Storytime is more than reading aloud—it’s an opportunity to create an inclusive space where every child can see themselves reflected, practice language, and participate actively. Whether it’s a weekly storytime or a special author visit, librarians can use intentional strategies to support multilingual learners, Deaf and hard-of-hearing students, and all children in exploring stories, ideas, and concepts together. This post focuses on practical ways to make storytime engaging, equitable, and accessible for every learner.

Before Storytime

Providing a short activity for students while they wait for storytime can help with classroom management and prepare them for learning. For example, Figure 1 shows sentence starters paired with an image from the story, allowing students to preview a page before it is read. This activity encourages conversational language (tier 1 vocabulary), supporting multilingual learners.

<Image from Twinkle, Twinkle, Nighttime Star / Credit: Science, Naturally!>

Librarians can collaborate with teachers to select books and images that reinforce tier 1 vocabulary while introducing tier 2 words (see bold print in Figure 2). Preparing these materials in advance ensures they align with your library’s resources and supports students’ comprehension.

<Image from Twinkle, Twinkle, Nighttime Star / Credit: Science, Naturally!>

Repetition further reinforces learning. Using the same tier 2 words with different images (Figure 3) helps all students—especially multilingual learners—internalize new concepts. These strategies also support visiting authors or teachers by helping students anticipate the reading, allowing them to engage more fully with the story.

<Image from This Is the Sun / Credit: Science, Naturally!>

During Storytime

Modeling gestures while reading engages students immediately. Incorporating sign language not only supports classroom management by reducing interruptions (like students asking to use the restroom), but also introduces all students to signing and the process of communicating inclusively.

<Credit: www.fortheloveofteachers.com>

For instance, teaching the sign for “same” replaces blurts like “Me too!” with a quiet hand gesture, allowing students to quickly and respectfully show they relate to a statement.

<Credit: www.fortheloveofteachers.com>

Sign language is a great tool for building inclusiveness and respect by helping students feel seen and heard. Another way I use sign language is to help students engage with content they already know, without disrupting storytime.

For example, when reading my nonfiction books Twinkle, Twinkle, Daytime Star and Twinkle, Twinkle, Nighttime Sky—which introduce young readers to the vast sky beyond our solar system—students can use a sign to indicate, ”I knew that already!” In Figure 6, several students are shown touching their heads to convey this, demonstrating active participation while staying quiet.

<Students using sign language during read aloud of Twinkle, Twinkle, Nighttime Star.>

 

 

 

<Credit: Science, Naturally!>

 

Students can be taught two simple sign language gestures to communicate their thinking once storytime has started. The first shows that they are already familiar with a concept, as mentioned above.

<Credit: www.lifeprint.com>

The second indicates that they have just learned something new. [Hint: It looks like taking information from a book and putting it in your brain!] Librarians can teach these signs before storytime to support active participation, helping create a more inclusive and interactive storytime environment.

<Credit: www.lifeprint.com>

Another way to encourage participation from all learners is interactive polling. As librarians, you can create questions or visuals that engage every student while modeling inclusive participation strategies. These prompts can be adapted depending on the story. For example, instead of asking, “Who sees a sphere on this page?”—which invites only those who see a sphere to raise their hand—you could ask, “Do you see a sphere on this page?” so all students can respond with a simple “yes” or “no.”

I use this approach when reading my book Spheres All Year, which helps children recognize spherical objects in nature and everyday life. Engaging all students in this way can also boost retention and comprehension, especially when the book allows questions to be designed so that every listener can participate.

 

 

<Credit: www.babysignlanguage.com>

 


<Credit: Science, Naturally!>

After Storytime

Storytime doesn’t end with the last page. Retelling and reflecting on the story give students opportunities to practice language, reinforce comprehension, and express understanding in inclusive, interactive ways.

Cumulative books are especially effective because they allow students to retell the story step by step. Librarians can lead retelling sessions or guide students in creating visual summaries in the library. I do this with my books titled This Is the Sun and This Is the Ocean, both of which feature food chains and let students act out animals using sign language. I teach the signs as we read, and at the end, we retell the entire story together (Figure 16).

 

<Credit: Science, Naturally!>

<Children using sign language to retell This Is the Sun during an author visit at a local bookstore.>

Whether you are looking to celebrate diversity, expand your classroom management toolkit, or try a new approach to engaging your audience, I hope that something in this post resonates with you. Librarians can adapt these strategies for storytime programs, author visits, or library reading groups to ensure every student feels included, supported, and actively engaged. Try incorporating at least one of these strategies in your next storytime to see how it transforms student participation and learning!