Fill in the Blanks

What You Need:

• Paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Tape

What You Do:

1. Explain to your child that you are going to write a new story together. It is called a fill-in story because your child gets to ask someone else (parent, sibling, grandparent) to fill in the blanks. Help your learner brainstorm: what is a story he or she likes to hear? Or perhaps one he or she likes to tell? What about the time . . . Ask your child to write the story down.
2. Once your child has written the story, help him or her blank out some of the words. Do this by cutting strips of paper to tape over the word being blanked out. On the slip, note the correct part of speech for this word (proper noun, verb, adjective, etc.) on the cover slip. You may need to help if your student gets stuck on a particular word. Draw a blank line to fill in later. The line makes the slips easier to spot on the page.
3. Now it’s time to find someone to fill in the blanks. Have your child “interview” this person, asking them for a noun, verb, etc. Then write their answer on the slip. The wackier their answer, the funnier their final story will be.

Keep the fun going by having each person in the family make up their own fill-in story. Younger family members may need some help. Keep these stories to share at a later date.