5 Fun Read Aloud Games to Play with Children
I’ve had the great privilege of hearing some extraordinary people read picture books aloud. One of my very favourite experiences was having teaching artist Victoria Campbell from Sydney University come into my classroom and share the story of Rapunzel. However, it was Rapunzel with a twist as Victoria mixed in some bits from other fairytales and added a few of the kids names into the story. Needless to say, with her animated expressions and tone, the kids and I were laughing out loud and loving every second holding onto her every word.
There are features of a book that we must learn before learning to read a text. These include things such as how to hold a book, distinguishing the front from the back cover, titles, authors, how to turn pages and the orientation of reading a text from left to right. Being playful during a read aloud makes storytime more fun and that’s exactly what we want kids to think and feel about reading. There are lots of different ways to be playful and engage young readers with the story whilst reading together and make the story come to life! I’ve outlined 5 simple read aloud games to play when reading WITH your child.
5 ways to be playful while you read aloud with children.
1. Kids always love correcting adults and showing them the ‘right’ way to do something. Start your read aloud by HOLDING THE BOOK UPSIDE DOWN. If the child is very young and isn’t quite aware of the features of a book, act it out and ask the question ‘is this how I hold a book?’ Then correct yourself and say ‘oh no this is how I hold a book’. Older readers will instantly tell you that you’re holding it upside down and will think your ‘mistake’ is hilarious!
2. Same goes with STARTING TO READ THE BOOK BACK TO FRONT. You’ll be feeling like a read aloud comedic rock star by this stage with your audience thinking you’re the funniest person in town.
3. Place your child in the story by CHANGING THE MAIN CHARACTERS NAME TO THIER NAME. They’ll love being included in the story!
4. We read for meaning and so we expect what we read to make sense. When reading a sentence PLACE A SILLY WORD AT THE END OF THE SENTENCE instead of the word in the book. For example if the sentence reads “Katie put the ice cream back in the freezer.” Read instead “Katie put the ice cream back in the sofa.” Again you’ll have your young reader in stitches with laughter.
5. Have fun with familiar stories and fairytales. CHANGE A KNOWN STORY BY MIXING IN BITS FROM ANOTHER FAMILIAR STORY and wait to see how quickly you’re corrected! For example if you’re reading ‘Goldilocks and the three bears’, introduce the book by calling it ‘Cinderella and the three bears.’
I’d love to hear some other ways you make a storytime a more engaging shared experience! Please comment below or head over to my Instagram page with your ideas to share some more read aloud inspiration. Hope you have a little fun with your next read aloud with some of these tips. For more read aloud information click here.
Happy reading!
Teri xo
