Kindergarten teachers have the opportunity to explain a plot every time they read a story to the class. Before reading, the teacher gets the children thinking about what might happen by looking at the cover of the book, making predictions and taking a picture walk through the book. After reading, the teacher guides a discussion about the events that occurred and asks questions to assess general understanding of the plot.
Kindergarten students may also benefit from direct instruction. The teacher might write the word "plot" on the board or a large sheet of chart paper and offer child-friendly definitions like "things that happened in the story" or "the action of the story." Then she writes summary statements of the story events in the order they happened, asking for student input. This will help kindergarteners understand sequencing as well as plot development.
Kindergarten teachers can also teach their students about plots by demonstrating how to make connections between prior experiences and the story. As teachers read, they should stop after significant events and ask students if they can think of something similar that happened to them or someone they knew. This process requires teacher modeling, and it may take some time before the kids can make the connections. However, children are more likely to remember what they read when the text is made meaningful to them.
If kindergarteners understand the concept of a plot, they are more apt to develop strong comprehension skills. The teachers can use the plot to demonstrate many of the major comprehension strategies like summarizing, characterization and clarification. The children do not have to know these technical terms, but these skills are crucial for future reading success. Then, when they are tested in later grades on these specific components, they will already be familiar with them.