In the world of early childhood education, storytelling stands as a timeless and powerful tool for learning. When combined with tangible objects, storytelling takes on an even more enchanting and effective form.
What is Interactive Literacy?
Interactive literacy refers to the practice of engaging children actively in the reading process. It moves beyond passive listening, encouraging children to participate, ask questions, and interact with the story and its elements. Interactive literacy promotes critical thinking, creativity, and a deeper understanding of the material. Interactive literacy can include asking children open-ended questions that encourage them to think and respond. Questions like "What do you think will happen next?" or "How do you think the character feels?" stimulate critical thinking and engagement. You can also invite children to act out scenes using props and costumes. Role-playing helps solidify comprehension and allows children to express their creativity and interpretation of the narrative.
Another great way to incorporate interactive literacy is to include objects with the story you’re telling! Objects serve as visual and tactile aids that capture children’s attention and imagination. Our collection of felt and prop objects bring to life beloved stories such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Five Little Monkeys, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. Handling and discussing objects related to a story encourages children to expand their vocabulary and improve their communication skills. They learn new words in context and practice using them in conversation. Our Animal Mania Puzzle gives children the opportunity to learn the names of 10 different wooden animals while engaging in imaginative play. Storytelling with objects engages multiple senses, which is especially important for young learners. Touching, seeing, and sometimes even hearing or smelling objects can reinforce learning through sensory integration. Our finger puppets are a great way to connect tangibly with stories, and you can choose from Mary Had a Little Lamb, Little Red Riding Hood and The Ugly Duckling.
Storytelling with objects and interactive literacy practices enrich early childhood education by making learning dynamic, engaging, and memorable. We hope you enjoyed learning about storytelling with objects and interactive literacy. You can also check out our printable this week: Story Sequencing cards. Happy reading!
