Posts Tagged "early elementary"

Your Name is a Song

Posted by on Aug 10, 2021 in Early Learning, Fluency, Key Ideas and Details, Music Smart, People Smart, Self Smart, Song Books | 0 comments

YOUR NAME IS A SONG by Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow and Luisa Uribe

This is the book you need to start your school year.

A little girl is upset because her teacher and classmates not only can’t pronounce her name, they seem to think it isn’t important to say it correctly. When the little girl goes home upset, her mother tells her that her name is a song. So the girl goes back to school and sings her name, sings everyone’s name.

It is important to say names correctly. Everyone’s name.

I looooove the pronunciation key that comes with every name. We learn how to pronounce Ta’jae (TAH-jay) as well as Bob (BAWB). And if we can’t pronounce it correctly on the first try, we learn it – even sing it! – until we get it right.

You can listen to the author, Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow read her book aloud here:

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Moo!

Posted by on Sep 4, 2014 in Early Learning, Fluency, Phonological Awareness, Print Awareness, Print Concepts, Print Motivation, Readers' Theater | 1 comment

Moo! by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Mike WohnoutkaIt’s the beginning of a new school year and we want all our students to start off feeling successful. If you have kids that are beginning or struggling readers, here is a book that almost everyone will be able to read confidently: Moo! written by David LaRochelle and illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka.

This is no boring “baby book”. The humor of this one works for a wide range of kids, especially if you model reading it aloud with great expression. I read this one for an all-ages Stories in the Park event this summer and even the grown-ups were chuckling. Even though the book consists almost entirely of one word, the punctuation, the text formatting, and the pictures determine how the word is read. So not only is it a bull’s-eye for the Core Standard of Fluency, it works beautifully into a lesson on punctuation and Print Concepts.

Read Moo! aloud to your students and, once the giggles die down, talk about how you knew how to read the same word differently. For example, look at this page from the book: page of Moo! by David LaRochelle and Mike Wohnoutka There are moos in italics, in bold font, in all capitals and these differences, along with the punctuation, help determine how to read this page. Share the book again, asking different students to use the text and picture clues to help them read the page with feeling. Now you’ve got a lead-in to a great writing exercise. Brainstorm two lists: a list of punctuation and text styles that were used to change the meaning of “moo” so many times, and a list of animals that make a sound. Kids can write and draw about an animal that goes off on an adventure (using punctuation and formatting to show meaning) and they’ll only have to worry about spelling one word. Fun!

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