Learn to Connect with Stories
Categories: 3rd Grade, Reading
As important as it is to sway your child away from TV, computer games and plastic toys, sometimes you just have to bring the lesson to him! This activity uses your child's favorite television show to illustrate how we connect to what we read.
What You Need:
A book with illustrations
A recorded or DVD version of your child's favorite television show
What You Do:
Record your child's favorite television show. Explain to your child that he is going to narrate the plot of their favorite show as best they can without sound! Instead he will use what they already knows about the characters’ attitudes, temperaments, relationships, body language and facial expressions Let him watch the show with the volume muted, asking him to narrate what he thinks is happening in the story. Can he follow the plot and understand the characters by simply accessing his prior knowledge? After the show, ask your child questions about what he understood and how he was able to determine meaning.
Step 2
Now, turn the volume up to normal and let him watch the show again. What really happened and how did his narrative compare?
Step 3
Explain to your child that he used what he already knew to make an educated guess about what was happening in the show. It's the same way with reading. When we read a book, our brains are scanning the file folder of memory to help figure out what's going on in the story. Now, take out a book, and start first by looking through the illustrations with your child before you start reading. Note points of interest in the illustrations and see if your child is able to make any connections with the objects in the drawings. For example, if there is a picture of a dragon in the book, ask what they know about dragons? Have they ever read or heard a story with dragons before? What characteristics describe dragons? Discussing with your child their experiences and prior knowledge before reading the story helps them to engage better during the reading, deepen their comprehension, as well as to heighten their reading enjoyment.
Step 4
After reading the story, compare their background information with the actual events in the book.
Jane Oh has taught third and fourth grades for 8 years. She has worked with many diverse groups of students. Most recently, she has written teacher textbook guides.
