Purpose:
Helping children understanding what they read (comprehension) is a key component to any pre-reading or reading program.
Afterall, comprehension of a written passage is really what reading is all
about. This activity gets children thinking about the stories that they hear and the books that have been read to them. The element of mystery and surprise makes the activity quite engaging
while helping develop their comprehension.
Materials/Advance Preparation:
- A lunch sized paper bag
- A marker
- A library card pocket
- Glue
- On the front of the bag write “Guess my story” and decorate with
question marks.
- Glue a library pocket onto the back of the bag.
- Make a card to fit in the pocket that says the name of a story the
children know and has a picture that will help to identify it.
- Place items in bag that provide clues about the story. For
example, if the story is “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” you might put in
a little bear, a bed, a tiny bowl, a little chair. If you don’t have
these items, then draw them or cut them out from a magazine and paste them
on index cards.
Directions:
- Explain the activity to the children.
- Allow a child to pull an item out
of the bag and make a guess about what the story is.
- Keep pulling out items and each time ask “does that fit
in that story?”
- When all the items have been removed, check the card in the library
pocket to show whether they are right or wrong.
Notes: After modeling this
activity for a while, you may want to invite children to make a bag like this
at home or do it in school using pictures or objects from a story that they love.
Guess My Story