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Increase your child’s understanding and language skills by using visual aids while retelling a story. In this activity, puppets and props are created to help the child retell a story.
Learning Area(s): Language and Communication; Reading and Writing
MATERIALS
- Popsicle sticks
- Plastic or paper disposable cups
- Pictures of characters and significant items from story (for example, three bears, goldilocks, bowl of porridge, bed, chair)
- Tape or glue
- Scissors or knife to make slit in bottom of cup
LET'S PLAY
Choose a children’s story that is age appropriate and has a good storyline and plot (beginning, middle, and end of the story). Before beginning this activity, you should also have pictures of the characters (hand drawn or clip art), along with other important items from the story. In addition to these pictures or props you will use to retell the story, choose several vocabulary words from the story to focus on, for example chair, porridge, bed, small, medium, and large.
Begin by reading the story aloud to your child.
Then explain, “We are going to retell this story using props and puppets. First, let’s make our puppets and then you can tell me the story!”
Ask your child to identify each character and each prop and glue it to a popsicle stick. The popsicle sticks can then be inserted into a slit on the bottom of an upside down paper cup (this is the prop holder). As your child tells the story, he can pull each puppet out of the holder and use it as he retells the story.
TIPS
- You can act out the story with your child, or your child can do it himself.
- Encourage your child to use different voices for different characters.
- If your child isn’t sure what comes next in the story, you can help him with questions or details, or you can look back at the book together.
- You may want to create the puppets/props and do the story retell at a different time, depending upon your child’s attention span.