Many education resource companies provide regular and mini bulletin board sets that include picture cards for story prompts. Some of these include questions for teachers to ask the children. Many of them are real-life pictures, which are easier for younger children to relate to. These cards can be used in large and small group discussions. Follow up by letting the children try to draw their own pictures that match up to the picture cards.
Cut up old magazines. Pictures can include items found in the child's daily life, pictures of people doing different activities, and animals. Use a whole picture, or a small part of a picture, such as just a person's eyes. Mount them on cards to be repeatedly used. Glue them on writing paper for use in story dictation.
Purchase or create sequencing cards. These are sets of 3 to 6 cards that tell a story when placed in proper order. They can be based on a familiar story, nursery rhyme or fairy tale. They can also tell the story of an everyday activity. Children need to practice sequencing to help them with reading comprehension. They should put the cards in order, then tell the story they have created. Note that sometimes a step may seem out of order. Listen to the child's explanation to see if it still makes sense.
Challenge preschoolers to play a guessing game with peephole pictures. Cover a large picture with a piece of construction paper that has a large hole that shows no more than half of a picture. Add another layer that covers at least half of that exposed part. Continue adding layers, until only a small peephole is left. Ask children to guess what the picture is, based on that small peephole. They can even tell a story. Remove one layer and ask them to guess again. Continue removing the layers until the entire picture is exposed. Ask them how their ideas changed as more of the picture was revealed.
Use photographs of children performing different activities. Have children describe what is going on in the picture by acting it out on their own. Simple mimicking of one action can lead into an entire performance based on that card.