Narrative Skills include describing things and events, telling stories, knowing the order of events (sequencing), and making predictions (what might happen next).
What Can You Do?
- Ask open-ended questions that encourage talking rather than yes/no or right/wrong answers.
- Talk about your day and its series of events.
- Mix up the events in a story; make it silly!
- Guess what comes next—or come up with a different ending.
- Read stories without words; they really help focus on this skill.
Suggested books include:
Carl Goes Shopping by Alexandra Day (wordless)
The Little Mouse, the Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear by Don Wood
The Three Billy Goats Gruff retold and illustrated by Janet Stevens
Good Night Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything by Linda Williams
Skippyjon Jones by Judith Schachner
Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
Oh Look! by Patricia Polacco
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
The Little Red Hen illustrated by Barry Downard
Fuzz Frenzy by Janet Stevens (look at the pictures on the inside front and back covers).
Un-brella by Scott Franson (wordless)
Trainstop by Barbara Lehman (wordless)
Read about the Letter Knowledge skill or return to 6 Early Literacy Skills overview.