Ask your kindergartener to recall what happened in a story you've read aloud, and chances are, you'll probably get a mish-mash of events and characters that tells the story in a very roundabout way. That's because, in preschool and kindergarten, kids are just learning how to sequence, or rather, how to put events of a story in order. Sequencing is important to future academic success and logical thinking. Want to help your child practice this important skill? Create these simple story sequence cards!
What You Need:
- Favorite book
- Crayons or markers
- Few large sheets of paper
- Ruler
- Scissors
What You Do:
- Using a ruler, draw squares on a large sheet of paper. The squares should be large enough for a young child’s drawing to fit inside. A 6" x 6" square should be enough space. The number of squares drawn depends on your child. You can start with just three squares at first and then create more as your child gets the hang of sequencing.
- Have your child pick her favorite book. Ask your child to help you remember what happened in this book.
- Let her retell the story by drawing pictures inside the squares. Encourage your child to draw the main events from the book. Use the book for reference, if needed. For example, with the book The Rainbow Fish, in each square, a child could draw: the Rainbow Fish, a group of fish asking the Rainbow Fish to play, the little blue fish asking for a scale, the Rainbow Fish all alone, the Rainbow Fish talking to the octopus, and the Rainbow Fish giving his scales away in the last square.
- When the drawings are complete, cut them out and mix them up. Ask your child to arrange the squares in order, starting at the beginning and working towards the ending.
These easy and versatile story sequence cards are the perfect way to get your child to think about the beginnings, middles, and ends of her favorite stories.
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