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JDaniel4s Mom

growing & learning with him

Read.Explore.Learn.- Imagination #readforgood

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Welcome to Read.Explore.Learn.! This meme was designed to be a place for you to share the learning opportunities, crafts, field trips, and other activities you have done this week that tie-in to children’s books. I look forward to seeing ways you have learned with and explored books.

 

I am participating in the MeMe Tales #readforgood Readathon 2012 this summer. During the Readathon, anyone who signs up on the MeMeTales site is given access to the books being featured for free. Each week the books follow a theme. The theme this week is imagination. The books being spotlighted this week are There is a Dinosaur in the Park!, Doors in the Air, and Night Boy
My Book Tie-Ins of the Week:

Read.Explore.Learn.- Imagination #readforgood

I chose to focus on the story There’s a Dinosaur in the Park! this week. It is a wonderful tale of a dinosaur that only a little boy can see that the park. The boy and the dinosaur play together, explore together and have just plain fun.

Can you guess the reason that no one can see the dinosaur? It really is green and is probably fierce in the smell, but it isn’t a dinosaur it is a trash can.

I chose this book because I wanted JDaniel to open his mind to the possible of things being more than the seem. I also thought this book would help with the book extension I wanted to do.

What did we do with the book?

Story Elements Box
Story Elements Box

JDaniel and I created a story elements box. We started by going over the elements or parts of a story. The who, what, where, and when that need to be part of a story. We skipped the why. Why? I decided we had enough elements to contend with given his age. He was pretty familiar with the terms, but we did take a few minutes to break down some familiar stories into their elements to make sure he really understood them.

Then we took an old plastic briefcase that I think came filled with baby care items, and filled it with objects from JDaniel’s room that he thought would be good in a story. He really loved the idea of a character in a story being a letter A and a rocket would be a good setting for a story.

I went through some magazines and pulled out some other pictures that I thought would be good settings for stories.
Once we had gathered everything we thought we needed, we took the box down to the kitchen table and started story building. I asked JDaniel to select what he wanted for each of the elements of the story.
Then it was time to start the story. We chose to tell the story orally although I could have had him dictate the story to me.

How did your story go?

A lion and a snake live in a  birdhouse high up in a tree. One day they notice that a large object has landed in front of a red bear and his car. The car needs to be put into the shop for the weekend. The lion and the snake invite the bear to stay with them while his car is in the shop. He has a great time. They are good friends by the time the bear’s car is ready.

It is not a story that has a lot of details in it. I think they will come as we build more and more stories.

The wonderful thing about a story elements box is that it can be filled with all kinds of treasures. The objects in the box can be changed as often as the storyteller feels necessary. The box is portable so it can be taken with you on car trips or to doctor’s visits. It could also be taken into a child’s bed just before bedtime to create original bedtime stories.

Disclaimer: I am being given copies of the books being featured in the Readathon 2012 in return for writing post based on the books.

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Comments

  7. I love how he helped to pick out the items for the elements of the story instead of you just choosing them. Awesome!

    Thanks for hosting. 🙂

  8. I think you’re right. The details will come later, but the foundation for telling stories is being laid. Such a neat idea!

  11. that is so cute… just to let you know, i am all about trying to get one of those free little libraries near us… thanks!!!!!!!!

  12. I like this idea. My 4 yro is already great at story telling (retelling a story) but my 5 yro still struggles at times. This might be fun for her.

  18. What a great thing to do! I especially love the part where you mention: “to open his mind to the possible of things being more than the seem”
    Stopping by from SITS!

  20. I absolutely adore this!! This is on my to do list. I love how it’s so interchangeable and it really encourages imagination. I’ve pinned and shared. 🙂 Thank you so much for posting!

  21. I absolutely LOVE this story elements box. We’re always doing activities related to what we’re reading and this activity is now at the top of my list!!

  24. I am a speech-language pathologist and I LOVE this idea of using props to create a narrative. Thanks for sharing this creative, hands-on approach! I will definitely be sharing with colleagues and parents to make therapy that much more effective.

  26. ¡¡Fantastica idea!! Muchisimas gracias por compartirla… Soy Cuenta-Cuentos, y hago muchas animaciones a la lectura, y con esta idea se puede trabajar…Gracias otra vez

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