Children put wordless picture cards in order and tell the story in this pictures tell stories sequencing activity for preschool to 1st grade, with a practice page and answer key included.
Using this Where the Wild Things Are Worksheet, students describe the title, author, and illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are.
This pictures and words context clues activity lets PreK to 1st grade children hold up a sign to show whether a fact came from the picture or the words. Answer key included.
Using Pictures and Words Matching Activity, students describethe relationship between illustrations and the text in which they appear.
This parts of a book activity helps Preschool to 1st Grade students find the front cover, back cover, spine and title page in a fun Show Me card game. Answer key included.
Using Dr. Seuss Book Parts Worksheet, studentsidentify the front cover, back cover, and page of a book to gather information about what they will read.
Using this Amelia Bedelia Author and Illustrator Worksheet, students describe the title, author, and illustrator of an Amelia Bedelia book.
Using this Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Authors Worksheet, students describe what authors do to tell their story.
Covers, titles and pictures, oh my!
Preschoolers learn how books work. They find the front cover, back cover and title, and they learn that an author writes the words and an illustrator draws the pictures. Kids learn to hold a book right side up, turn pages one at a time, and notice that we read words from left to right and top to bottom. They also discover that pictures help tell the story. When a preschooler points to the title and says "That tells what it's about!", they're reading like a big kid.
Little readers learn about books by holding them, pointing and talking. These moves make it simple and fun.
Hold up a big book and point to each part as you name it: front cover, back cover, title, spine. Kids then touch each part on their own book. A parts of a book activity gives them a fun way to show what they know.
Why it works: the U.S. Department of Education's guide for teaching elementary math recommends moving from hands-on objects to drawings to numbers.
Try it withParts of a Book ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Show a page and ask, "Where are the words? Where is the picture?" Kids point and match pictures to simple words. Knowing the difference is a key step before learning to read.
Why it works: pairing a picture with each word gives kids two ways to remember it, a well-tested principle of how people learn (Mayer, 2009).
Try it withPictures and Words Matching ActivityActivitiesOpen it →Before every read-aloud, say, "The author wrote the words, and the illustrator drew the pictures." Point to the names on the cover. Using a favorite series like Amelia Bedelia makes these big words feel friendly.
Why it works: showing first, practicing together, then letting kids try alone is the "gradual release" model teachers have relied on for decades (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).
Try it withAmelia Bedelia Author and Illustrator WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →Preschoolers love favorite books. Use them to explore how books work.
WorksheetsKids find the cover, title and author on a Dr. Seuss book page, then color the parts they know.
Open Dr. Seuss Book Parts Worksheet →
WorksheetsAfter reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, kids talk about who wrote the story and who drew the pictures.
Open Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Authors Worksheet →
ActivitiesKids put picture cards in order and tell the story using just the pictures.
Open Pictures Tell Stories Sequencing Activity →Teacher favorites right now: Pictures Tell Stories Sequencing Activity, Where the Wild Things Are Worksheet and Pictures and Words Context Clues Activity.
They're the basic parts of a book: front cover, back cover, title, author, illustrator and pictures. Preschoolers also learn that we read from left to right and top to bottom.
The author writes the words, and the illustrator draws the pictures. Sometimes one person does both jobs.
Point to each part as you read together. Ask your child to show you the front cover, find the title or turn to the first page. Repeating this at every story time builds the habit.
Knowing how books work, called concepts of print, is an early reading skill. Kids who understand covers, titles and the direction of reading are ready to start learning letters and words.
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