With Covid lockdowns, World Book Day will be different for many schools this year. The outdoor environment is brilliant for sharing books and storytelling.
Here are some fantastic resources to help you with story telling outdoors. We’ve also created World Book Day Outdoor Activities to share with learners at home.
Retelling Stories
Using an outdoor environment is perfect for stories with a journey, such as We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. You can encourage children to create the setting from the story, or even think of their own and encourage them to use adjectives to describe thier new setting. Having access to story characters, such as the wooden ones in the photos from Yellow Door, are perfect for placing in different environments. They really help to retell the story.
There are lots of ways to retell stories outdoors such as using simple journey sticks. This is where you use a stick and wrap around objects you find on your journey. Alternatively, children can use natural resources or junk modelling to create props.
Planning a Story
Sharing different stories with children provides them with lots of ideas to create their own story. Using story stones are a great way for children to think about the characters, setting and plot. Having stones with images already on are prefect for younger children and using word building trays can really help them to plan what is happening. The more confident the story teller the larger the word building tray they can use.
As children get older they can begin to design their own pebbles to plan and retell a story. Even the most reluctant writers enjoy this method. It naturally creates the opportunity to use language and order the sequence of events.
Using story stones or chalks, children can create a story map on the playground. You will be amazed how many children will use these at playtime and begin to tell their own stories!
Providing objects to make sound effects, such as empty pots or rice filled containers, provides lots of opportunities for children to visualise the story and add greater depth to their understanding.
World Book Day Outdoor Activities
We’ve created some outdoor activities for children to try for World Book Day.
Please share our World Book Day Outdoor Activities and get more children outdoors, loving books and reading.
