Getting Children & Students StartedCreating stories for Reading Rainbow's Reading Rainbow's 8th Annual Young Writers & Illustrators Contest encourages, challenges and rewards children in grades K-3 to tell their own stories in their own words and with their own pictures. The following activities are designed to help your child in the creative process of composing and illustrating a story. Pick and choose those that are useful. Sequence To help your child grasp the concept of sequence, ask him/her to tell you, write or draw "A Day in My Life" in sequence: for example, "First I wake up, then I eat breakfast, then I get dressed for school ..." etc. Ask the child to tell you what he/she does at the beginning, middle and end of the day. What would happen if he/she started the day by getting INTO bed? Problem After reading a story with your child, ask him/her questions about the problems or challenges worked out in the story:
Ask your child to tell you a story about a real-life problem or challenge he or she has experienced and how it was resolved. Creative Expression Children are natural inventors of new language forms. Listen to the word combinations your child comes up with. Also, ask your child to describe some favorite things to you (foods, toys, activities, people or places) and some disliked things. Ask how it feels, looks, tastes, sounds and smells. Encourage comparisons: "What is it like?"
|