✍🏾 3 Simple Ways to Teach the Beginning, Middle, and End of a Story


Exposure to books is essential in preparing your child for the early literacy skills they will need for kindergarten and beyond. Not only is it an engaging activity that provides quality time with your child, but it also fuels the imagination. That’s why it’s important to introduce children to books as often as possible outside of school.  

Try to incorporate reading a story as often as possible into your schedule. That way, the act becomes a little easier, and your child will start to look forward to it. Once the practice of reading a story has been established, you can extend it to work on literary elements such as story structure. 

In simple terms, story structure or retelling involves identifying the beginning, middle, and end of a story. Parents can do this with minimal effort by providing a little bit of time to discuss the book they’re already reading with their child, even during a bedtime story. 

Here’s what you can do at home to introduce story structure:


✍🏾 1. Picture Walk

Before reading the book, preview the pictures! This is a great activity to gather information about the story before even one word is read!

Encourage your child to:

  • Describe the pictures: What do you see? What is that?

  • Predict outcomes: What do you think will happen next? Why do you think that will happen?

  • Make up their own narrative: What’s going on in this picture?

👉🏾This is an easy way to build language skills and vocabulary, while appreciating the illustrators' art!


✍🏾 2. Story Sequencing

Discussing the sequence of events after reading the story is a great way to build language engagement and comprehension. It may seem odd, but getting your child to talk and expand on their thoughts is a major component of retelling. 

Once again, urging your child to talk about the story will make them confident when doing it for their teacher at school.  

Do this:

  • Ask: What happened first, next, and last

  • Encourage details: Ask questions like What happened next? Who did that? Why did they say that? To encourage details. 

  • Keep the book open to verify the sequencing: This allows you to quickly turn to pages to check for accuracy. It also allows the children to use the pictures for help. 

  • Stick to major events in the story; otherwise, your retelling becomes lengthy

👉🏾 Story sequencing also helps strengthen your child’s retelling skills and encourages listening comprehension. 


✍🏾 3. Drawing

Now, you might not want to do this activity after reading a bedtime story, as it would defeat the purpose of sleep, lol; however, it can be done at any other reading opportunity where time isn’t an issue. 

Encourage your child to draw a picture to show the story sequence from time to time. Drawing is the precursor to writing and is just as important for early literacy as the actual act of reading. 

For sequence drawings, follow these steps:

  • Fold the paper into thirds if desired

  • You or your child can label each section: B (beginning), M (middle), E (end), will suffice

  • Let your child draw and discuss their picture for language engagement and expansion

  • Label the pictures as you go along: Labeling is helpful because it makes the connection between words and pictures for children.

👉🏾Extension: As your child acquires more skills, let them draw the main characters and setting, or even different outcomes for the story!


🎉 Wrap-Up: Have fun with it!

Learning can definitely be rigorous, but it doesn’t have to be as long as you remain lighthearted and remember to have fun. And storytime at home is the perfect opportunity to do so while spending quality time with your child! It also provides the chance for parents to engage in an important early literacy skill, story structure, without much effort, while building comprehension and confidence! 

With these three activities - picture walk, sequencing, and drawing - your child will be well on their way to building good retelling skills.

Nothing fancy or rigorous needed - just you, your child, a book, and lots of fun!


👉🏾 Your Turn: Try using one of these strategies the next time you read a book with your child!

Previous
Previous

✍🏾Classroom Management: The Key To Successful Play Integration in the Classroom🔑

Next
Next

✍🏾Reclaiming Teacher Autonomy: How to Bring Your Personality Back into Teaching 🎨