Many studies have shown a connection between narrative development, or learning to tell stories about real or imagined experiences, and early literacy. More recent research has found that narrative development can also serve a broader purpose of helping people organize, interpret, and understand the world around them.
Children as young as three show early signs of narrative development through their descriptions of events, imaginative inventions, and play. In fact, there are many similarities between socio-dramatic play (which involves acting out scripts and scenes adopted from familiar stories) and narrative, including fictional characters, invented “realities,” and linked events.
Of course, connecting these aspects into a coherent story is still hard for preschoolers. You can help guide your child’s “narrative play” by:
- Incorporating thematic play into everyday chores (e.g., when clearing the table, you can be workers at a restaurant)
- Encouraging play based on books or movies
- Suggesting the use…
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