In this activity, your child will create an imaginary story and help you write sentences and draw pictures about it.
Learning Area(s): Language and Communication; Reading and Writing
MATERIALS
- paper
- pen or pencil
- crayons or markers
LET'S PLAY
Start by explaining the activity to your child: “Today we are going to think of a pretend story together. We can use our imagination to make up a story about anything we want. It can be silly, funny, scary, or whatever you would like!”
Ask your child what she wants the story to be about. If she struggles to come up with an idea, help her by giving her some suggestions about things she enjoys. For example, “I know you love playing soccer and talking about princesses. Would you like to make up a story about one of those things?” Allow your child freedom and creativity as she is imagining her own story. The story doesn’t have to make sense for it to be good writing practice.
Some children may prefer to draw a picture first and make up a story about their picture. You can let your child choose whether to start by drawing or by creating a story. As your child tells her story, write down a few sentences on a piece of paper to capture the story. Encourage her to help with the writing as much as she is able. For example, your child might say, “And the princess had dark, curly hair!” You can ask her about the beginning sounds of the key words by saying, “What sound does the word princess start with? /P/, /P/, /P/… princess. Yes, princess begins with /p/. Do you know which letter says /p/?” If your child knows how to write some letters, ask her to write the letters she knows in some of the words.
Once several sentences have been written, they can be reread and reviewed with your child. When the story is finished, encourage your child to draw some pictures with you to go along with your story if she has not already done so.
TIPS
- As you are writing the story, you can point out important rules for reading and writing, like capitalizing the first word in a sentence, putting a period at the end of a sentence, and starting on the left side of the page for reading and writing. Tell your child that she is the author of her story. The author is the person who writes the words in the story. She may also be the illustrator—the person who draws the pictures.
- You and your child can make a cover for her story. Include the title and picture.
- When the story is finished, talk with your child about whom she wants to share it with. Make a plan to read the story to that person the next time you see them!