The Beginning, Middle & End of a Story
We all know that reading is an important and great activity to share with your children. But what can you do to help your kids pay more attention to the content of what they are reading? Here’s a terrific activity that is simple and easy to do, and will create great artwork to stick on the wall.
It’s important for kids to begin to understand the concept of a beginning, middle and end to any story, whether it is a chapter book or a picture book. It helps to identify the plot, setting and most importantly, what changes, or what happens during the story. So, how do we do this?
Take a piece of paper and draw three large boxes next to one another: one for the beginning, one of the middle of the story and one for the end.
After they are finished reading, have them draw a picture of what happened in the beginning in the first box, what happened in the middle in the second box and the ending in the third box. They can also write a sentence or two below each box if they like. Write the title of the book at the top of the page and the name of the author. Done!
Now they have analyzed the story they read, created some artwork to post on the fridge or the wall in their room and they are one step closer to understanding how to write the Great American Novel, their first screenplay or a book review.
Fore a few more ideas on what to do when reading with your child, check out our video on how to improve your child’s comprehension.
Good luck!
March 3rd, 2010
