Tips for a better STORY TIME
- Stock many titles
- Speak clearly
-Ask questions
To impact knowledge via storytelling, every educator has to learn the act of building confidence in the minds of the LISTENER(the children). To achieve this, you don't have to be excellent public speakers, but strong enunciation turns every story time into an exercise in phonemic awareness - the ability to hear, recognize, and apply the sounds that constitute spoken words.
Slowing down and articulating every word, no matter how small or simple, will familiarize students with language and bolster their confidence as they learn to read aloud themselves. Also, pay careful attention to your accent. We all have them, some more pronounced than others. Dropped Rs or Ts may confuse listeners or mislead them in their journey to reading alone. SPEAK as CLEARLY as possible.
You as an educator is expected to know that READING is not a passive activity, in preschool, high school or beyond. After finishing a book, you should wrap up story time with a few questions about the characters and the plot, perhaps even the central conflict and its resolution. Doing so hones critical thinking skills. As you read, you should feel free to define any complex words so listeners can follow along. ASK QUESTIONS to be sure that you did made an impact.
It is easier to pick up any book from the shelf for story time. But at an early age, students both want and need a diversity of titles. The world of literature is boundless, and your reading AREA must reflect that.
Take notice of your current picture book library. Are all genders and races represented well? Do enough books contain different types of clothing, families, neighborhoods, and even foods? If not, you need to STOCK UP.
By doing this, you are helping them develop good reading skills, and instill in them an appreciation of literature that lasts a lifetime?
And YES!!
You are promoting the three domain of DEVELOPMENT;
- Cognitive - problem solving and language development
- Social - interactions with others
- Emotional - how children feel about their self-worth
Via READING.
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Teachers and parents can help young children be successful in school and in life by doing one thing each and every day... READ aloud to them!
IT BEGINS WITH YOU.....
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Please leave a COMMENT, thank YOU.
Clifford, The Small Red Puppy Board Books.
Clifford's Noisy Day is one of the six board books series authored by Norman Bridwell. It was published by SCHOLATIC Inc. The book cover reveals Clifford a cheerful red puppy and its alarm clock.
Clifford's Noisy Day is a board book for infants until one year old. It has simple words and good font, that will make it pleasing to for the babies' understanding and view.
It is about how Clifford spent his day; from waking up from the rings of the ALARM clock, to the SLAM of the door, the POP from toasting his breakfast, to the noises from the street when he got on the road to play with friends. "DING-A-LING. The telephone rings. Can Clifford come out to play?" says the telephone.
Clifford's Noisy Day is a good book to expose tiny ones to sounds in relative to the expression. It is fun to read, and the babies will LOVE the sound from CLIFFORD'S NOISY DAY.
Another thing I love about the book is the simplicity, quality and the shape of the book, which will help in its handling and durability.
I give it a 4 stars. The only problem I have with the book is the expression used in qualifying how people chat, but the kids will find it FUN. "YAKKITY-YAK. The people chat". And of course it is made for them!!
" Sometimes hugs say more than words"
The Rabbit Listened, authored by Cori Doerrfeld. The Cover of the book shows a little boy( Taylor) hugging a rabbit.
This book is about a boy Taylor who was upset, and all the animals that gave advice that didn't work- until Rabbit came along and did just the RIGHT thing.
It all started when Taylor decided to build something, which he was so proud of until when it all crashed down all of a sudden, and that got Taylor very UPSET. All the animals that noticed how upset he was, went to him and how they could help him. "Grarr! Rarr! How horrible! I bet you feel so angry! Let's shout about it! Garr!RARRR! GRAAAAR!' was what a bear said when he went to Taylor. But Taylor never felt like shouting. And that was how they all went one after another to him, and also left him without giving him the help he wanted or needed; The chicken, The elephant, The hyena, The ostrich, The kangaroo,The snake,until eventually The Rabbit, who knew just what to do.
I think this book is a very good one to teach children in the age group 3 to 7 about EMOTIONS and how to manage it. It will also teach them about how mistake is part of learning. Not only did it expose the readers to the behavior of the animals listed, it gave a graphical and written expression of how they sound, which is the fun part of the book.
My favorite part of the book, as an early childhood educator, and parent, who reads to children and also understands how they respond to reading especially when I read books of this genre to them, was when Taylor was eventually by himself, and he never noticed when the Rabbit got behind him quietly until he felt his warmth.
Boys and girls who are 3 to 7 years old can relate to this story and they will not only enjoy. but LEARN from it. It is a realistic story of how children reacts and how to RESPOND.
The illustration is a very simple one, but my kids loved it, and I do too.
I give the story 5 star. The only problem I had with the book was how they did not show at first that Taylor was upset.
