2.5y–4.2y12 minStory timeSocial playFree play
Story Steps: Act It Out
A shared story activity that highlights main events (beginning/middle/end) and then supports simple enactment to deepen comprehension and fuel imaginative play.
What you'll need
Essentials
- a short picture book (or a simple story you know)
- 2-4 household props (blanket as cape, spoon as wand, box as boat)
Nice to have
- soft toys/figures to be characters
- a cushion 'stage' area
Movement level: mild
What you'll do
The 4-step guide, with what to look for at each step, is for signed-in parents.
What this develops
- MilestoneBeginning to be aware of the way stories are structured.Mind· 2.5y–4.2y· stretch· Step 2
- MilestoneSupported familiar-story retellingMind· 4y–5y· stretch· Step 3
- MilestoneCreates pretend small world stories with toysMind· 3y–4y· stretch· Step 4
- MilestoneOrders a complete familiar sequenceMind· 2.5y–4.2y· core· Step 2
- MilestoneAdds a sequenced storylineMind· 4y–5y· stretch· Step 4
- MilestoneShows nonverbal story understandingMind· 3y–5y· stretch· Step 1
- MilestoneAttends and recallsMind· 2.5y–4.2y· core
- MilestoneRetells or summarizes story contentMind· 4y–5y· core· Step 3
- MilestoneAnswers story questionsMind· 2.1y–3.1y· core· Step 1
- MilestoneEnacts a pretend roleMind· 3y–5y· core· Step 3
- MilestoneAnswers questions about a storyMind· 4y–6y· core· Step 1
- MilestoneTalks through a pictured storyMind· 4.2y–5y· core
- MilestoneIndependent connected storytellingMind· 4y–5y· stretch· Step 4
- MilestoneCompletes Familiar Story or Rhyme PhrasesMind· 20mo–2.7y· stretch
What it practices
- Beginning to be aware of the way stories are structured.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Suggests how the story might end.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
- Listens to and joins in with stories and poems, one-to-one and also in small groups.Observable behaviour from Development Matters
Where it comes from
- Source
- Development Matters in the EYFS (DfE, 2012)
- Original guidance
- “Help children to identify the main events in a story and to enact stories, as the basis for further imaginative play.”
- License
- Open Government Licence v3.0
- Attribution
- © Crown Copyright 2012 (Development Matters in the EYFS, DfE)