Last week, I wrote about ways to make writing part of your family tradition. Here are a few ways you can authentically add writing to your family’s daily life:
- Have each family member make a list of things to do for the day/week.
- Write notes to slip into lunch boxes. End the note with a question. Ask your child to respond to the note in writing when he returns from school.
- Make a Top Ten List of. . . birthday gifts, games to play, chores to complete – endless opportunities. (see an example from our family below)
- Provide a Family Dialogue Journal in a central spot such as the kitchen. Write notes to each other in the journal. Provide different color pens to differentiate between family members.
- Make ABC books about favorite family topics (seasons, holidays, vacations, etc.). In my opinion, ABC books are timeless and this is an activity that can be enjoyed by children up through the end of elementary school at the very least. The complexity of the ABC book will depend on the age of your children.
ABC Book Models for Young Children:
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom: Anniversary Edition
by Bill Martin, Jr. and John Archambault
Alphabet City
by Stephen T. Johnson
ABC Book Models for Older Children:
When I taught fourth and fifth grade, I would often use Jerry Pallotta’s alphabet books as models for my students. He has written several books that tied into our science curriculum and so I would read aloud the book and then students would make their own ABC book based on our science topic. Here is just a sampling of some of his alphabet books. There are many more:
The Underwater Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Books)
The Extinct Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Books)
The Icky Bug Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Books)
The Butterfly Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Books)
The Ocean Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Books)
The Construction Alphabet Book
The Yummy Alphabet Book: Herbs, Spices, and Other Natural Flavors (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Book)
The Jet Alphabet Book
The Flower Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Books)
The Bird Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Books)
The Vegetable Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta’s Alphabet Books)
Some writing samples from our family:
Our Travel Journal – We travel every summer. About three years ago (when my son was 4) we traveled to Georgia to visit family. To give him something to do in the car and while on vacation, I created a travel journal personalized to our trip. I simply created a template so that he could draw and write based on a prompt.
Our Beach Alphabet Book – We take a trip to the beach every year. During the same year we traveled to Georgia, we also stopped in Myrtle Beach. I was looking for something to keep my son occupied and also provide lasting memories for us. I created “My Beach Alphabet Book.” I encouraged him to think about the things we did and saw while at the beach. I had planned for him to work on his book during down time at the beach, but we didn’t seem to have much. So instead, we worked on it when we returned. This turned out to be a nice way to reminisce about our trip after we were home. He only completed a few of the letters, but we still have a nice memory of our trip that year. And best of all, I can see how his writing has evolved over time, now.
Top Ten Reasons We Love Daddy – Last year for Father’s Day, we made a book for my husband. The kids listed their top ten reasons they love their dad. I provided ten pieces of cardstock and had my son (in kindergarten at the time) and my daughter (an early 3 at the time) brainstorm reasons they loved their dad. I had my son write them and then I split each page in half so each could draw a picture pertaining to their reason. We did this for eight pages. The last two pages of the book, I had each of them write one individual reason each and draw one picture. I made a cover for the book, punched holes in it, and tied yarn to bind the book. Needless to say, it was a big hit! The kids enjoyed making it and my husband really enjoyed receiving it! Oh, and it was a really inexpensive gift that came from the heart!
(He reads books to us)
How do you incorporate writing in your family?
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 owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families. Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com
We often forget that reading and writing go hand in hand. If we want to be a better reader, we need to write more. Conversely, if we want to be a better writer, we need to read more. Parents can help children reach higher levels of literacy not only by reading with them, but by writing with them, too. By weaving writing into the fabric of your family’s daily life, you are nurturing your child’s learning and can create traditions that will last for generations to come.
Creating a Write Start Environment
If we want to encourage a love of anything, we must immerse ourselves in it. Therefore, in order to encourage a love for writing in our families, we must immerse our families in writing. The easiest way to do this is to provide many opportunities to write during the day and to have writing materials easily accessible. Make your house writer friendly. Set up a writing center for your children – a space to free write. Provide plenty of writing tools: pencils, pens, crayons, colored pencils and markers. Provide different types of paper: lined paper, plain paper, stationery, envelopes, notepads, etc. Don’t forget construction paper, glue, and staplers for children to make their own books. Make the space fun and inviting.
Make Writing Relevant
Writing is learned best when it occurs in authentic situations. So, tie writing into what you are doing as a family. This may be as simple as having your child write out the grocery list for the week, write a recipe for his/her favorite meal, or to write thank you notes for gifts received. Special ways to make writing authentic: create Family Vacation Journals. Take pictures to paste in the journal and write about the event. Or create Family Activity Journals. You or your child can take pictures of day to day family activities. Place the photograph in the journal and then write about it. Aim to take one picture a day. One very special and easy way to encourage writing is by encouraging your child to begin a correspondence with a family member or other type of pen pal. A grandparent is a perfect candidate, especially if they don’t live nearby. Writing letters or even emails is a great way for your children to share their daily/weekly/monthly activities with their grandparent. And each will enjoy receiving mail from the other.
Make Writing a Family Tradition
Make writing a part of your family’s activities and it will quickly become tradition. Create a weekly family writing night. During these evenings, take turns adding to a Family History Journal. Have each family member write about something special that happened during the week. If you have a child who is not yet writing, have them draw a picture. Create Father/Son or Mother/Daughter dialogue journals. Use these journals to “talk” with your pre-teen or teenager about their day. They may feel more comfortable sharing events in their lives if they don’t actually have to verbalize them. Use the dialogue journal to ask questions and seek answers, to provide encouragement, or to apologize.
However you choose to incorporate writing into the fold of your family’s fabric, I hope you create family traditions that live for generations to come. What sweet memories they will hold as your children grow up, move on, and have children of their own.
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 owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families. Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com
Children learn from their environment. Children learn from doing. But children also learn from seeing. Recognizing the signs, symbols, and words that children see every day is a precursor to beginning reading. Environmental print is an important component of children’s early literacy learning.
What is environmental print? The everyday words, logos, symbols, and signs we see. McDonalds, Target, Walmart, Starbucks, Stop (as in a Stop sign) and Cheerios are all examples of environmental print. It’s important that children use the world around them to help make connections. Think about how inundated our own adult brains are with these logos! It won’t take long for children to recognize them and understand what they mean.
So what are some ways you can help increase your child’s knowledge of environmental print? Play games of course!
For most of these games, you will need to find signs and symbols of various environmental print on the Internet. A simple Google search should provide you with pictures, symbols, and logos of environmental print and you can personalize to your area (specific gas stations, restaurants, etc.). Print out two to three copies of each sign or symbol. Depending on the age of your child, begin with five to ten different symbols. Choose print that your child will or should recognize (places you frequent often, food you eat regularly). Glue the pictures to separate pieces of cardstock. Use the cards to play the games below:
- Print Sort – Have your child sort the different types of print (i.e. restaurants signs, store signs, road signs, food labels, etc.) Or, have them sort by beginning letters or colors.
- Print Memory Match – Lay the cards (make sure you have two of each one) face down, ask your child to flip them over one at a time and match the pairs.
- Print Puzzles – Choose a few of the cards to cut apart (if you make three copies of each card, you should have an extra set). Cut them into different shapes to create a puzzle. Have your child put the pieces back together and tell you what label he created.
- “I Spy” Print Hunt – As you travel inside your house or around your town ask your child to point out specific environmental print. For example, you may notice a Barnes and Noble sign as you are driving through town. Say, “I spy a Barnes and Noble sign” and ask your child to locate it. Try to point out signs or symbols that your child may not automatically know. This will help him to learn new environmental print.
Do you already help your child to learn environmental print? What ways do you work with your child to learn various environmental print words?
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 owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families. Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com
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
In order for children to become fluent readers, they must be able to read sight words. Sight words are the most commonly used words in the English language. These words are known on sight and recognized instantly. If children know these words by “sight,” reading becomes more fluent and your child can than work to comprehend what he/she has read.
Around 18 months to 3 years, your child is developing environmental print knowledge from the world around him. Think McDonalds, Target, Starbucks, Stop (sign), gas station names, etc. This is a precursor to learning sight words. Encourage your child to notice these words around him/her.
When you read to your pre-school age child, point out common sight words, such as “I, a, an, can, say, and, the.” After your child has become familiar with some of the common sight words, ask him or her to start pointing them out to you as you read.
Here is a list of the 100 most common sight words. I suggest noting them to yourself and pointing them out as you read aloud to your child.
When your pre-school or kindergarten age child has knowledge of five to ten sight words, begin to play sight word games with him or her. **It is important to note that the child should be familiar with the sight words prior to incorporating them in a game.**
Sight Word Games:
Sight Word-O – Played just like Bingo, use sight words as the words on the card. Call out the words one at a time, and ask your child to mark them as he hears them.
Sight Word Memory – Write sight words that your child knows on index cards. Make two sets. Mix them up and place them face down. Ask your child to find the matching sight words. When he doesn’t make a match, he must flip the cards back over again.
Sight Word Go Fish – Use the index cards that you created for Sight Word Memory. Mix them up and deal out three to five cards to your child and the same amount to yourself. Put additional cards face down in a pile between you. Play Sight Word Go Fish as you would traditional Go Fish (it may help to wait to play this game until your child is familiar with ten to fifteen sight words).
Matchbox Match-Up – Using a small car, have your child drive through the parking lot to park in the spot for the sight word you call out.
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 owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families. Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com
When my oldest daughter was 2, she learned she was going to get some company.
“There is going to be someone new in our house,” I said.
My daughter saw that as an invitation for a game of pretend – one of her favorite things to do besides reading books with her daddy and eating Cheerios and raisins, a toddler’s version of trail mix.
She wondered if the “visitor” was going to be a cow or a kitten.
I told her this visitor would only have two legs.
“Like Gwammy?” she asked.
“Kinda…only much smaller,” I replied.
I proceeded to tell her she was going to become a big sister and how she was going to be able to show her new baby all her favorite things when she got big enough. That was the first of many, many conversations we had with her to prepare her for her new sibling. I had heard one too many horror stories about first-borns and their adverse reactions to additional family members. My husband and I desperately wanted to minimize rivalry and properly prepare our eldest.
Months later, when her new sister arrived, she was very good with her. She was my little helper, bringing blankets and bibs and diapers to care for her new sister. We were careful to maintain our play and nap and mealtime routines, but especially reading time – her favorite even then. With a toddler snuggled up on one side and a newborn in the crook of my other elbow, we read book after book on a daily basis. My toddler loved it, and my newborn was soothed by my voice.
The only small bump in the road was my oldest’s disappointment in the size and agility of her newborn baby sister, as well as the unexpected noise a baby brings into the household. Along with my explanations, I made a book out of construction paper, colored pencils and tape. It was written from the perspective of an older sibling, and my daughter loved it.
“Hey, just like me!” she said, gleefully.
We read that book every day for many, many days. A family classic, you might say.
Sixteen years later, I pulled it out of a keepsake box that had been stored in the attic. It was yellowed and brittle, but it brought a smile to my face and to my daughters.
Fearful that it would completely disintegrate or get eaten by squirrels if I returned it to the attic, I put the tattered-but-prized book on the top shelf in the guestroom closet. …But not before I preserved the keepsake forever.
I had recently become a member of the Big Universe website community and was able to use the authoring tool to reproduce “Someone New in My House.” I kept the text word for word as it had been written for my little ones, but opted to use the book site’s vast graphics library to upgrade the illustrations. I was tickled pink at the results.
Other members have created books too, telling tales with morals, funny anecdotes and stories that help children cope with the death of a pet or the fear of going to school for the first time. To say that this online children’s website is family-friendly is an understatement. It’s easy. It’s fun, and it’s addictive.
The creative possibilities are endless on Big Universe, which makes this online learning tool priceless.
When we teach students about the varied uses and understanding of onomatopoeia, our approach to learning is often a traditional one. It is expected and necessary to teach the proper definition of onomatopoeia, which is the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. woof, chirp, sizzle, tweet), and to give traditional examples of usage (e.g. nursery rhymes, poems, and jokes). Further, students must learn to pronounce this quirky word, and they even may inquire about the origins of their newest vocabulary feat (the Greeks). Without a doubt, most would teach a lesson about onomatopoeia, by allowing students the joy of practicing its many uses individually or in groups. However, it is at this point, where I would bring forth the “Carnival of Harlequin,” by Joan Miro, as there is a slice of synaesthesia as well as onomatopoeia in this lesson about “Listening to the Art of Miro.”
It is my belief, that the most important reason for teaching onomatopoeia is so that children understand why it is they are giddy, delighted, and amused when their parents read nursery rhymes, poetry, or comics aloud to them. By showing students the art of Joan Miro (via Internet or poster), one can easily ask “What sounds do you hear when you look at this picture?” The discussion that follows will amaze you! Afterwards, play a CD of comic book style sounds, for a couple of minutes. Ask students to discuss which sounds match the differing shapes and colors of Miro’s work. Next, allow students to work individually or in groups to create a storyline that stems from “Carnival.” As they work to create their story, encourage the use of onomatopoetic language to describe the setting or the introductory sentences, the climax or conclusion. This narrative need not be lengthy; the focus is on descriptive language that revolves around the sense of sound. To take the lesson step further, students could record their stories using the sounds manufactured by their new, sensory descriptions.
The sense of sound, in itself, will prompt incredibly wild imaginings by your students.
I was reminded that the 2009 Bulwer-Lytton winners had recently been announced. I always enjoy these each year. This is the annual contest for the worst opening line (Since 1983). It is named after Edward George Bulwer-Lytton who wrote the famous opening phrase that Snoopy used so often: “It was a dark and stormy night . . .” [Paul Clifford, 1830].
If you get a chance check out the winners for this year at http://bulwer-Lytton.com .
One of my favs was the romance winner:
Melinda woke up suddenly to the sound of her trailer being pounded with wind and hail, and she couldn’t help thinking that if she had only put her prized hog up for adoption last May, none of this would be happening, no one would have gotten hurt, and she wouldn’t be left with only nine toes, or be living in a mobile home park in Nebraska with a second-rate trapeze artist named Fred. (by Ada Marie Finkel. Boston, MA)
HAH! (But it does make you want to keep reading, doesn’t it?)
Entries are taken all year long for the next batch of winners, so why not contribute if you’ve got a sentence that just isn’t working? Make it as awful as you can . . . who knows, you might be one of next year’s winners. And teachers, have your students-—just for a fun respite from studying good writing—try writing the worst sentence they can. Have some samples of purple prose around, or first lines from genre fiction for them to imitate.
Have fun!
Ciao,
Shutta
(He reads books to us)
