Family Reading using Story Plays

We all have our favourite stories and sometimes love to read them over and over. I know it can sometimes get quite frustrating when our child asks us to read the same story every night for a month. It’s not a problem if you enjoy the story too but what if you don’t???

Well, there is a way to read your child their favourite stories and get them involved! Story Plays are a really brilliant way to read stories and get your children, and maybe even the husband, involved! Story Plays are written to be read aloud and together.

They are dramatic versions of your favourite stories. I have to say, my favourites are ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ and ‘This is The Bear’. The stories are in four voices, ideal for the family to get involved or even for a group of friends to use and read together.

Each part is clearly marked by a different colour band so each reader is able to recognise when it’s their turn to read.  I know when we’ve done this as a family; the kids will often shout out, “Dad! It’s your turn!” Typical dad!

It’s a fantastic way to get the kids to follow the story and pay attention so they remember when it’s their turn and, great practise for group and guided reading activities they do at school. Story Plays encourage children to share in the reading of a whole text in a collaborative and interactive way.

It will help them to pick up certain skills better, such as following the story, listening to others read and learning to read out loud confidently. Children will find they need to pay close attention to the print and punctuation, and to use the meaning of the whole story in order to read it with expression and a real sense of voice.

The stories have also been designed for a wide range of reading abilities so it is possible for everyone to join in. Each colour represents a different level of reading ability.

It can be quite funny too when you have to put on different voices and play the different characters and as your child gets more confident, the more creative they will be at using the voices to emphasise and read with confidence.

If there are more than four children reading, then this creates a perfect opportunity for paired reading, you can partner up a more able reader with a less able reader, the more able reader would play a supportive role and provide a learning experience for both children.

Soon you’ll be acting out the stories as they make great scripts to follow. If you are a school teacher, why not try these with smaller groups to help them grow more confident with their reading and perhaps even put on a little play.

It would be such great fun to create costumes and a little routine. Click on the link below to see the Story Plays we have.

Use Story Plays to bring your favourite books to life!