This is a repost from June 30, 2010.
First Friday Q&A for May!
Three great questions for this month’s Q&A! I really think a lot of people are going to be able to relate to these scenarios, and hopefully add what they’ve learned to the comments below!
Now I Know My ABCs, Next Time Won’t You READ With Me?
Alphabet books are a great way to reinforce alphabet knowledge, one important piece of emergent literacy. One of the beautiful things about exposing children to the alphabet through books is that it provides a rich, meaningful, and varied context in which to place these otherwise abstract characters. Learning letters is ultimately about reading, so what better place to learn about letters than in a book? Here are more than a few of my favorite alphabet books, and what I love about them.
Combining the concept of letter form and sound, Now I Eat My Abc’s creates letter forms from foods beginning with the same letter. The photos are bright and appealing and use everything from asparagus to quesadillas to zucchini. It just might get your kids to learn their letters and try new foods!
Rainy Day Book Activities
Water is a fascinating topic for exploration! At this time of year, it’s particularly exciting to explore water in the form of rain. If you’re enjoying some April showers, you might want to build some connections with the children you love and teach by jumping into some of these great books and activities.
Reading Aloud is More Than Just Reading (And an Introduction to Brontorina)
It’s rather well-known that reading aloud to children is one of the best things you can do to promote literacy. While simply hearing the story has its benefits, really building literacy, comprehension, and vocabulary requires conversation off the page. Here is an example of some of the conversation that took place as I recently shared a wonderful book, Brontorina by James Howe,* (*affiliate) with a group of young children.
Before starting the story, I show the children the cover and ask what they see. They notice the ballet dancers and the enormous dinosaur on the cover. They love that the dinosaur’s head is bumping into the letters above. Some point out that there are BOY ballet dancers, and an old lady. “Probably their grandma,” someone suggests.
I ask what they think the story might be about.
“The dinosaur wants to eat the kids.”
“No, that’s a plant-eater.”
“I think he’s dancing. Wait, is that a boy dinosaur or a girl dinosaur?”
We talk about their ideas. We’re building prediction skills and a foundation for connections and comprehension. Then I point out the title as I read it. We talk about the letter it starts with and the sound it makes. Then someone points out that the name of someone in the class starts with a B as well. We talk about who Brontorina might be, and they all agree it must be the dinosaur on the cover. The kids can’t wait to find out what’s going to happen, so we jump in! [Read more…]
First Friday Q&A 4.1.11
Can you believe it’s First Friday already? No Foolin’! I selected just three questions this time to keep things more streamlined. If you have a question for the next installment of First Friday Q&A, email those to my NEW address: questions@notjustcute.com . Go ahead and do it today. Trust me, the next First Friday will be here before you know it!
More to Build On…
*I hope you’re enjoying the layout of the new site. A big “Thank You” to Brandon Sunday of Sunday Ventures for his help! I think it would have taken two years to figure it all out on my own. We’re still fine tuning, so if you notice anything that needs our attention, please let us know. It looks like email subscribers still need to be transferred from the old, so don’t fret if you haven’t gotten your emails yet, they should be back on track by the time the next post goes out!
When I wrote about activities for a construction theme a while ago, I left you hanging on a few activities I promised to add. Well, today’s the day!
Word Building
If you have budding readers, you may want to try out this word family activity. Draw a crane and tall building with windows on poster board. (I’m pretty sure you can make yours look better than mine!) Laminate so that you can use dry-erase markers to change up the word families in the windows. [Read more…]
Three Little Pigs
The next time you share the story of the Three Little Pigs, don’t just tell it, have the children be a part of it! These masks are inexpensive and easy to make. And the kiddos have a blast as they step into the story!
It’s First Friday!
Well here it is! There were so many great questions and so little time! I’ve supplemented with some links below. Please add your links and input in the comment section as well!
Dr. Seuss’ Birthday is on the Way!
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Dr. Seuss. Not only is his writing creative, humorous, poetic, and lovably quirky, but as an educator I’ve found it to be the perfect vehicle for promoting phonological awareness, a critical skill for building readers. With his birthday looming just around the corner (March 2), this is a popular time of year for all things Seuss!
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