Growing Readers and Writers: Creating a Mini-Book

One very important way to develop your child's literacy skills is through storytelling. Parents and teachers should keep an endless supply of paper, pencils, crayons and/or markers on hand so that little hands can practice or create whenever they feel like it. Encourage your child to write or draw a story, then ask them to tell it to you. Or, assign them the fun activity of writing/drawing a story about their abuelita, or their favorite jugete, or el perrito next door. Try to choose a topic they are excited about.

This is great on a number of levels because it:

• makes them think about basic storylines

• focuses them on the different aspects of a story such as characters, setting, challenges, and resolutions/endings

• helps reinforce the importance of sequence: this happened first, then that happened next, and finally this happened last.

• allows them to practice fine motor skills in preparation for writing

• gives them a voice and a platform to see themselves (or a part of themselves) reflected in literature

• develops imagination and critical thinking skills

• and encourages the idea that reading is FUN!

Sing-A-Lingo recently shared on Facebook, a video on "how to make a mini-book", created by Diane Farrug at Foreign Language House. If you are not following Sing-A-Lingo on FB, you can check them out here. We'd like to thank them for the heads-up and share it with you here...