Child Development & Guidance
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Fun Ways to Boost Kids Vocabulary: Share Your Tips and Stories After Storytime
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Fun Ways to Boost Kids Vocabulary: Share Your Tips and Stories After Storytime
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Our teacher engages the children by asking them what the physical aspects of the book are before reading (author, illustrator, cover, pages, etc) then she asks questions as she reads about what they might think will happen next, then she’ll ask questions at the end to test reading comprehension (character names, who did what etc.) and engage in conversations that have inspired children from the book as they relate certain aspects to their personal lives.
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That’s a wonderful approach! By engaging children with the physical aspects of the book, we are not only setting the stage for a richer reading experience but also helping them build vocabulary and an understanding of the structure of books. Thanks for sharing.
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After strytime, I like to ask the kids to retell the story in their own words and talk about their favorite parts, help[s to use new words thay have learned.
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One creative way to get kids talking after Storytime is through role-playing. After reading a story, I encourage children to act out parts using props. For example, after The Very Hungry Caterpillar, we pretended to be caterpillars and butterflies, using words like “crawl” and “fly.” This helps reinforce new vocabulary in a fun and interactive way. Another idea is creating a “word wall” where children add words from the story, reinforcing vocabulary visually. These activities turn vocabulary-building into a playful experience!
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One creative way I have used to get kids talking after a storytime is through a “story basket.” After reading a book, I place objects related to the story in a basket, and the children pick one item at a time and share how it connects to the story. This encourages them to recall details, use new vocabulary, and express their thoughts. Another tip I love is using puppets — kids feel more comfortable speaking through a puppet, and it turns conversations into a fun game. One memorable moment was when a shy child used a puppet to retell an entire story we read, adding their own funny twists. It sparked laughter and got everyone talking!
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Story time can spark wonderful discussions, and early childhood educators often use creative approaches to get kids engaged and talking afterward. Here are some techniques that stand out:1) Open-Ended QuestionsEncouraging children to think creatively and share their thoughts:”Why do you think the character chose to do that?””How would you change the story if you could?”2) Role-PlayingTurning the story into an interactive experience:Children act out scenes or take on the roles of characters, improvising dialogue and actions.3) Art ActivitiesUsing crafts to reflect the story’s themes or characters:Drawing their favorite scene or creating masks for the story’s characters.Discussing their artwork afterward helps verbalize their ideas.4) Making ConnectionsHelping children relate the story to their own lives:”Have you ever felt the same way as the character?””What would you do if you were in their shoes?”5) Predicting & Extending the StoryBuilding curiosity and imagination:”What do you think happens next?””If you could write a sequel to the story, what would it be about?”6) Group DiscussionsCreating a collaborative learning environment:Asking children to share their favorite part and explain why.Encouraging them to respond to their peers’ ideas respectfully.7) Interactive PropsUsing puppets, costumes, or toys to represent the story’s elements:Puppets “ask” the children questions about the story, sparking dialogue.These techniques not only make Storytime fun but also help children develop critical thinking, language skills, and emotional expression.
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Sineka, your insights are fantastic! These creative techniques truly foster engagement and enrich vocabulary development. Great job!
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One fun way I get my kids to talk after story time is by using toys or puppets! After we finish a story, I bring out a puppet and have is “ask” the kids questions about what happened in the book. The kids love talking to the puppet, and it encourages even shy students to speak up.Another favorite activity is a “word hunt.” I pick a few new vocabulary words from the story, hide them around their table groups, and let the kids find them. When they find a word, they tell me a definition or how they remember it being used in the story. It turns learning into a game and really gets them excited about new words.
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Emma, your puppet interaction and word hunt activities sound delightful! They creatively engage kids and encourage vocabulary exploration. Great ideas!
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Some fun questions I like to ask kids after a story is questions like ” what was your favorite part of the story?” “who were some of the characters?” or ” what happened in the story?” I’ve found that these questions are really engaging and challenges them.
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After reading a story I turn to the students and ask a question related to a word used in the book. I would also ask a question related to the plot of the story. Like ” What was the main character of the story?” Or “what kind of food did the characters like the most?” The kids love food so my favorite memory with them while reading is the book about all their favorite junk foods. They loved it and then we all got hungry.
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Great approach, Jazzy! Engaging students with relatable questions and food makes vocabulary building fun and memorable!
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The children love sharing experiences that are similar to the book. recently we read “froggy goes to Hawaii”. The children were so excited to talk about trips they had taken or are looking forward to taking this summer
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Great idea, Paula! Encouraging personal connections to stories fosters engagement and enriches vocabulary through meaningful conversations.
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My classroom consists of three year old children, so it is definitely just working on getting them to engage in their own stories. We love interjecting during books and stories so that we are really engaging with all the interjections and storylines. I will stop and ask questions like “why is he sad?” or “what is happening here?” and they are exploring it with me. Afterwards, we share our own stories related to the one we just read and we open up time for questions, where we specifically work on asking pointed questions for each other.
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After story time in my home daycare, I love to use creative strategies to get the children talking and genuinely engage with the narrative, rather than just passively listening. One of my favorite techniques is ‘Story Bag’ or ‘Prop Play.’ After reading, I’ll pull out a bag filled with small props related to the story’s characters or key objects. For example, if we read “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” I might have a tiny apple, a plastic leaf, or a butterfly. As I pull each item out, I ask, ‘Who saw this in the story?’ or ‘What happened to the caterpillar when he ate the pear?’ This tangible connection helps my youngest learners recall details and use new vocabulary to identify objects and recount events.I often turn new words into a ‘Word of the Day’ game to make vocabulary-building fun and engaging. We might act out the word, find things in the room that relate to it, or even make silly songs using it. For instance, after reading a book with the word ‘giggle,’ we might all ‘giggle’ together in different ways, or I’ll ask, ‘When do you like to giggle?’ This active, playful engagement helps solidify the meaning. A memorable example happened after reading a book about a ‘grumpy’ bear. I asked the children, ‘What makes you grumpy?’ One little girl, three-year-old Mia, scrunched up her face and declared, ‘I’m grumpy when my toast gets cold!’ This sparked a delightful conversation about what makes us all feel different emotions, expanding their emotional vocabulary beyond just ‘happy’ or ‘sad,’ and showed me how well they were internalizing the meaning of ‘grumpy’ through a real-world, relatable context.
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One way I got students to talk about the story I read, was I asked them questions, like what did they notice in the story. Then I have them turn and talk with a partner about what their favorite part was about the story.
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open ended questions are very important and get the children to talk and share their ideas and thoughts
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One fun method I’ve employed to engage children in conversation after story time is interviewing them through puppets about the story. The puppet might say, “What was your favorite part?” or “What would you do if you were the hero?” Children enjoy this exercise and are likely to be more open with a puppet than with a grown-up.Another great trick is to act out portions of the story or create absurd rhymes using new words they’ve only recently learned.undefinedOne day, after reading a kids’ book about animals, we created our own made-up animal and used made-up words to describe it—like a “fuzzy-sniffler” with “zigzag feet”—and the kids were giggling and chattering nonstop! Whoa, does that make me grin!
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Sitting in a circle, asking children what’s their favorite part of the story, and asking the kids questions about oh why do you think this happened?
