Dramatic Book Retelling With Costumes

A favorite storybook with clear characters and action

Simple costume items: scarves, hats, blankets, old clothes

Props from around the house

Choose a well-known story: "Three Bears," "Billy Goats Gruff," or "Where the Wild Things Are."

Read it through once.

After reading: "Let's ACT it out! Who do you want to be?"

Gather simple costumes: scarves as capes, hats as crowns, blankets as fur.

Assign roles. You'll play multiple characters while they take the lead.

Act scene by scene. Prompt dialogue: "What does Goldilocks say about the porridge?"

Use different voices for characters. Encourage your child to do the same.

Take a bow. Ask: "What was your favorite part?"

Dramatic retelling is one of the deepest forms of story comprehension. To act out a story, a child must understand the characters, the sequence, the dialogue, and the emotions. It's reading comprehension through full-body engagement.

Don't worry about perfect reenactment. If your child decides Goldilocks should ride a dragon in the middle of the story, go with it. Creative departures show sophisticated narrative thinking.

Simple props transform the experience. Three different-sized bowls, three chairs, three blankets — and suddenly your living room IS the three bears' house.

Repeat the same story across multiple days. The first time, you do most of the prompting. By the third or fourth performance, your child may run the whole show.

Take photos or video. Children love watching themselves perform.