As you know the other night I was fortunate to facilitate a
parent’s literacy night. I love these
because parents and educators have so many great ideas to share. I walked away with lots of new perspectives
on the work I do as a teacher and also the role I play as a parent in promoting
thinking and learning. One concern that
came up was a parent that was having difficulty engaging her child in talking
about the books that they read together.
She felt like her son didn’t have much to say. This is a typical dilemma I see as I work
with a variety of children. The tricky
part is promoting rich discussion without overanalyzing a story to the point
that the story gets weighed down and is boring! I shared one possible way to
promote talking “through” a story- using a wordless book.
I love wordless books because there are so many useful ways
they can bring value to any reader. In
this parent’s case, I think it would be nice for her child to let the images
drive her story telling but a wordless book also lends an opportunity for the
adults to model using rich language to describe what is happening. I shared the book Chalk by Bill
Thomson because I think it appeals to readers of all ages and in particular is
a magical story that inherently connects to one’s imagination. I suggested to this parent that the first
time she reads the book with her child they do so “quietly” meaning just let
her child enjoy and drive the talk. Her
child will probably initiate the discussion because most readers can’t help but
call out as they “discover” this magical tale.
Then maybe the second or third “read” she could try modeling spending
time on some pages describing the “important action” but also noticing the rich
details in the character’s expressions, setting, and tone. I reminded her not to force her child into
the talk but to nurture it by acknowledging her child’s thinking throughout the
story.
Our conversation of using the book Chalk to promote rich talk actually prompted a
larger discussion on the many exciting ways that wordless books can be used to
nurture a love of books. There were so
many I compiled just some into a list that I thought you might find
interesting. Click on this linkhttp://www.scribd.com/doc/182410018/Wordless-Books-docx and
feel free to explore the ideas as well as some of my favorite wordless
books. Do you have your own ideas or
wordless favorites? I’d love you to please share!
Raise the FLF: Wordless books are great to use across age
groups because it doesn’t hold one down to a particular level of text. Therefore I think these provide a particular
opportunity for families to learn together.
Wordless books can be great fun to bring a family together and story
tell as a group. Adults and kids alike
can take turns telling the next pages and building on each others imagination
to weave their own fantastical story. Try
it with a few wordless books; then take those new family skills and put them to
the test. Can you build your own story
together? One person can pick a
character or characters, another a setting, and yet another a problem. Then while having dinner or driving around
running errands (or while waiting on reeeaaally long lines this holiday season)
try taking turns telling a story. Not
only will this promote lots of great skills for your children (speaking and
listening!) but it will also provide lots of great family fun.
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