Teachers and librarians

Stories for the rug, the library corner and the classroom.

A storytime plan that works with any of our books1

About 20 minutes for a group of 4 to 7 year olds. Adjust the time to the book and the group. Each book will also have its own read-aloud guide.

  1. Settle, 2 minutes

    Use the same short opening every time, such as a song or a line you say together. A steady start tells children what is coming.

  2. Look at the cover, 2 minutes

    Ask an open question: "What do you think is happening?" Take two or three answers and do not correct them.

  3. Read it through, 5 to 7 minutes

    Read the whole book once with few interruptions. Stop only to let the group join a refrain.

  4. Read it again with questions, 5 minutes

    Dialogic reading uses prompts that fit the letters CROWD: completion (leave a gap for the children to fill in), recall ("What did Pim do first?"), open-ended ("What is happening on this page?"), wh- questions (what, where, when, why) and distancing ("Have you ever felt like that?").

  5. Make or move, 5 to 10 minutes

    Hand out the printable for the book, such as a colouring page or a sequencing card, or play the game in the book's back matter.

  6. Goodbye

    End with the same closing line each time.

Shared reading is encouraged from birth through at least kindergarten.2

Licence

Everything we publish for free is free for personal and classroom use, including libraries. It is not for resale, and please keep the Lundbo name and credits on it. Read the printables licence.

Sources

  1. Interactive and Dialogic Reading (FS-13-41), University of Nevada, Reno Extension (Byington, 2013), 2013
  2. Literacy Promotion: An Essential Component of Primary Care Pediatric Practice (policy statement), American Academy of Pediatrics (Pediatrics 154(6)), 2024