Kindergarten Story Activities
Most kindergarten students love stories. Young children enjoy hearing stories read aloud, and some kindergartners are advanced enough to read simple stories by themselves. Books provide a jumping-off point for other educational activities as well. Start with a story, and use components of the story to create other learning activities that will be fun and enriching.
Other People Are Reading
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Story Starters
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Read a favorite picture book aloud to the students, such as "The Kissing Hand" or "A House for Hermit Crab." As you read, pause the story at various places and ask the students what they think will happen next. This will help them practice their prediction and comprehension skills. If too many of the students already know what will happen, choose a lesser-known book; your school librarian can help you with that. When the book is finished, have the students draw a picture of what they think would happen to the main character next if a second book was written. Let the students share their pictures aloud to "tell" the second story.
Sound Scavenger Hunt
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Go on a sound scavenger hunt as you read a story aloud. Ask the students to clap, stomp their feet or snap their fingers when they hear certain sounds. For example, a hard "c" sound could mean they should clap. A short "a" sound could signify stomping. Choose the letters, sounds or digraphs you are working on that week. Read slowly so the children have a chance to hear the sounds.
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Class Story
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Write your own story together as a class. This is a good activity to do at the end of the school year, as a way to review what students have done throughout the year. Some of the children may be advanced enough to read the story by the end of the year as well. Discuss with the students how the year went. Remind them of things they learned, field trips they went on, and activities they performed. Format the story by month, which will reinforce the months of the year. For example the first page could begin "In September, we..." Write each sentence on a large piece of paper so the students can see what you are writing. Read each sentence aloud as you write it. Stop every five sentences and read it aloud together with the class. Point out sight words, letter sounds and punctuation marks. When the story is complete, type it up, add digital pictures you've taken throughout the year and send it home to the parents as an end-of-the-year souvenir.
Mini-Books
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Repetition is an important part of learning how to read. Reading a story again and again helps students memorize sight words and reinforces phonics skills. Read a familiar story to the students -- one that they have heard many times before. Choose one that has short sentences and can be easily memorized or read. Then, pass out mini-books that either repeat the story exactly or are very close to the story. Tell the students to "read" the mini-books and draw pictures to illustrate what is happening on each page. Some of the students will be able to "read" the mini books because they have memorized the story. Others may actually be able to decipher the words. Either way, the students will be thrilled to be able to "read" their own story and to illustrate each page.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit little boy reading a book image by Renata Osinska from Fotolia.com
