Children especially like performances. This is a good opportunity to practice speaking. You can also add text, especially to match our book series stories, because there is already a "plot" and "lines", that is, a manuscript for each page. (Please print out the text on each page in advance to use it as a script reminder for the lines)
(1) Any short or long story can be performed by children. The content of the performance can be simple or complex. Teachers/parents can adjust it according to the age of the children and time.
(2) The ideal thing is to have more children participate, with different roles played by different children. If a narrator is needed, there can be a narrator who can read out the sentence cards of the manuscript or memorize the manuscript. If there are only mothers and children, they can take turns performing. In addition, children’s toy animals/characters can be held to play different roles.
(3) Of course, the performance should have props and costumes, which is ideal. But children are not very demanding, they like "pretend" things. It is too time-consuming and labor-intensive for teachers/parents to prepare props and costumes, and it is unnecessary. They can completely use/make do with the simplest things in the environment as substitutes. For example: If you are a big tree, you can give him a piece of green cloth or green paper. If not, just hold a big character card and write the word "big tree" on it. When you have assigned the roles and the performance does not go smoothly, it will be natural. Just perform it a few times and it will be better. Moreover, you can change people to play different roles. If there are few people, take turns to play several roles.
(4) Performance is fun. Children learn the language and review the text, but they do not realize it because their attention is on "performance". Even if the performance goes wrong, they will still enjoy it.
For example: I randomly selected Elementary Story #81 Seaside (How could such a simple story be performed?)
Child 1 stood up and said: Seaside (then spread a blue cloth on the ground)
Child 2 comes out and says: There is a sun (you can hold a sun picture in your hand, or make a big sun with your hand, or a sun card)
Child 3 came out and said: There is sand (children can grab a handful of sand or get word cards)
Child 4 came out and said: There are waves (the child picked up the blue cloth on the ground to cover it)
Child 5 came out and said: There is a boat (holding a word card or a toy boat)
Child 6 came out and said: There are seabirds (hold word cards, or take a few toy birds) and place them on the ground or on the sea)
Child 7 said: And me (beforehand, I lay down under the blue cloth and my head emerged from under the blue cloth).
It can also be performed by two or three children alone:
Children 1 and 2 take turns saying the words on pages 2-6 above and taking out different corresponding objects at the same time.
Child 3 said the words on page 8 while peeking out his head from under the blue cloth.
If there is no one, let the children perform a one-man show for their parents.
In fact, it can be "flexibly used" in how it is performed and how many people perform it, and the story can even be extended. No one stipulates how to perform, as long as the children happily participate in the performance, and review the words in the story and the words in the sentences, the purpose will be achieved.
I chose the simplest text story. If it can be performed, other more complex stories can be performed even more. Teachers/parents can also enlarge the entire text and place it in an obvious place to remind the lines or let the children read it directly.
