Adding Signs Through Stories
Stories are so important for children’s development, and signs can easily be added into them. Research shows that adults are more likely to increase their sign usage when reading books to children, and it also supports children’s language development through both processing and comprehension. Plus, it makes stories more FUN!
Here are a few tips and tricks that will support you when using signs in stories:
- Make sure you are familiar with the book first! If you’re too focused about reading the right words in the book, adding in signs will make things more overwhelming. Stick to familiar books that don’t have too many words before you become more confident.
- Pick a focus. It can be super easy to sign heaps of different words in stories, however that can quickly become overwhelming for both yourself and the children. Instead, stick to a particular focus with your signs. That might be animals, colours, or emotions. Then you can stick to a smaller number of signs and have more chance for repetition.
- Holding the book and signing at the same time can be a real challenge, so make sure you’re prepared! If you have a co-educator or helpful child available, get them to hold the book while you read the story and add the signs. If that’s not possible, just use one hand where possible for the signs or put the book down to show the sign once you’ve finished the page. Or, if you’re feeling extra tricky, you can place the book open in your lap and try to read upside down and sign with both hands!
- Go beyond just the words. Just reading the words on the page can be quite boring for children, so make sure you make it more interactive for them. Ask them questions (a great opportunity to add in core question signs!), make links between the story and a past experience, or point out something on the page (preferably something you can sign).
Recommended Stories
- The Colour Monster
- Rosie’s Walk
- The Three Little Pigs
- Wombat Stew
- Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy
- The Gruffalo
- Room on the Broom
- Dear Zoo
- Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
- Where Is the Green Sheep?
- We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- Who Sank the Boat?
Recommended Resources
We have several story sign books available to purchase. With stories about animals, going to kindy, experiencing big emotions or exploring colours, we have multiple different stories to suit your needs!
Click here to view our available story sign books.
We have a free story sign book available on our free resources tabs. This book is called ‘Sunny Spies Things Small’.