In today’s Beginning to Read class, we spent some time exploring rhyming. Some of the children have a good concept of rhyming while others are just beginning to understand. We began with eight pictures (king, ring, tree, bee, house, mouse, etc.). The children looked at the pictures and matched the rhymes. We later played an active game and they listened in order to determine whether two words rhymed.

Hearing rhyming and developing phonemic awareness is a key to reading success. If you would like to print some pictures of rhyming words, follow this link. For additional information about rhyming and phonemic awareness, click here.

We also played a fun game that served as a review of this week’s word families. The children were given three or four cards, each a different colour (red, green, etc.). Then, each of the children with a red card stood at the front of the group. The children held the cards up and we ‘read’ the words. Occasionally the children positioned themselve correctly and the three letters formed a word. More often, the children had to rearrange themselves in order to spell a word. In some cases, the letters could be used to spell more than one word (tip, pit / rat, art). The children had lots of laughs with this activity because they ‘read’ silly words before finding the correct word. “TPA” became “PTA” and perhaps “APT” before “PAT” was revealed.

Today’s story was The Gaggle Sisters’ River Tour written and illustrated by Chris Jackson. This was a challenging story for some of the children because it includes some challenging vocabulary (hauled, sobbed) and there is a considerable amount of text. I am happy to say that all three groups remained engaged and interested throughout.

The Gaggle Sisters River Tour at Amazon.ca

The Gaggle Sisters River Tour at Amazon.com

The children who attended Beginning to Read today thoroughly enjoyed today’s story by William Steig, Pete’s a Pizza

When a sudden rainstorm spoil’s Pete’s plans, he is grumpy and sad. His dad decides that he ought to be made into a pizza! He kneeds Pete and stretches him, covers him with oil and adds tomatoes and cheese. Before long, the pizza is hot and ready to be sliced.

During today’s Beginning to Read class we talked quite alot about opposites. We began with ‘easy’ opposites (hot/cold, wet/dry/ big/small, happy/sad, inside/outside), moved onto slightly more challenging opposites (push/pull, empty/full, night/day, tall/short, true/false) and, finally, tried some ‘difficult’ opposites (warm/cool, always/never, man/woman).

Today’s Word Family was “ed” (Ed, Bed, fed, led, red, Ted). The tricky words were fled, newlywed and shred. We have many word family printables on this website, follow the link for more information.

We also looked for some easy Sight Words. Sight Words are also known as “Instant Word” and sometimes referred to as “Dolch Words.” They are high frequency words that beginning readers are encouraged to memorize (we, my, see, go, and, etc.) For the children who are already reading sight words, this was a reading activity. For the children who are not yet reading sight words, it was a matching activity. If you are interested, you can download sight word lists from our download page.

We played a mixed up alphabet game . Each child had two, three or four cards. Each card read, “I have ___. Who has ___?” The child with “I have A. Who has L?” started us off. The child with “I have L. Who has U?” read his/her card next. Basically, the children were listening for the letter names, checking to see if they had the letter and reading aloud when it was their turn. Very good fun – many of the children would like to play the game again.

Finally, we used Elkonin boxes. The children listened to words and decided whether a letter sound was at the beginning, middle or end of a word. As an example, I asked the children to listen for the /S/ sound. When I said, “Snake,” they should have identified that the /S/ sound was at the beginning of the word. When I said, “Pigs,” they should have noticed that the /S/ sound was at the end of the word. When I said, “Icicle,” they should have noticed that the /S/ sound was in the middle of the word. Note: this is a listening activity – whether the /S/ is made by a “S” or a “C” is unimportant. Children will normally hear the beginning sounds most easily, the middle sounds are the most difficult to hear. Children who learn to hear the sounds and notice when they occur will use this skill when spelling, writing and reading. This is a skill you can work on anytime, anywhere.

In our first Beginning to Read class for this week, our theme was ‘the beach.’ We read a story by Marie-Louise Gay titled, Stella Star of the Sea. We talked about Stella and her little brother, Sam. We noticed that Sam is afraid and that Stella is not. We also talked about the fact that Sam asks many, many questions. Sometimes Stella’s answers are correct and sometimes her answers are not. Most of the children were able to make connections between this story and experiences they have had. Many talked about going to the beach and seeing shells or sea stars, some talked about being on boats and seeing killer whales. I think Sam’s hesitance to dive into the water is something we can all relate to.

You might be interested to hear some of the children’s responses to my question, “Why might it be noisy at the beach?” I thought they would answer, “The sound of the waves is loud.” Actually, they mentioned that crabs make quite a bit of noise, sperm whales are also loud. Others mentioned sea gulls. With some prompting, some of the children thought that the waves (caused by boats) are loud.

By the way, we love it when children make connections with the books they read! Whenever possible, try to match books to your child’s experiences; starting school, travelling, going to the dentist, planting a garden, visiting a fire hall.

Also, just a gentle reminder, reading aloud to children continues to be important – even when they begin reading independently. When your child begins to read, make sure that you continue to read books that s/he is not yet able to manage. You will motivate your child to become a better reader!

In today’s class we talked about vowels (A, E, I, O, U, Y). The children learned a little song about vowels. We will use one vowel each day and today’s vowel was “a.” We combined “a” with “t” to make the work “at.” Once we had read “at,” we added b, c, f, h, m, p, r, and s to make words. We also tried some “tough” words: flat, that and splat.

In the 2:15 class and the 4:00 class, we played a game that reinforced today’s word family. The children threw ‘seaweed’ at ‘shark fins’ and then we read the words on the shark fins. The shark fin words were ‘at’, ‘bat’, ‘cat’, ‘fat’, ‘hat’, ‘mat’, ‘pat’, ‘rat’, and ‘sat.’

I will write again tomorrow. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please email me at carolyn@storytimestandouts.com

Also, just a quick note to say that none of our classes are full this week. There are places available at 12:30, 2:15 and 4:00. If you have a friend who is interested, please have them call the Registration Call Centre or stop by Steveston to register. It would be my pleasure to see the last few spaces filled.

Downloads from Marie-Louise Gay’s website
Click here for Stella and Sam stickers, colouring sheets, posters, bookmarks and more

Downloads from this Website

  The "At" Word Family
Please become a member of Storytime Standouts to download this file.

  Beach Picture Dictionary
Please become a member of Storytime Standouts to download this file.

  Interlined Paper - Sandcastle
Please become a member of Storytime Standouts to download this file.

Stella, Star of the Sea at Amazon.com

Stella, Star of the Sea at Amazon.ca

Just a quick reminder that registration is underway for my Getting Ready to Read and Beginning to Read programs for Fall 2011. Getting Ready to Read will be offered Tuesday afternoons from 4 until 5. Beginning to Read will be offered on Thursdays (at the same time). Both classes are at Steveston Community Centre, Richmond, B.C.

The Registration Call Centre Hours are Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The telephone number is 604-276-4300.

Registration is also available online Getting Ready to Read, Beginning to Read

NOTE – we have just added a third Beginning to Read class to our August program. There are a few spaces still available. You can register by telephone (as above) or online here.

I am delighted to advise that Steveston Community Centre (Richmond, B.C.) has just added a third Beginning to Read class in August. Folks on the waiting list (for spots in my other classes) will be contacted directly. The class is being offered Monday through Friday, August 15 – 19 from 4:00 until 5:30.

You can sign up by following this link or by calling the registration call centre (Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.) The telephone number is 604 276-4300.

Beginning to Read is usually best for five and six year olds. Most of the children in the class will know the alphabet and know most letter sounds. They will be starting to read sight words and will also be ready to begin sounding out simple words. Each class will have a theme and will focus on one word family. In all likelihood I will write after each class, much as I did for Getting Ready to Read during July.

If you have any questions or concerns about the program, you are welcome to email me directly or comment on this post.

Note – Illustration is from Pete’s a Pizza by William Steig. It is one of the books we’ll share in the program.

I will be presenting Beginning to Read at Steveston Community Centre from August 15 – 19. One series of classes begins at 12:30 p.m., the second series begins at 2:15 p.m. Beginning to Read is intended for five and six year olds. Usually the children who attend the program already know letter names, they often know letter sounds also.

In this class, we focus on word families and we also spend some time on sight words. I have great fun with my Beginning to Read classes because the children love learning about letters and words, they are enthusiastic about word games and great picture books. This year, I will write daily about each class, providing information about the books we share and program content.

This summer I will be presenting both of my reading programs at Steveston Community Centre in Richmond, B.C.
Getting Ready to Read will be offered Monday through Friday, July 4th – 8th
Beginning to Read will be offered Monday through Friday, August 15th – 19th

Each program consists of five sessions and each session is 1½ hours long. in the classes we share some wonderful picture books, enjoy group activities and learning games. I also include a special reading-related craft activity in every class.

Please telephone 604-276-4300 or refer to the Richmond Leisure Services website for details.

Last evening I had fun at a workshop for Richmond Child Care Resource and Referral. It was great to meet so many enthusiastic and committed educators.

Supporting Social Responsibility with Great Read-Alouds is my newest workshop and a great opportunity to rediscover some terrific picture books. Over the last month, I’ve enjoyed identifying some special titles that encourage children to be active, contributing members of our society and help them learn to take responsibility for themselves, for others and for the environment.

Last evening, I shared a variety of wonderful picture books that support and encourage social responsibility. As well, we talked about ways to enhance the read-aloud experience with songs, games and activities. Workshop attendees received an extensive book list featuring cover art, title, author/illustrator, ISBN codes and tags.

  Sample Booklist for Supporting Social Responsibility

Thanks so much Richmond Child Care Resource and Referral!

You may be interested in our page of quotes about social responsibility.

What are your favourites titles that encourage children to contribute to their community, solve problems peacefully and respect and value diversity?