GENERAL STORY TELLING TIPS

  •  If the story you want to read to preschoolers is a little too involved, don’t hesitate to skip over parts of the story and make up your own transitions from one part of the story to another.
  • Preschoolers love rhyme stories because they can anticipate what the words at the end of the sentences will be.  Children especially love to have you leave off the last word of a four line stanza, in a rhyme story for them to shout out.
  • Preschoolers like stories that are repetitive in nature.  Stories like the “Three Little Pigs” or the “Three Billy Goats Gruff,” enable children to learn the repeated phrases and repeat them with you as they come up in the story.
  • Preschoolers love hearing the same story over and over.  They like to be able to know what will happen ahead of time.
  • Complex stories are not good for young children.  Some people say that you should have no more characters in a story than the age of the child (or children).
  • You can also help children remember the different characters in the story by introducing them to the characters before you start reading.  You can have cutouts of the characters placed on a felt board, dolls or puppets to represent them.
  •  Short stories are best for young children.  Most story books are written for first and second grade students and may be too complex for the average Preschooler.  This is why short fables, folktales and picture books are the best for this age.
  • If you like a story but the plot is too confusing for your children, do not hesitate to simplify it to make it more enjoyable.  If it has a funny or surprise ending, be sure to keep that in your version of the story.