Posted on February 7, 2010 by Suzan Woodard in General, Lesson Plans, Literature, Tips, Uncategorized.
Tags: Big Universe, Books, Children, Chinese New Year, creativity, Fun in class, Lesson Plans, literacy games, Online Children's Books, picture books, vocabulary
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Valentine’s Day is Feb. 14, but did you know it’s the first day of the Chinese New Year, too? Yup – the Year of the Tiger is upon us! Maybe your child or class would have fun with some global fusion – half hearts, half dragons.
Kids like quirky, well, most of them anyway. Hang Chinese lanterns from the ceiling and cut and paste valentines. Mix in talk of tigers, dragons and firecrackers and you are sure to engage the boys, as well.
I figure most of you have the Valentine’s Day theme down pat, so I’ll give you a few hints on how to use the Chinese New Year celebration as a spring board for learning.
Get to Know and Appreciate China
- Make Chinese paper lanterns to string in a doorway or from the ceiling. Very festive.
- Read “China” by Gisela Lee, who writes about this influential country’s rich history and vibrant modern-day culture. The book posted online by Big Universe has a map, colorful pictures and a good vocabulary list aimed at sixth-graders. (Teacher Created Materials Publishing)
- Fly a kite, bring collapsible umbrellas to school or play dominoes. They were all invented by the Chinese.
- Use “Kingka,” an award-winning board game, as a class supplement. Created by New Jersey educator, mom and children’s book author Sholeen Lou-Hsaio, the Mandarin-language matching game resembles bingo and introduces the 54 basic Chinese characters. It uses “the spirited nature of a memory game to encourage effective learning. It takes away the fear students have of learning Chinese,” said Lou-Hsiao.
- Learn more about giant pandas by clicking on this link.
- “Confucius, Chinese Philosopher” is another Big Universe book by Gisela Lee, who collaborated with Wendy Conklin to write this biography. (Teacher Created Materials Publishing)
- Look at “Holidays” by author Dona Herweck Rice. It’s aimed at younger children with simple text and great pictures. Keep an eye out for the Chinese New Year street parade picture. (Teacher Created Materials Publishing)
- Go to Page 33 in the book “Animal World.” It offers a little zoology on the tiger – with colorful photographs and a fun “factoscope” box. It’s perfect for the Year of the Tiger observance. You’ll find this book (Saddleback Educational Publishing) on Big Universe online children’s books website, too.
- Print out this coloring page of a tiger, a boy in traditional holiday clothing, or one of men dressed to do the Chinese New Year lion dance.
Think back to when you were a kid. Well, more specifically think about what your favorite book was as a young child.
My favorite book as a kid was Old Hat New Hat by Stan & Jan Barenstain. My brother and I used to read that book over and over again. We read it so many times and knew it so well that we used to have contests to see who could read it the fastest. Those challenges were really hilarious! You would be amazed at how fast we could breeze through that book.
When I think back to that time it always brings a smile to my face. So, what about you? Do you remember what your favorite book was? Good! Now go on and find that book so you can experience it with your child.
But wait, there’s more! As a way to preserve this precious time you could video record yourself and/or your child reading this book aloud. That would be something I’m sure both you and your child would treasure.
Also, consider audio recording this event so that your child could play it back whenever he/she likes. If you have a camera handy, snap a picture of your trip down memory lane to put in the family album.
I hope that now you are inspired to resurrect your old favorites. By doing this, you just might find that you introduce your child to a new favorite as well.
The proud mother of four children with voracious appetites for reading, Mindi Flowers is a work-at-home mom with a passion for promoting literacy. Mindi is the author of several children’s books, including the imaginative and interactive Super Hero Joe series. She is also the creator of an innovative system designed to teach reading skills to toddlers and adolescents using sound, successful practices with repetitive and fun activities. Mindi Flowers is also the force behind Bailey A. Bookworm, a.k.a. B.A. Bookworm, a website and blog that offers innovative tips and interactive activities geared towards nurturing the reader in your child. Visit her site http://babookworm.wordpress.com to view more of her work.
Phonics Blending...A New Way For Children To Learn Reading
My son has been bringing home schoolwork with single and multiple letters circled in sentences. I have to admit, I was rather confused about what was going on. I had looked at these pages for a few weeks and never questioned them. So when I finally did question him about this, he told me what was happening (in his own little way). Then I figured it out and realized they were teaching him phonics blending. Here is a little bit about phonics blending from what I have learned:
Phonics blends are groups of consonants whose sounds blend together. As children become more confident with the alphabet consonants, they start to blend these letters together. Consonant blends are what is known as letters that do not have any vowels between them.
Each letter within the blend is pronounced individually, but quickly, so they ‘blend’ together.
Blends are usually composed of two or three consonants and can begin or end a syllable or word.
Here are some common examples of this:
bl, br, str, sl, and so on….
Upon doing my own research, via the internet, about the success of phonics blending as a way of teaching a child to learn how to read, I have found that the success rates are high with this. And, interestingly, I also found stated in multiple places that this can prevent a form of dyslexia from happening, known as “artificially-induced whole word dyslexia.”
There is also a neat way to make your own phonics blend wheel. Follow these instructions:
What You Need:
- two paper plates
- scissors
- marker
- brass fastener
What to Do:
- Place the paper plates on top of one another, and poke a small hole straight through the center. Separate the plates.
- Use scissors to cut a 2” square in the top plate. The square should be about an inch to the right of the center hole.
- Use the marker to write a blend on the right side of the window, such as “at.” (See the list below for some common first grade blends.) Be sure to write the blend about the same height as the cut-out window, and use lower-case letters.
- Attach the two plates with a brass fastener at the center. The plate with the blend and window should be on top.
- Use the marker to write a letter (or a cluster of onsets) on the portion of the bottom plate that appears in the cut-out window, such as “c”. Turn the bottom plate clockwise until the “c” disappears, then write a different letter in the window. Continue in this manner, writing a letter, then turning the plate, until you come back to the letter “c.”
- Now it’s time to play! Hand your child the plates, and have him turn the wheel until a letter appears in the window. Assist him in blending the onset with the rime to form a word.
Some common first grade ending blends include:
-ab, -ag, -ack, -at, -ap, -an, -am, -ad, -ake, ate; -ed, -en, -ell, -eck, -eel, -est; -id, -ill, -ig, -ick, -ip, -ide, -ike; -op, -ot, -ock, -og, -oat; -ug, -uck, -ut.
Also on my journey with my search through the internet, if you allow your children to play games on your computer, here is a great link that has tons of games regarding phonics blending, vowels, and this isn’t just a reading site either. It has all categories that you would need. I will be using this site on a regular basis. Click here to go to that site.
So on my journey of just asking a simple question about my child’s homework, I have been opened to a whole new world of modern teaching…and I am thankful that my son is being taught this way. It just makes sense to me.
Week 3 High Frequency Word List
1. is
2. like
3. see
~ Amy E. Snyder
- Read to your child every day. Choose a specific time and/or spot. Make it special.
- Make it fun! Act out the text or animate your voice for the characters and events in the story.
- Read wordless picture books with your children. Create a story for your child based on what is happening on each page. If your child is old enough, ask your child to “read” the story to you.
- Tell your child stories from your childhood. This weaves in your family history, and your child will appreciate hearing about your youth.
- Read a fairy tale to your child and have him/her act out the parts of
the story. This is especially fun if you have dress-up clothes for your child to wear.
- Read to your child’s interests. If your child likes cars and trucks, read aloud books about cars and trucks. If your child likes princesses, read aloud books about princesses. Books read aloud don’t always have to be fiction, choose some nonfiction pieces, too. Talk to your child about the difference between fiction and nonfiction texts.
- Read poetry aloud. Poetry is often a neglected genre, but can help your child learn to feel the rhythm of a text.
- Read stories with predictable texts. This will get your child interested in the story, and he/she will learn to figure out what comes next. This is an important stage in literacy development.
- Create a special area for your child’s books in the house. A cozy corner just for him/her will encourage your child to enjoy reading.
- Let your child choose his/her own books when at the library or book store. Even if they aren’t of the highest quality or at your child’s reading level, you are sending the message that his/her choices are important.
Wordless Picture Books
Pancakes for Breakfast by Tommy dePaola
10 Minutes till Bedtime by Peggy Rathmann
Truck by Donald Crews
A Boy, a Dog, a Frog, and a Friend by Mercer Mayer
Fairy Tales
Fairy Tale Classic: Easy-to-Read Collection by Harriet Ziefert
Poetry
Read Aloud Rhymes for the Very Young Edited by Jack Prelutsky
Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
Poetry Speaks to Children edited by Elise Paschen
The Bill Martin Jr. Big Book of Poetry edited by Bill Martin Jr. and Michael Sampson
Predictable Texts
Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin, Jr.
Chicka, Chicka, Boom Boom by Bill Martin, Jr.
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Good Night ,Gorilla by Peggy Rathmann
What favorites do you and your preschooler read aloud? Do you have any other suggestions for ways to engage preschoolers in literacy?
Dawn Little (aka Links to Literacy) also blogs at www.teachingwithpicturebooks.wordpress.com where she provides educators with picture book lessons based on comprehension strategies and the Six Traits of Writing. In addition, she blogs at www.literacytoolbox.wordpress.com where she provides educators and parents with tips and tools to enhance the literacy lives of children. She is the founder and operator of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families. Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com
Time to look at your stories again with the following tips in mind:
Week 7 Day 1: Is there anything in my story that will become dated soon?
Unless your story is historical fiction, and you want to set it in a specific time, it is best not to insert references that will soon become old. (For example, mentioning a current popular rock star, TV show, or fad.) If you’re going to make a cultural allusion, invent one that sounds like it could be timeless. Or use one that is timeless. Otherwise, your story will soon grow old. In fact, by the time it comes out it will probably already be out of date.
Week 7 Day 2: Is the vocabulary appropriate for the targeted audience?
You can have words in your story that the child does not know, but they should be comprehensible in context. Putting in new words is a good thing to do; it is how children learn vocabulary. But they must be words that do not stop the story. When children come to the words, they should understand the meaning by the context, what is going on in the story. The adult reader should not have to stop the reading and explain the vocabulary to them. So, a few carefully chosen words, in the proper context, are useful, but don’t overdo it.
Week 7 Day 3: Are there any sections that are unbalanced? Too long? Too short?
One way you can tell if your book is unbalanced is to draw a chart of each section, separating your story into pages. If you can visually see where the text fits and how much there is in each scene, you can more easily tell if you have a scene that’s too heavy, too long, or that has too much text for the amount of illustration possibilities. You will be able to see if the story stops at some point while the character preaches or rambles. You will also be able to see where the story bogs down with events that do not move the story forward.
Week 7 Day 4: Are my characters different from one another?
Each character in your story needs to be instantly identifiable through their mannerisms, their voice, their names and their appearance. They should all be clear and individual–unless you are going for an effect of confusion such as a story about twins or confused identities, or if you’re establishing a Greek chorus. Otherwise, your characters need to be individuals. This way, as readers read through the story, they are never confused about who is doing what.
Week 7 Day 5: Is my plot more than just average? Are there other books that do what mine does? Is mine better? More interesting?
It is not good enough for your manuscript to be good. An editor sees many, many good manuscripts every day. A good manuscript will not stand out, will not get attention, and will not sell itself to the publisher. So if your manuscript is good and competent, look again. Is there some way you can crank up the conflict? Some way that you can make it more interesting? Is there another dimension you can add to it? Are the words as powerful as they could be? Is there something you can do to the story to make it stand out, to make it more than just good? With as many stories as editors read, yours has to have something that makes the editor say, “I have never seen that before. I like that.”
These “pigeon” books are a huge hit with my son. They reflect exactly the way that a determined young child would act in order to get their way. Notice I said “determined“.
Basically it is a simple book with simple drawings, but it is great. The story is about a bus driver having to leave the bus and he urges his readers to NOT let the pigeon drive the bus. And, of course you guessed it, the pigeon wants to drive the bus and tries to persuade the reader to allow him to do so.
This book allows true interaction with your child as your child soon learns a variety of words that the pigeon is “shouting” throughout. Therefore, this is not a bedtime book – this book will really get your child involved and in high gear! And in the process, it produces a lot of giggles!
This book ALWAYS brings a laugh when read. It is a must-have for any child. You, as an adult, will enjoy it just as much! It is one that will not sit on your shelf very often.
Week 2 High Frequency Word List
1. a
2. to
3. in
Reader’s Theater is a dramatic adaptation of a piece of literature. It typically involves children writing a script based on a book and then a dramatic read aloud of the script. Reader’s Theater is great for children’s communication skills. It provides an opportunity for them to develop fluency (when reading aloud) and collaboration skills (when working together to create a script). In addition, children learn to read with expression. Read what Reading Rockets and Scholastic have to say about Reader’s Theater.
Reader’s Theater can be motivational to dormant readers. ** Dormant readers are typically your children who do well, but who are not intrinsically motivated to read on their own. Instead of having to read a whole book, the reader only needs to read parts of the book (really, the script, which is often shortened from the original text) with expression. I bet you will find that a dormant reader might actually enjoy reading when he is able to express himself a bit.
Reader’s Theater can be fun and engaging for preschoolers as well. Of course, I’m sure you are wondering how preschoolers are supposed to act out a script if they can’t read it! Well, parents or teachers can read aloud the script and the children can act out bit parts. For example, Michigan’s “Michigan Reads” initiative provides a Reader’s Theater script for preschoolers called “Barnyard Song.” An adult narrates the story and the children act as the animals by “reading” the animal sound. There are even animal masks provided! (Typically, props and costumes are not used in Reader’s Theater, but I think at the preschool age, masks will definitely make the experience more hands-on and fun!)
Reader’s Theater can be a motivating reading activity for dormant readers and an engaging activity for emergent readers. Check out the web, there are a ton of resources for Reader’s Theater scripts already there, or make a script based on your child’s favorite book. Consider planning a Reader’s Theater experience for your next playgroup meeting. I bet your preschoolers will have fun. . . and they will learn from it, too!
** For more information on dormant readers, I recommend reading The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child by Donalyn Miller. This is a fantastic resource for parents and educators.**
Dawn Little (aka Links to Literacy) also blogs at www.teachingwithpicturebooks.wordpress.com where she provides educators with picture book lessons based on comprehension strategies and the Six Traits of Writing. In addition, she blogs at www.literacytoolbox.wordpress.com where she provides educators and parents with tips and tools to enhance the literacy lives of children. She is the founder and operator of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families. Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com
When was the last time you had your child read aloud to you? With our schedules being so busy these days its hard to find time to just sit and listen to your child read, especially if your child is already an independent reader.
Having your child read aloud to you is extremely important since it allows you to be in touch with how their reading is progressing. Many children can read well enough to get by, but when made to read aloud might stumble on their words or possibly read each word as a single entity instead of a flowing sentence. Also, many children read with a robotic tone. Learning to use inflection in your voice when you read is an important skill that will only improve with practice.
A child usually wont have many chances to read aloud in school so it is up to you to make time for it. It’s not as difficult as you might think however. The trick is to listen to your child read while you are doing something else.
Do you travel around a lot? Listen to your child read while you are driving. Are you often on the computer? That would also be a great time to have your child read aloud to you. Think about it like this, any time you feel comfortable having the radio or television going on in the background would be the perfect opportunity to have your child read to you for a while instead.
Do you prepare dinner? Try having your child read to you as you cook. This has worked very well for my daughter and me. Many nights as I start to prepare dinner my daughter will sit at the kitchen table and read to me as I work. I really enjoy this special time we spend together.
Remember, for the most part you only need to listen to your child read to gain confidence in his/her reading ability. This also allows you to be aware of how your child’s reading ability is progressing. It isn’t necessary for you to be reading over his/her shoulder. Just listen and only help if help is needed. If your child gets stuck on a word have him/her sound out the word & if that doesn’t work have your child spell the word so you can help decipher it.
After your child has finished reading to you it is a great time to give out hugs and kisses and praise your child. This also gives you the perfect opportunity to give him/her feedback on what can be done to improve. Use the Kisses and Wishes method to critique your child’s reading. If you notice that your child needs to use more expression when reading aloud, then lead your child by example. Read a few pages from the book your child just read to you and show him/her what a huge difference it makes to alter your voice from high to low, or convey sadness or excitement in your voice as you read.
With practice your child will become an expert at reading aloud, and that is an important skill your child will utilize for the rest of his/her life.
The proud mother of four children with voracious appetites for reading, Mindi Flowers is a work-at-home mom with a passion for promoting literacy. Mindi is the author of several children’s books, including the imaginative and interactive Super Hero Joe series. She is also the creator of an innovative system designed to teach reading skills to toddlers and adolescents using sound, successful practices with repetitive and fun activities. Mindi Flowers is also the force behind Bailey A. Bookworm, a.k.a. B.A. Bookworm, a website and blog that offers innovative tips and interactive activities geared towards nurturing the reader in your child. Visit her site http://babookworm.wordpress.com to view more of her work.
Let’s write a snapshot picture book!
Week 6, Day 1
Step 1: Decide what kind of snapshot picture book you want to write.
A concept book? Concepts might include the alphabet, counting, shapes, colors, transportation, sounds, emotions, days of the week, hours of the day, chores, games, anything that is a classification, a grouping of similar things.
Or maybe you want to write about the sequence of actions that make up an event.
Or a procedure, the steps to doing something.
Decide what you want to do.
Week 6, Day 2
Step 2: Decide what your snapshot book is going to have snapshots of. What’s it going to be about? For example, if you chose to do an alphabet book, what kind of alphabet?
One easy way to come up with a lot of ideas is to just take random nouns and concepts and put them together with your topic.
For example, “trees”. The tree alphabet book, the tree counting book, the tree shape book, the tree transportation book.
The tree alphabet might include an alphabetical listing of all the creatures that come to live in a tree. Or an alphabetical listing of things that can be made out of a tree, or of people who sit under the tree, or of types of trees, or of things that look like trees.
The tree transportation book could be about the different modes of transportation that are involved in cutting down the tree, transporting the log to the sawmill, transporting the lumber, transporting the furniture, transporting it to your home.
The tree procedure book, or how to grow a tree, would take you step-by-step through the process of watching your tiny seedling grow into a giant oak.
(My So Many Bunnies is an alphabet book of names, a counting book of the letters of the alphabet, and a book of places where bunnies can sleep.)
Week 6, day 3
Step 3: Decide on the direction of your story. How is your story going to move forward from the beginning to the end?
Alphabet books and some other concept books have natural movement, but even they can have additional movement that will help make the story more appealing. Is the alphabet a story? Does it get progressively more outrageous? Is your counting leading to an event? Is it the countdown for a rocket launch? Most of the topics that you could have chosen will have a natural sequence, but if you can add an additional overlying sequence, a direction, a motion, it will make the story more fun.
(So Many Bunnies goes from A to Z, 1 to 26, and travels throughout the bunnies’ house and yard.)
Week 6, day 4
Step 4: Choose what is going to represent each snapshot. What will A stand for? B? 3? Blue? Circle? One of the easiest ways to do this is simply to dive into reference books. A dictionary. A rhyming book. An encyclopedia. Find lists of the types of things you’re looking for and browse down them until you find just the items you want.
(For names I looked in baby name books. The numbers I knew 
. For sleeping locations, I looked in rhyming dictionaries, searching for words that rhymed with the names I had chosen, and that were places that the bunnies could sleep. If I couldn’t find a good rhymed sleeping place, I had to go back and choose another name.)
Week 6, Day 5
Step 6: Write each snapshot. Decide what the formula will be, and fit each of the items from day 4 into the formula.
(”One was named Abel. He slept on the table.
Two his named Blair. She slept on the chair.”)
Week 6, Day 6
Step 6: Okay, sometimes you have to work on Saturday. Does your story need a framework? Think of one, something that gets the reader into the story, something that gets the reader out of the story. Next week more tips for making your story brilliant.
( So Many Bunnies begins, “Old Mother Rabbit, she lives in a shoe. She has 26 children and knows what to do. She feeds him some broth, and gives them some bread, then kisses them gently and put them to bed.” And it ends, “Old Mother Rabbit, she lives in a shoe. She has 26 children and plenty to do. She tucks them all in, from Abel to Zed, Then curls herself up in a soft feather bed.” And then the very last scene shows all of the little bunnies climbing into bed with Mom.)
Posted on January 26, 2010 by Suzan Woodard in Commentary, Lesson Plans, Technology, Tips, Uncategorized.
Tags: Big Universe, Brain science, development, Education, math concepts, Math picture books, online teaching, picture books
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“The mathematical sciences particularly exhibit order, symmetry, and limitation; and these are the greatest forms of the beautiful.” – Aristotle
Aristotle appreciated math. So do my husband, father-in-law and sister-in-law. They made it their livelihoods. As for me…well, if push came to shove, I’d plead The Fifth.
However, I did read a well-written essay by Benedict Carey, titled “Studying Young Minds, and How to Teach Them.” It appeared as part of a series in The New York Times last month. Unfortunately it was published on Dec. 20 – just a few days before Christmas. I doubt it got the notice it deserved, but I found it fascinating and think teachers and parents will find it and the rest of the series interesting too.
Carey talks about how cognitive neuroscience research is challenging the way educators have traditionally taught math and other concepts to young children. While some of these findings may have trickled their way into the classroom, I think the information bears repeating. Numerous brain science studies and researchers are cited, as well as a few teachers who have incorporated these new ideas into their classrooms through fun math games, activities and reading.
“Teaching is an ancient craft, and yet we really have had no idea how it affected the developing brain,” said Kurt Fischer, in The New York Times article. Fischer is the director of the Mind, Brain and Education program at Harvard. “Well, that is beginning to change, and for the first time we are seeing the fields of brain science and education work together.”
For those of you on the front lines in the classroom, please weigh in! Give the article and its readers’ comments a look and then offer your feedback here. Does this article resonate with you? Are you applying any of these principles in your math curriculum? Or are your hackles up? I’d like to hear what you have to say.
If you are looking for some basic math concept picture books, Big Universe offers about two dozen online options from its publishing partners. Members also have created many volumes about math and counting, and you and your students can do the same.
