Bring a Story to Life!
Let’s face it, sometimes it’s difficult to get kids interested in books as well as reading. But literacy is becoming increasingly important in our lives as more and more communication turns to the written form. Kids need to know how to read well, write well, and interpret words well. So how can we ensure that they develop these skills in a fun and meaningful way? (BTW, the average school-aged child’s literacy skills decline over the summer holidays. Eep!)
How about bringing a story to life?
The Story Behind This Story
Last year my nephew’s teacher handed her students a project to help them learn about the USA as part of a geography unit. They read the story of Flat Stanley* by Jeff Brown as part of her lesson plan. (My brother’s old copy is pictured above.) Then she had the students create their own Flat Stanley. (My nephew’s is pictured above.) And then, true to the storybook, they mailed their Flat Stanley off to a friend or relative in another part of the country; only Flat Stanley came to Canada. Once here, he gathered information about the area and geography. He also went on a photo shoot (see photo above). Then he traveled back home to the US and shared what he had discovered in a meaningful and interesting way for the kids. And you can bet your buttooshy they were intrigued and that they absorbed every tidbit. Why? Because they were suddenly invested in Flat Stanley. He had become interesting, real and multi-dimensional.
The Benefits of Bringing a Story to Life
When kids have the option of bringing a story to life it gives them something concrete to hang on to. It brings meaning to the story and can solidify the theme, characters, and plot in their minds. Kids learn best through play and by bringing a story to life by acting it, cooking it, crafting it, singing it, or what-have-you. It builds neural pathways in their developing brain. But the biggest thing is the way it boosts a child’s imagination, creativity, and even problem-solving. For how do you bring a story to life? And it also creates empathy and an interest in learning about others and what life would be like for them.
So many wonderful things.
How to Bring a Story to Life
There are dozens of ways to bring a story to life. Look to see what appeals to your child (i.e. drama, singing, crafting, etc.) and get creative. But of course, choose a great story first. It can even be as simple as a book about big trucks. The sky is the limit–or your imagination. Whichever comes first. 
Hints: Google the story’s title and “lesson plans” or pick a theme or element of the story and Google it to help juice up your inspiration. (Also look up The Hungry Caterpillar on Pinterest.com for tons of crafts ideas associated with that picture book if you are stuck. It’s a popular book with tons of story crafts and activity ideas built by teachers due to the way it fits so nicely into the science curriculum.) In the meantime, here are a few ideas that might help get the ball rolling for some story-inspired play with your kids:
- Create the book’s main character in the book as a craft (sock puppets, toilet paper roll characters, paper dolls…).
- Reenact the story’s plotline.
- Act out the story with costumes, voices, and mix up the plot. Change the characters or what they have to accomplish. It can be a great way to springboard some very creative play.
- Build story-themed crafts or other projects. It could even be a bird house or bird feeder for a bird themed book.
- Cook story-related food (my daughter’s class hosted a fairy tale feast last year which was a huge hit. What did she decide to bring? The Poisoned Apple (Slices) from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.).
- Toys. Bring them into the mix. A dinosaur book? Gather up those plastic dinosaur figurines and let ’em rip!
- Sing it. Sing the story. Sing about the characters and their emotions and how they are feeling or thinking. Make it a musical. Sing the story or simply make up your own lyrics.
Have you brought a book to life for your kids? Is there a storybook you think might make a fun project for your kids and instigate some story-based & inspired free play? Share it in the comment section. I love to hear from others.
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How "Flat Stanley" saved the geography lesson and made a story come alive for nonreaders. via @KidsPlay http://t.co/GfFwxIIH
— Jean Oram (@KidsPlay) July 16, 2012
* Flat Stanley is a story about a boy, Stanley, who is flattened by his bulletin board while he is sleeping. He wakes up just fine, but is now rather flat. As part of the story he wants to go visit a friend. Being short on cash, his parents fold him up and mail him off to visit his friend. 
So if you have a reluctant reader, try these tips:
And I thought of two more ideas!
15. Read choose your own adventure books.
16. Create music or a song to go with the story you’ve read.
How about you? How do you make reading playful for kids and help build a reader for life?
Here are a couple of ideas on how to keep those books coming into your childrens’ lives without sending yourself to the poor house. Let them have books!
Inexpensive Ways to Bring Books Into the Lives of Your Children
- Bookcrossing. This is a fun adventure. You go to Bookcrossing.com and watch for a book to be “released into the wild” near you, then you try to beat another Bookcrossing member (free) to the book. You read it, then release it again.
- Second hand book stores. Bring in your old books for credit and get ‘new’ used books for cheap!
- Book swap. Between family and friends, or a bigger event.
- Birthday party book exchange. Everyone brings a wrapped book. Everyone goes home with a book!
- New book store. Sometimes new is king. (Check for sales, coupons, and memberships/reward clubs that might save you money.)
- Giveaways. Author’s releasing their new books love to give them away. Check online contests, Goodreads.com for giveaways and many other places.
- Libraries. Library memberships are often quite low and can pay for themselves within short periods of time.
- Ebooks. Ebooks are often cheaper than print books and sometimes sites have a free book for a limited time that you can download. As well, some sites now allow ebook sharing. (Also check your local library.)
- Yard sales. Sometimes you can get a ton of books for cheap.
- Library sales. Libraries will often sell off discards or donations they can’t use for cheap, cheap, cheap!
- Scholastic Book orders through the school. Often these titles are considerably cheaper than buying them through other vendors.
How about you? Where do you get books for your kids? (We’re huge library users, but have tried these other methods as well. Anywhere we can get books is great!)
Coming later this week–16 Ways to Make Reading Playful!
While creating a reader out of your kids might seem easy and like common sense, sometimes kids surprise us and just don’t get into the whole reading thing. As well, it is easy to forget that sometimes we need to nurture and grow those reading skills–particularly when life badgers us with distractions, the laundry piles up, the dog suddenly needs to be taken to the vet, and those lunches aren’t going to make themselves. So, here is a little reminder for us all on how to create readers in our kids and why creating readers is so important.
Why Reading is Important for Children
Being a strong reader helps a kid out in school in huge ways. If they can read well, they can learn and absorb ideas.
Kids who are literate are more likely to have higher grades, continue their education, less likely to drop out, and less likely to do jail time. (That, right there, makes you want to pick up a book and glue it to your kid, doesn’t it!)
Reading helps develops the growing child’s brain. It helps kids bring complex and abstract ideas together. It teaches them how to express their thoughts and feelings. Books help them learn about different cultures, ideas, ways to solve problems (Think Junie B. Jones–she is always solving problems!), and deal with situations in an interesting and entertaining way. A good book can pull a child into it’s story, and allow the children to empathize with the characters and feel as though they are in the adventure battling evil and coming up with solutions. By reading about how others have dealt with a tough situation it lessens the feeling of being alone in children who are dealing with similar issues. As well, children learn how to handle their own tough situations by reading about them in stories.
Plus, reading is fun! Kids can pick up a book and suddenly be transported to a different time, place, and adventure. It can make them laugh, wonder, and even cry. Reading helps children develop a natural curiosity about the world, put ideas together and solve problems. Is there anything better than a good book?
Activities That Help Grow Readers
- Go to the public library and browse around. Let your kids thumb through all sorts of books and discover new interests.
- Join a kids program at the library. (Seeing other kids loving reading makes it seem ‘normal,’ plus these programs are a TON of fun!)
- Read in front of your kids. Model the behaviour–it makes a HUGE impact. It doesn’t matter what you read–magazines, cereal boxes, novels, newspapers, anything!
- Read to your kids. (Bedtime stories are a precious time every day when I get to bond and share a story with my kids. Plus, it helps motivate my daughter to get to bed in time.) Also, by reading to kids they learn how words sound, and it increases their vocabulary exponentially.
- Go to the bookstore. Browse. There is nothing like a glossy, new book!
- Talk about books, newspapers, magazines. Share what you are reading by talking about it. Talk about why you like it. Or why you don’t.
- Read the cereal box. Seriously.
- Go to book signings (libraries and book stores are great places to seek out signing)–it’s like meeting someone famous! Kids love it. Plus, if they have meet the person who wrote or illustrated the book, suddenly they are way more interested in reading it. (It’s another hook into reading.)
- Support your school library. Talk to the librarian. Help your kid find books they enjoy. Fundraise or donate ‘good’ new books. Sometimes school libraries don’t have a good budget and their collection gets ‘tired’ which turns off kids. The school library is huge for developing readers. Did you know a good school library that is adequately funded and staffed increases test scores?
- Let the kids read what they want to read. My daughter was into fairy books and read over 100 of them. Yes, I was a little tired of the same plot, but she loved them. By letting her buy them and read them every night it has increased her love of reading in a huge way. Now, we’ve managed to expand to other books by other authors and at a higher reading level.
- Boys prefer nonfiction. As a general rule, boys prefer nonfiction and books with action (not so much feelings). It is natural. Nurture and encourage their interests.
- Reading is Reading. Does it matter what your kid is reading exactly? No. Reading increases spelling skills, vocabulary, and other skills simply by doing it. Let them read what interests them and they are more likely to continue reading throughout their life.
- Let them choose. If a book looks like their thing, but they can’t get into it, don’t force it. It’s okay not to finish a book or to choose a different one. Sometimes the time simply isn’t right for that book.
How about you? How do you encourage reading in your household?
Coming next week: How to Get Books Into Your Child’s Life (11 ways) and How to Make Reading Playful (16 ways). Add It’s All Kid’s Play to your RSS feed to make sure you don’t miss it!
Do all the clocks agree with each other?
P.S. Daylight Savings Time begins today. Because it is almost spring and the days are getting longer, your clocks spring ahead by one hour. (In most places.) While you count the clocks, you can change their time, too.
Make this a family activity: Get everyone to guess how many clocks there are in the house, then go count them all. Who was the closest? Were there more or less than you thought there would be?
This activity promotes math skills and visual identification.
