A Fly Went By is a great story to help the students develop their prediction strategies. It is written in cumulative rhyme and so the logic of the story line (What might chase a cat?) and the clues in the rhyming words help the children predict what will happen next. It also allows for a deep discussion of how the boy in the story can help the animals and solve their problem (which stems from a simple misunderstanding).
The Little House is a story by the wonderful author/illustrator Virginia Lee Burton. Even though this story was published over 65 years ago, it has a lovely, timeless quality that the children love. Her illustrations are designed to show what happens to the little house over time, as buildings/subways/roads are built around her and the position of the house remains in the centre of the page. When this book was put in the reading corner, students loved to look for the little house on each page. Burton even managed to subtly have the house look happy or sad by how she drew the windows ("eyes"). The class discussed the change of the house as the countryside was turned into a city and rejoiced as the story ended happily with the house being moved back to the country.
Tools is a very useful book for our unit on building and structures. It is not a story per se, as it simply lists and illustrates different kinds of tools that are used for different jobs (e.g., carpenter, chef, doctor). The book helps the students label and identify various tools. It also helped to start a discussion of the different kinds of jobs that people do.
Iggy Peck Architect is always a hit with students. Although the story, told in rhyme, can be difficult to follow for younger children, Iggy's imagination is very interesting to the students (hence several readings are recommended). Iggy is a child that uses almost anything to build structures (e.g., pancakes, chalk, diapers). He and his teacher disagree about building things in the classroom, but Iggy's abilities save the day at the end of the story.
No comments:
Post a Comment