we make it more exciting, engaging, and real for them?

Photo by Kelly Tan

ROLE-PLAY/DRAMATISE

Make the stories come to life by dramatising! Retelling stories improve comprehension as it encourages the children to focus on main ideas and events that happened. Story acting helps the children practise sequencing (a very essential cognitive skill) and empathy (social and emotional experience) as they interpret the events and the characters' feelings. This is also a great opportunity for children to present their ideas and watch them materialise in the role-play. It doesn't have to be a formal dramatisation - you can do without scripts and props, and anywhere can be your stage!

Image taken from Google

PROP-MAKING

If your child loves making art and craft, this is a perfect extension activity. Your child can recreate their favourite things from the storybook, ranging from masks, equipment, costumes, to even the settings in the story! This can be done with an assortment of recycled materials, coupled with a few art medium. If they are not keen in retelling the same story in the book, they can create and tell their own stories with the help of these props!

Photo taken from uwalamance.org

StoryWalk®

The StoryWalk® is an exciting way to enjoy reading and the outdoors at the same time. The original StoryWalk® has laminated pages of children's books installed along an outdoor path. However, this requires permit and license to use the outdoor space. For an alternative, you can head to a nearby park and walk with your child while stopping at various points to read a few pages. If it is inconvenient to be outdoors, you can place the laminated pages around your house/school and engage in StoryWalk® while being indoors too!

If you're interested in finding out more about StoryWalk®, you can visit https://www.kellogghubbard.org/storywalk

Image taken from familius.com

DEAR AUTHOR 

What does your child want to tell the author? You can encourage your child to write a letter to the author, sharing about how he/she feels about the book and what he/she wants to find out from the author. Search the author's name online and ask if your child is interested in reading the other creations!

PICTURE WALK
For young children who may not be able to read or understand the words of the story, you can do a picture walk with them! Flip through the pages without reading the words on the book and invite your child to talk about (or point at) the pictures they can see. Pictorial representations play a huge role in storytelling as it allows the children to predict or understand the events that are happening without having to know how to read the words.

Image taken from Reader's Digest

BOOK REVIEW

Reviewing the book together with your child after reading is a great opportunity for discussion! Using 5W1H (Why, Where, What, Who, When, How), find out how your child comprehend the story and encourage him/her to talk about his/her thoughts and feelings as they listen to or read book. If they are keen, they can keep a collection of book reviews by writing about their perspectives. Another interesting way is to invite your child to create a new character, ending, or cover page for the book!

Mrs N's Classroom | Find a Book Review template on Canva!

RESEARCH ABOUT THE TOPIC OF DISCUSSION
Usually, after a story discussion with your child, you will be able to notice the topic that your child is the most interested in. It could be just a small segment in the book, or the main topic itself, but it's definitely something you child will keep talking and asking about. Extend on your child's interest and learning by embarking on a research journey with him/her!

There are endless learning opportunities within story books. Have more fun ideas? Leave a comment and share with us! We'd love to hear from you. 😊