Work with a small group of students. Plan for one to read orally while the others pantomime the action. Write a letter to one of the characters. Write a biographical sketch of one character. Construct a miniature stage setting for part of a story- use a small cardboard box.
Children enjoy preparing a monologue from a story.
Marking particularly descriptive passages for oral reading gives the reader and his audience an opportunity to appreciate excellent writing, and gives them a chance to improve their imagery and enlarge their vocabulary. The child who likes to make lists of new unusual and interesting words and expressions to add to his vocabulary might share such a list with others, using them in the context of the story. Giving a synopsis of a story is an excellent way of gaining experience in arranging events in sequences and learning how a story progresses to a climax. Using information in a book to make a scrapbook about the subject. A puppet show planned to illustrate the story.