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Children love it when you add sound effects during storytime. Especially animal or monster noises!
This activity helps them understand the link between sounds and words.
Watch the families having a go in the video below for some ideas.
Why add sound effects to storytelling?
- It helps children to engage with you as you read to them.
- Focussing on sounds encourages good listening along with more interaction.
- Sound effects can help children recognise and understand new words in a story.
- They bring a story to life and make it much more fun.
- It helps children to link words with sounds
- It can help them to process the events in the story. If you pause, see if they have questions or repeat back what they've understood from the story.
How to engage 4 year olds in a story
If your child has an interest they will be much more likely to engage with a story, so pick books based on what interests them. Why not let them take the lead and choose which books to read? You could offer a choice.
Make it easy for your toddler to focus in your reading space and turn off any background noise.
Make lots of noises. Pause to ask them questions like 'what noise does a monkey make?' or other questions about the characters/animals.
Ask them about events in the story and why they think they've happened e.g. 'why do you think they've done that?'. This can help them to build their emotional awareness and understanding of characters' motivations.
Can they find words that rhyme?
Let your little one lead sometimes - can they tell you their version of the story?
Dr Jamie Lingwood talks with families about the importance of sounds at story time.
More storytelling tips
