Using Prop Boxes to Get Excited About Reading!

Strategy Corner

Those of you in early childhood probably remember making one of these to go with a unit or theme in your class room. Sometimes they have been referred to as a Pretend Play Box. You would fill it with costumes, props, and pictures to enhance the learning going on in your room. Well, taken a step further, prop boxes can be a fun way to get students excited about reading. The box or container you use should be inviting, or have some significance to the reading theme or story you are sharing.

When getting started, make a list of all the items your story characters have used or talked about. Make a list of clothing the characters wore as well. Think about the time period in which the story takes place. Are there any items you could include in your box that would fit the overall theme or period? Once you have your list of props, make a list of books or other stories that will enhance or support your story theme. Try to find selections to cover all the reading levels in your classroom. Now the fun begins.

Finding the props and books for your prop box is much like a scavenger hunt. Remember, items that you do not have at home can be borrowed from friends, fellow teachers, and don’t forget, Grandma’s attic.

Display the prop box items around the box or allow your students the fun of discovering what’s inside for themselves. Students can use the contents to do pretend play, extra credit reading, prompts for writing activities, etc. You can label items which may not be familiar to children, or have students research to find out what they are and what they were used for. You can also use the box as a demo and have students create their own prop boxes for a favorite book of reading theme. The box can be a spring board for many lessons and activities within your theme. So now we teachers have another reason for not throwing things away.

By Karen Sperfslage-George, Eastern Iowa Reading Council
Iowa Reading Association Newsletter, May/June 2000
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