Early Literacy - Developing Narrative Skills

On Tuesday in storytime, we asked a lot of "what's next?" type of questions - what do you think bear will do?" or "where do you think the ducks are going?" These kinds of questions encourage the development of a child's narrative skills - their ability to tell stories, and one of the six prereading skills. When a child can explain what went on, and the order in which it went, it helps them to understand the meaning, contributing to later reading comprehension. Dinosaur vs. Bedtime is an example of a book that easily allows you to do this - dinosaur heads off the right side of the page roaring, but we don't know until the page turn who he might challenge next. Other opportunities for developing narrative skills present themselves during the day - tell each other about your day at dinnertime, for example. I've always loved having puppets in the library, and listening to the stories the kids whisper to themselves using the characters. Your child's stuffed animals would work just as well. What stories can you tell with your toddler today?