Making Connections

Have you ever noticed that many young children get fidgety when you read to them? Children (and let's face it, adults!) like to actively engage with their environment. And just like you and I, young children are capable of listening while "fidgeting" with something. Do you doodle at workshops? I do... and when I doodle I have a much easier time staying focused. Think of it the same way with your students... some people just need to move and "do" at all times.

I think I am particularly sensitive about this because I understand it. And when I was in the classroom I tried really hard to provide some kind of tangible object that I could pass out to the kids who wanted or needed it. It can be really simple... here are some quick examples: when talking about outer-space, hand out little pom-poms (planets, stars, moons); when taking about snow or winter, hand out pieces of cotton (snow); when talking about construction hand out little rocks; when talking about Fall hand out acorns or leaves... the list goes on and on. When I read The Very Hungry Caterpillar I handed out foods from dramatic play; when I read Caps for Sale I handed out paper hats that we'd made; when I read Blueberies for Sal I handed out plastic grapes. The children don't care if the object is exactly like the object that is in the book. They like the connection though, and it helps make it concrete for them. Use your imagination and the sky is the limit. What can you turn cotton or pom poms into? Please share your ideas in the comments below! :)

Also, below are a couple of pictures of things that were made to accompany books. They are simple and inexpensive... have fun and be creative!

What can you do to make your stories come to life?


These are construction paper sea animals to accompany the book Swimmy by Leo Lionni.



These are felt pieces to accompany The Jacket I Wear in the Snow.



The cast from Brown Bear, Brown Bear.

Pete the Cat

Pete the Cat story telling video

Have you heard of Pete the Cat? Click on the link above to see a live telling of the story.

In this picture...

(Click on the picture to make it bigger)

I used sequencing cards in a variety of ways. In this picture you can see sequencing picture cards and sentences that tell the folk tale The Little Red Hen. In this particular activity I used them to retell the story, and then invited the children to come up to retell the story in their own words.

I tried to make picture cards to accompany stories whenever possible. It's fairly easy to find images online, or if they are simple images you can sketch them yourselves. The pictures don't have to look exactly like the ones in the story - the children won't mind.

Another thing to share: Next to the sentence strips and pictures, you can see a rain stick. I used the rain stick as a cue for transitions. Children respond so much better to change when they know it's coming (don't we all!?), so I made sure to give them a warning before a change. I would turn the rain stick to get everyone's attention (this worked better than trying to get everyone's attention verbally) and let them know what transition was coming, and how much time I was putting on the timer. When the timer went off I would hold the rain stick up and turn it over, signaling the time for transition. If you've never heard a rain stick, they make a sound that is intended to sound like a heavy rain. It's fairly soothing, and worked well for this purpose.