A Story Time book can offer a great deal beyond the reading itself. Reading the same story to a whole class gives the huge resource of a shared experience upon which you can build.
- Book talk
Discussing a book with children, whilst or after it is read, can add a very great deal to appreciation and understanding, and is strongly to be encouraged. Paired and group talk have a potentially large contribution to make too. However don’t turn talk sessions into an interrogation. You need to encourage children to express their thoughts and feelings about the book, not quiz them on its content. It is perhaps better to think of your input as ‘talk prompts’ rather than ‘questions’. Keep to open-ended prompts that elicit personal responses: What did you think about. . . .? How did . . . make you feel? What do you think you might have done about . . . ? What did you like best about . . . ?
Remember too though that the Story Time session is about listening to and enjoying a story. Don’t be forever interrupting the flow of the story, even for talk. Often talk will fit in best at the beginning or end of a reading session.
- Developing vocabulary and comprehension
Listening to a book can contribute very significantly to developing comprehension at many levels, especially if its levelis a little beyond what the children could read for themselves. However, you can rely on much of this happening naturally. Don’t turn Story Time into a ‘comprehension exercise’. If you want to teach comprehension, do that at some other time. Of course you may well want to pause to explain specific words or situations, if you think that failure to understand will hinder the children following the story.
Book talk can also do a great deal to develop comprehension and appreciation. But again try to focus on open-ended prompts: How do you think. . . was feeling? Why do you think . . . did that? What sort of person do you think . . . is?
Remember, this is about enjoying the story. Don’t be forever interrupting the flow.
- Writing
The story you are reading may well provide both excellent models and brilliant stimulus for the children’s own writing, This is another opportunity not to be missed. However it is, again, best followed through at a different time in the day. This story-related writing can and should be a very positive experience. But don’t feel that children always need to write about the story they hear. It can be very discouraging to some children if they come to think that every single time they hear a story they will have to write about it.
- Linking to other curriculum areas
A class story. read aloud, can make very substantial contributions to other curriculum areas, particular when it has been selected to fit in with a current theme or topic. 0f course, reading narrative non-fiction can be particularly helpful. However, it is amazing how much contribution suitably chosen fiction can make too. A well researched historical novel will do a great deal to bring a period to life. Other books can give a valuable vicarious experience of living in another place or culture which could not otherwise be gained without actually going there. Sometimes, even, a whole curriculum theme can be significantly enhanced by linking everything to a particular book. Conversely though, don’t get trapped into thinking a Story Time book always has to be linked to a theme or topic. Sometimes it is more than enough just to read a book for its own sake.
However much else is to be gained from reading a book aloud to your class, never let it distract from the important principle that Story Time is essentially about listening to and enjoying a story.
