Narrative Skill is the ability to tell or retell a story. This skill helps children understand what they read. But building a foundation for Narrative Skills begin long before your child is ready to read. Even as an infant, your child responds to your prompts with her own attempts at language. Listening to conversation and the stories you read to and tell her helps your child learn language skills.
Start by reading and telling your child stories. This helps with vocabulary acquisition. It also helps your child understand the flow of a story: what happens first, next and last. Use any excuse to talk to your child. Tell her the steps you take to make her breakfast or what you are going to do on your errands when you go out. Your child is never too young to benefit from hearing you talk. Tell her stories about when you were a child.
Engaging your child in conversation (dialogue) is a great way to support the development of Narrative Skills. As your child acquires language skills of her own, encourage her to respond to your questions. Try to avoid questions that can be answered with a simple “yes” or “no.” In the beginning, it is okay to answer the question yourself. You are modeling the format. By age three, children should be able to answer simple questions on their own. Give them plenty of time. It takes a while for the young brain to process and deliver an answer.
As your child grows in skill and confidence, challenge her by asking her to tell you a story. Perhaps just a simple story of what she did to get ready for bed or about what she ate for dinner. When you share a book that is familiar to her, ask her to “read” it to you. Encourage her to tell the story in her own words. Don’t worry if the story she tells is not accurate to the book. She is using her language and her imagination to create a new story.
Talk with your child, not just at her. Repeat what she says and extend the conversation with additional information. “Yes, that is a truck. It is a blue pickup truck with a snowplow blade on it.” This stretches your child’s vocabulary and models more sophisticated language patterns. Encourage your child to tell you about the pictures she draws or the objects she builds with blocks. Offer to write the story down. Say the words out loud as you write them to make the connection between speaking and writing. You can even make the story into a simple book that your child can then “read” to other members of the family. If your child likes to make up her own stories, take time to listen to them. Ask questions about the story, rewarding her effort with your time, attention and hugs.
These concepts work in any language. If English is not your first or most comfortable language, speak to your child in the language you are most fluent in. Don’t worry that your child is not learning English. If she has a strong foundation in language skills in any language, these skills will transfer to English when she goes to school.
Published on April 24, 2013.
Back to News