Engaging young minds by making story time interactive fosters their early literacy and cognitive skills development. Caregivers and educators can significantly enhance language acquisition, imagination, and social skills by making story time interactive. Recent research has found that interactive story time has a positive impact on children’s brain development, imagination, language, and learning. Interactive story telling activities help children become familiar with sounds, words, and language. They also reinforce the value of books and stories which can spark children’s curiosity and promote concentration. Beyond the cognitive benefits, interactive/shared reading experiences also strengthen social, communication, and emotional skills by supporting the bond between caregiver and child.
Let’s take a look at some strategies for making story time interactive:
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Recite Rhymes and Sing Songs: Integrating rhymes and songs captures children’s attention and supports language
development. The rhythm and repetition found in music and poetry enhance memory and can make learning enjoyable. -
Incorporate Puppets and Props: Utilizing puppets, flannel boards, and other props can bring stories to life, making them more engaging and helping children to understand complex narratives.
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Encourage Participation: Prompting children to predict outcomes, repeat phrases, or act out parts of the story not only makes story time more enjoyable but also enhances comprehension and critical thinking skills.
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Ask Open-Ended Questions: Engaging children by asking questions about the story, encouraging them to think and express their thoughts fosters language development and helps children relate the story to their own experiences. For more information on incorporating effective questioning during story time, check out this article on the Dialogic Reading (an evidence based shared reading method):https://www.raising-readers.org/media/cms/The_Dialogic_Reading_Method_F760046DFDFD4.pdf
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Connect Stories to Real-Life Experiences: Relating the themes or events in a story to children’s real lives can deepen their understanding and make narratives more relevant which can enhance learning and retention.
Making story time an active, reciprocal activity encourages children to participate and learn. Interactive story time involves more than just reading to children. It involves an engaging and participatory experience that fosters early literacy and developmental skills. By incorporating songs, props, active participation, and meaningful interactions, caregivers and educators can significantly enhance the benefits of story time for young children.
Lynne Hall is a research associate at the Indiana Institute on Disability & Community’s Early Childhood Center. She holds a Master of Science in Education and an Indiana instructional teaching license (Early Childhood Education and Services; Elementary/Primary Generalist; Elementary/Intermediate Generalist). She formerly taught preschool in a variety of settings for over 15 years. Her expertise includes early literacy instruction, equitable strategies, and inclusive preschool classroom practices.
Email her at hallma@iu.edu
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