• Make puppets from paper bags, paper plates, socks, or mittens to represent the characters in the story.
• Use props that the children can manipulate to act out the story as you tell it or read it.
• Encourage children to chime in by hesitating before a repeated line or emphasized rhyme.
• Encourage children to make predictions. What might a new book be about? What might happen next in a story?
• Talk with children about real-world experiences that the story reminds them of.
• Elicit children’s ideas about characters’ feelings and motivations and what might help them solve their problems.
• Choose one or two interesting or fun-to-say vocabulary words and talk with children about their meanings, uses, and other ways of saying the same thing.
It your storytime is not successful, ask the following questions:
• Did I pre read the book?
• Was it appropriate for the age and interest level of the children?
• Was it too long?
• Did I encourage the children to interact with the story? Did we discuss the illustrations? Did I ask predicting questions?
• Was the setting appropriate? Were the children comfortable? Could they all see the pictures? Was the room quiet? Were there too many distractions?
• Did I paraphrase the language if it was too difficult?
• Did my voice , facial expressions, and body language reflect the mood of the story
• Did I enjoy reading the story? If I did not enjoy the story, did I project this to the children?