Grade Levels: K-3

These family and homeschool activities are designed to complement the Short Story topic on BrainPOP Jr.

A Story a Day

Expose your child to different short stories by reading a different one each day. Remind your child that short stories spread across many different genres, such as fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction. Read different short stories and discuss how they are alike and different. What is your child’s favorite short story? Why?

Looking Back

Together with your child, look through photo albums together. Discuss favorite family members or family trips and what makes them so special. Then have your child look through old diaries or journals, or even old writings. Can he or she find ideas for stories or characters? Make sure your child writes down ideas in a notebook.

Short Story Redux

Have your child choose a short story and change the characters, setting, or events to create another short story. For example, your child can rewrite “The Three Little Pigs” so that they feature different animals or houses. He or she may want to change the setting to a city instead of the country. Have your child outline the story, create a story map, and write, revise, and proofread the story.