[Sherrie]

One of the favorite activities is our Word Treasure Hunt.. After
reading a story, we scatter word cards related to the plot around the
room. The kids excitedly search for them, and as they find each card,
they share a sentence using that word.

[Trainer]

Sherrie, Word Treasure Hunt is a great way to engage kids and build vocabulary through play. Well done!

[corrie haynes]

my main way to get kids to talk after story time is to engage and ask questions

[Kathryn]

I mainly focus on asking questions as I am reading the story. I usually try to pick books that have a good moral or a teachable moment in it. I often will pause on every page and ask questions that are engaging. Eg. Why do you think she was afraid? or “What do you think they should do next?. The kiddos love to guess what’s next and it keeps the story going for longer. It also extends and expands their learning as they hear peer answers to my questions and even my own answer.

[Trainer]

Kathryn, your interactive approach to Storytime encourages engagement and extends learning through thoughtful questions. Great strategy!

[Elaine Wenzel]

With four and five year olds, I’ll often ‘remember’ something from the book incorrectly and they love to correct at that age and they’ll tell me, “No Miss Elaine, that’s not what happened.” So then I continue to ask them questions about the story and while they’re reminding me and correcting me they’re retelling the story and discussing any new vocabulary.

[Pam]

I love to act out the stories after we have read them. It’s easy to find little props that can be used. This helps the story to “come alive” to the children. They enjoy acting as they are helping retell the story

[Trainer]

Great idea, Pam! Acting out stories with props is a fun way to engage kids in vocabulary-building conversations.

[Sadie]

I love starting by hearing what questions or comments children have about a book after we read! It almost always leads to interesting conversations in my opinion. Sometimes I like to start with prompts like: “if you were like Harold and had a magic crayon, what color would it be?” Or, lead with social emotional prompts such as “why are the other toys being mean to the velveteen rabbit?”

[Trainer]

Sadie, love your approach! Encouraging questions and using prompts sparks engaging conversations. Great strategies!

[Miriam]

Books that encourage children to share stories about their families because there are so many different ones. Like the book “My Family, Your Family” it shares different types of families and help identify theirs and they also contribute stories or how they feel about it.

[Trainer]

Miriam, using books that explore diverse families is a great way to spark meaningful conversations. Well done!

[Mariangel Gimenez]

when I read a book to children, I use dolls that are the characters of the story, then I ask them questions about what happened in the story and allow them to come to the board and pretend to be part of the story.

[Trainer]

Great idea, Mariangel! Using props and role play really engages children and sparks their imagination and conversation.

[Tammy]

Right now we have been reading a lot of books about emotions. One of the go to books for the toddlers in my classroom is Calm Down Time. We talk about how we have some big feelings like being angry, upset, and. sad. What we can do when these strong feelings come out.

[Yu ling]

Creative Ways to Get Kids Talking After Storytelling

1. Role-Playing: Let kids act as characters from the story and retell the events in their own words.
2. Story Continuation: Ask, “What happens next?” to encourage them to create their own ending.
3. Picture Matching: Provide pictures from the story and have kids describe what’s happening in each one.
4. Word Challenge: Pick a few new words from the story and ask kids to use them in sentences or make up their own mini-stories.

Fun Activity Examples

• Story Hat Game: Use a “magic hat,” and whoever wears it shares the most interesting part of the story or answers questions.
• Story Gallery: Have kids draw scenes from the story and explain their artwork.

These activities make storytelling exciting, encourage expression, and help kids build vocabulary in a fun way!

[Sophie]

I love doing an outdoor activity after reading a book! This fall we’ve loved reading stories about leaves and then going out and collecting some. Sometimes we put them in our sensory bin or other times we do a craft.

[Corin]

We usually have the kids do an activity related to the book. For
example, after a Pete the cat book we might have kids make their own
buttons on Pete’s raincoat, allowing them to have fun with the amount
and colors. Other times, we do songs afterwords. We might even do a
group retelling of the story or act out parts of it together.

[Sandra Garcia]

Sometimes we ask questions after story time or act them out just for fun. They really love Jack the cat books.

[Trainer]

Great ideas, Sandra! Asking questions and acting out stories make Storytime interactive and fun. Jack the Cat books sound like a hit!

[Carol]

I teach 3’s and 4’s. I pause after every “big” event or character introduction and ask them what we observed or know, then I ask what they think will happen next now that something in the story has changed, and finally we conclude the story and I provide magnets or puppets to give the children the chance to re-tell the story or create their own version of the story.

[barbara sloan]

I use puppets to ask questions in a story I’m reading the children stay engaged while I ask open ended questions to get them thinking