Net’s
Newsletter
Issue
|
Comment – Theme – Spring – Common Words
– Resources – Reading Big Books – Some
Ideas on What to do With the Big Books – Stories on the Web – Reading Aloud to Children |
COMMENT: ME, OLD FASHIONED, NEVER!!!
Call me old-fashioned, but personally I
much prefer to read something ‘hands on’ rather than from a monitor screen, but
because our Newsletter goes to loads of folks besides NET volunteers, it is
impracticable to photocopy so many, and so Ms So’s
preferred option is to email it. To help me out with this, Dickson has very
kindly offered to convert my paper ‘cut-and-paste’ into computer format for
distribution.
What I need from you all is some feedback.
What do you want to see/read in the Newsletter? What do you want more/less of?
Is there anything I haven’t touched upon that you would like to see included?
Just email me (dmfearnside@hotmail.com)
with ideas and suggestions.
The main theme of
this issue is ”Reading Big Books”.
Hope you
find it useful.
Let’s start with a question:
What are the 100 most commonly used words in the
English language?
Now that Spring is in the air, it is a more meaningful
time to cover the topic. Below are some ideas for you:
Nursery Rhymes:- Mary Has a Little Lamb; Baa Baa
Black Sheep; Little Bo Peep. Use these as an introduction to …
Farm Animals:- Revise
or teach names by placing toy animals in a bag. Children have to feel inside
the bag and tell you the name of the animal. Discuss what baby animals are
called. Divide into two teams A and B. Team A shout
out the name of an animal; Team B have to tell you the name of the baby. Use
this game to also do animal sounds.
Growing:- Bring in some
seeds or buds and let the children plant them.
Movement/Mime:- Children
mime the action of a seed sleeping in the ground then slowly unfurling and
growing up until a flower blossoms forth. Keep repeating the action words as
they are doing them. Get the children to repeat them as they are doing it.
Talkabout:- Bring
in unusual flowers, blossoms, catkins, something that will really catch their
imaginations and just chat about it.
Walkabout:- Take a brief walk
near the centre and look for new shoots, leaves and buds.
What’s under the Flap:-To inspire the children’s imaginations, I cut out a
giant paper leaf shape and stuck one end on to a large piece of sugar paper to
form a giant flap. I drew a caterpillar on the sugar paper underneath and
stapled the whole picture to the wall.
The children gathered around the picture and I asked
them to guess what might be hiding underneath the leaf. Initially they
suggested predictable answers such as a burd or a
snail, but with a little encouragement they soon responded more imaginatively –
a witch with her broomstick caught in the twigs, a monkey looking for bananas,
a boy in a tree house.
In order to encourage children it is important to
accept all their suggestions and never laugh at them or dismiss their ideas. I
eventually let them lift the leaf flap to find my caterpillar and invited them
to make a giant leaf of their own.
They cut out two leaf shapes, colouring
one different shades of green using a media of their
own choice and drawing their hidden surprise on the other. Both were stapled on
to a large tree shape, so that the top leaf could be lifted like a flap.
When the magic tree was finished, each child was
allowed to lift a leaf and describe not only what was hiding underneath but
invent reasons for it being there and predict what might happen next.
The answer to the initial question is:
Most Common Words
|
1. the |
2. of |
3. and |
4. a |
5. to |
|
6. in |
7. is |
8. you |
9. that |
10. it |
|
11. he |
12. was |
13. for |
14. on |
15. are |
|
16. as |
17. with |
18. his |
19. they |
20. I |
|
21. at |
22. be |
23. this |
24. have |
25. from |
|
26. or |
27. one |
28. had |
29. by |
30. words |
|
31. but |
32. not |
33. what |
34. all |
35. were |
|
36. we |
37. when |
38. you |
39. can |
40. said |
|
41. there |
42. use |
43. an |
44. each |
45. which |
|
46. she |
47. do |
48. how |
49. their |
50. if |
|
51. will |
52. up |
53. other |
54. about |
55. out |
|
56. many |
57. then |
58. them |
59. these |
60. so |
|
61. some |
62. her |
63. would |
64. make |
65. like |
|
66. him |
67. into |
68. time |
69. has |
70. look |
|
71. two |
72. more |
73. write |
74. go |
75. see |
|
76. number |
77. no |
78. way |
79. could |
80. people |
|
81. my |
82. than |
83. first |
84. water |
85. been |
|
86. called |
87. who |
88. oil |
89. its |
90. now |
|
91. find |
92. long |
93. down |
94. day |
95. did |
|
96. get |
97. come |
98. made |
99. may |
100. part |
While these are the most commonyl USED words, the following website www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/hfwords/starwords/index.shtml
provides the most frequent words in books for beginning readers.
Resources
READING BIG BOOKS
Here are a list of the big books to be found in Resources at HQ:-
|
If You Gave a Moose a Muffin |
This is the Bear |
|
Over in the Meadow |
A Quiet Night In |
|
My Grandma Goes to School |
Croak, Croak |
|
Walking Through the Jungle |
I Love Animals |
|
My Mum and Dad Make Me Laugh |
The Shadows |
|
Let’s Make a Pizza |
Everybody is Special (t) |
|
Safari Park (t) |
The Fire Dragon (t) |
|
Keep Our Environment Clean (t) |
A Leaf Walk (t) |
|
What am I? (t) |
Shh (t) |
|
Christmas Tree (t) |
|
(Those with a ‘t’ have an
accompanying tape).
Some Ideas on What to do With the Big Books
‘Into Town’ is about the noises that particular forms of transport make
in towns.
1. Present the main parts/characters of a story before reading / showing them the book.
For Example:- Show them a photocopied picture of the bell.
“What’s this?”
“Where
do you find it?”
Show them the bicycle:-
“What’s this? What sound does the bell make?”
ting-ling-ling
2. Do the same for the other forms of transport.
3. Talk about ‘town’.
4. Read the story. After each page ask questions about what can be seen on the page:-
“How many …? What colour …? Where is …?” etc.
5. Finally, show the photocopies again for reinforcement.
STORIES
ON THE WEB
Another possibility is to view with the children one of the many stories to be found on the web. Some of these are interactive; some show the words karaoke-fashion, while others have sound accompanying a simple cartoon portrayal of the story. Whichever way the story is presented it is a nice break from the routine of a book.
Good sites I have come across so far are:-
www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/storycircle/index.shtml
www.disney.go.com/disneychannel/playhouse/bop
(
http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1
www.randomhouse.com/seussville/titles/flapbook/fish.html
Reading Aloud to Children
In its landmark 1985 review, Becoming a Nation
of Readers, the Commission on
• Knowledge of printed
letters and words and the relationship between sound and print.
• The meaning of many words.
• How books work and a
variety of writing styles.
• The world in which they
live.
• The difference between
written language and everyday conversation.
• The pleasure of reading.
Here are some
suggestions for reading aloud to children.
•
Make reading books an enjoyable experience.
Choose a comfortable place
where the children can sit near you. Help them feel safe and secure. Be
enthusiastic about reading. Show the children that reading is an interesting and
rewarding activity. When children enjoy being read to, they will grow to love
books and be eager to learn to read.
•
Read to children frequently.
Read to the children in your
care several times a day. Establish regular times for reading during the day
and find other opportunities to read:-
- Start or end the day with
a book.
- Read to children after a
morning play period, which also helps settle them down.
- Read to them during snack
time or before nap time.
•
Help children to learn as you read.
Offer explanations, make
observations, and help the children notice new information. Explain words they may
not know. Point out how the pictures in a book relate to the story. If the
story takes place in an historic era or in an unfamiliar place, give children
some background information so they will better understand and enjoy the story.
Talk about the characters’ actions and feelings. Find ways to relate the book
you are reading to what the children have been doing in the classroom.
• Ask children questions as you read.
Ask questions that help children connect the story
with their own lives or that help them to compare the book with other books
they have read. Ask questions that help the children notice what is in the book
and ask them to predict what will happen next.
Teacher Talk
|
◆ This story is about Gregory, a little goat that
didn’t like to eat what his parents thought he should. Do you feel this way
sometimes? ◆ Does this book remind you of any other books
we’ve read? Yes, we’ve read other books about Clifford, the big red dog. Do
you remember Clifford? What do you remember about him? ◆ What is similar about Gregory and
Clifford? What is different? |
• Encourage children to talk about
the book. Have a conversation with the children about the
book you are reading. Answer their questions. Welcome their observations and
add to what they say. Continue to talk about the book after you have read it.
Invite the children to comment on the story. Ask them to talk about their
favorite parts and encourage them to tell the story in their own words.
Teacher Talk
|
◆ Why do you think Max asked his
grandmother if he could play outside? Could it be
because he wanted to throw a ball? Sometimes it is better to throw balls
outside because things could be broken inside. What are some other games that
are better to play outside? ◆ Yes, that bird in the picture does have a seed in its
mouth. It’s probably going to eat it. |
|
In this example, a teacher
reads Eric Hill’s “lift-the-flap” book Spot’s First Walk. Notice how
the experience is like a conversation. The teacher invites the children’s
comments and answers their questions. She builds on what they say and
encourages them to make sense of what is happening in the story. She tells
the children new information that will help them to understand and enjoy the
book more. |
|
|
Book Not in there, Spot. Hello! Watch out! (Picture of an
angry-looking cat with “!!!” in speech balloon) |
Teacher and Children T: Where’s Spot going? C: Out there. T: Yes, he’s going through
a hole in the fence. C: What’s he going to do? T: I don’t know. Let’s
read and find out. (lifts flap) T: Who’s saying, “hello”?
Do you know what that is? C: No. T: It’s a snail . . . a
little animal that you might find in a garden. See the shell on its back? (points
to shell) T: Who’s saying, “watch
out!”? C: That bird. (points
to bird) T: That’s right! The blue
bird that’s sitting on the shovel is telling Spot to watch out. C: Why? T: Maybe Spot could get
into trouble if he goes in that little blue house. Let’s see what happens. (lifts
flap) C: Oh, it’s a cat! T: Yes, a cat that looks
as big as Spot. Does that cat look happy to see Spot? C: He looks like a mean
cat. T: Yes, he looks mean to
me, too. I don’t think he’s happy to see Spot. That’s probably why the bird
told Spot to watch out. C: I’d be scared. T: Me, too! C: What’s this? (points
to exclamation marks in speech balloon) T: These are called
exclamation marks. Cats can’t talk, but they make a hissing sound when they
get angry (makes a hissing sound). I think that’s the writer’s way of
showing us that the cat is hissing at Spot and telling him to get away. |
• Read many kinds of books. Children need to
be read different kinds of books. Storybooks can help children learn about
times, cultures, and peoples other than their own; stories can help them
understand how others think, act, and feel. Informational books can help
children learn facts about the world around them. These books also introduce
children to important concepts and vocabulary that they will need for success
in school. Read books that relate to the children’s backgrounds: their
experiences, cultures, languages,
and interests. Read books with characters and situations both similar and
dissimilar to those in the children’s lives so they can learn about the world.
• Choose books that help you teach. Use alphabet books to help you teach the names of the letters and the soun