Extend Your Stories

We expect our list of suggestions on extending the stories to grow with time. If you have additional ideas or comments, we would love to hear from you. Please send us a message.

• If you would like to change the story, beyond making different choices from those given, copy-cut-and-paste it into your favorite word processing program. Then, edit it to suit your ideas. This might be as simple as using "gram" instead of "grandma" or as complex as changing the ending.

• If you would like to print a story in another format, copy-cut-and-paste it into your favorite publishing program. Including a title page, providing spaces for illustrations, changing the font, controlling the number of paragraphs on a page - all in book fomat - are possibilities.

• These stories are meant to be read aloud and shared with family and friends. You become an expressive reader by reading familiar stories out loud to an interested audience.

• Take time to build each story with different inputs. This re-working a familiar story and then reading it out loud will develop your reading fluency rate.

• Why not make your story a gift for someone special? Surprise your friend or relative by making him or her the central character. Make choices from his or her point of view. Be sure to illustrate it before giving it away.

• Grandparents: Surprise your grandchildren with your computer expertise. When they visit, build stories together and print them. Then read and/or listen as they read them to you.

• Remember, it's impossible to exaggerate the value of reading to and with chldren. SO... Visit your local library or search for Children's Books at Amazon.Com.

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