When reading children's stories, as educators and parents, we must keep in mind that the way that a child sees that story is one part their own imagination and one part how we present the story. Presenting the story in a shared reading experience is very important as it allows children to connect with the story as well as engage in dramatic play. A shared reading experience is when both story teller and audience are actively involved in reading the story together. This could mean that stories that have rhyming words or repeating phrases can be used as entry points for students to engage with the book. For example, Sadie and the Snowman by Allen Morgan is a great example of a book that can be used for shared reading. The story revolves around Sadie making a snowman and decorating it with different types of foods for the face. Every day the snowman melts but she's able to rebuild it again and put on new foods for his face, and the same animals come and take the food away. This story uses repetition as well as predictability to engage young children. As teachers we can use this predictability and repetition to further engage them by having objects from the story present in the classroom (like foods or snowy weather clothes) and pausing at times in which the story repeats itself so that the children can say the words all together. Those who can't read will feel confident in their early literacy skills and those who are starting to learn to read will be able to also follow along, not only with the repetitive sections but the rest of the story!
Dramatic play of a story should not only be available for the time that the story is read. Teachers can create various opportunities for students to engage with that particular story in a dramatic play setting. After a shared reading, students will most likely still be interested in the story, therefore, teachers provide the same kinds of materials to be available to all. Several child sized copies of the book can be made available for students in the dramatic play area so that children can use the objects from the story to re-tell the story to their peers. Students may also choose to "read" a different story from that same book, using the dramatic play area materials, and by looking at the images that they see. By allowing them to freely interact with the book we are providing them with opportunities to further develop their literacy skills.
Along with developing their reading literacy skills, children will also be developing their writing literacy skills. In their article Let me tell you a secret: Kindergartners can write, Amanda R. VanNess, Timothy J. Murnen and Cynthia D. Bertelsen, talk about how even before children have formally been taught writing skills that they are able to express themselves or their stories through written works. The author talks about how when children in kindergarten are told that they can write, they are amazed and immediately embrace the fact that they are able to put shapes, lines, scribbles, etc. on paper and are able to convey what they are feeling. This early literacy skill can also be used with story telling. Teachers and parents can incorporate writing about a story or creating an alternate ending of that story into children's lives. Children start to incorporate elements of story telling into their own writing like creating a beginning, a middle, and an ending as well as incorporating their own experiences into their stories. The author uses the example of a young girl, Alaysia, who uses both elements she's seen in stories as well as her own made up words to tell a story about her tooth falling out. Encouraging children to take part in writing their own stories allows them to engage in literacy in a written way! As educators and parents we must provide our students with the opportunities to engage in shared reading experiences that allow them to take those stories one step further into their literacy journey.
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