Story Games for Kids

Storytelling Games

• Many story games make kids the storytellers. Kids love to make up stories, and it doesn't take a lot of creativity to invent stories with a storytelling game. One example is "Build a Story." To play, sit in a circle and have the first kid begin a story with one sentence. Continue around the circle, with each player contributing one sentence that adds to the story. The story has to make sense, but it can be as ridiculous as the kids make it. If the players are having a hard time being creative, make this game more specific by assigning each kid a word or an object before the game begins. Each person is then required to include his word or object in his sentence, while still making his sentence make sense in the story.

Story Enactment Games

• Story enactment games allow kids who learn kinesthetically to interact with a story in a physical way. One way to play is to start with a story that all the kids know -- perhaps something familiar, such as a fairy tale. Assign roles to each kid, and then have the kids re-enact the story. Keep it simple and brief. Have them enact it again, but with a small change that has the potential to dramatically change the story. For example, in Cinderella, what if Cinderella and her step sister had identical shoe sizes? Changing a familiar story lets kids work from a familiar framework, exercise creativity and think about consequences in storytelling.

Story Trivia

• Story trivia games help kids exercise their memories about a story. You can play story trivia with individual players or with teams. Use a variety of questions, some with details that most kids will remember and some with details that are harder to recall. Make sure you adjust the difficulty of the trivia to an appropriate level depending on the age of the kids; young kids will quickly be frustrated and bored if the trivia questions are too hard.

Interactive Story Listening Games

• Many kids are happiest simply listening to a story being told, especially if the storyteller is dramatic and interesting. You can make listening into a game by giving the kids jobs to perform at certain places in the story. For example, have them make sound effects at various points: every time the storyteller says the word "birds," the kids imitate birds chirping. Include actions as well: every time the storyteller mentions the ocean, the kids wave their arms to imitate ocean waves.