Family Literacy Guide
Building Strong Storytellers
A Simple Family Guide for Talking About the Day
When children tell stories, they build:
Speaking
Skills
Memory
Retention
Confidence
Growth
Reading
& Writing
This guide helps you and your child talk about what happened during the day.
You can do these activities at home, in the car, during dinner, or before bed. Even 5 minutes a day makes a difference.
The 5 Pillars of Reading
In our district, we support every student’s journey toward becoming a lifelong reader through the 5 Pillars of Reading. These pillars work together to build strong literacy skills:
- • Phonemic Awareness: Building the ability to hear and work with sounds in words (using the Heggerty curriculum).
- • Phonics: Learning the relationship between letters and sounds (using Orton-Gillingham Comprehensive).
- • Vocabulary: Understanding word meanings and structures (using Orton-Gillingham Morphology).
- • Fluency: Developing the ability to read with speed, accuracy, and expression (through Guided Reading).
- • Comprehension (Our Focus): The ultimate goal of reading—understanding and responding to what is read (using Thinking Maps and Response to Text).
This resource focuses on Comprehension. By practicing retelling at home, you are helping your child organize their thoughts and build the mental "maps" necessary to understand complex stories and information.
Part 1: Getting Started
For younger children
Young children need help putting events in order. Every story has: A beginning, a middle, and an end.
The “Big Three” Routine
Pick one small event from the day. For example: Going to the park, Getting ready for school, or Playing at recess.
First
→
Next
→
Last
After that, ask: Who was there? How did you feel?
Keep it simple. Short answers are okay.
Easy Family Activities:
- Photo Talk: Take a picture during the day. Later, ask: What happened before this? What happened after?
- Draw Three Boxes: Have your child draw: First, Next, Last. Then ask them to explain their pictures.
-
Family Story Game: Take turns adding sentences.
Example: "I went to the store." → "Then I bought apples." → "Last, I came home."
Part 2: Growing Skills
For older children
As children grow, their stories should have more details and better flow. Help your child think about these four parts:
1.
The Setting
Where were you? What were you trying to do?
2.
What Happened
Tell the events in order.
3.
The Big Moment
Was there a problem? A surprise? A change in plans?
4.
The Lesson
What did you learn? Would you do anything differently?
Vocabulary Bank
"Bridge Words"
Sometimes children say "and then" many times. That's normal. These words help stories sound clearer and more connected. Try practicing one or two each week.
To Start
- Initially
- To begin with
- Originally
What's Next
- Meanwhile
- Furthermore
- Consequently
Surprise/Change
- Unexpectedly
- However
- On the other hand
To Wrap Up
- Ultimately
- In the end
- As a result
Model it first:
"To begin with, we went to the park. Meanwhile, we played on the swings. Unexpectedly, it started to rain. In the end, we went home."
"Simple conversations today help build strong learners for the future."