Noticing a strong interest in storytelling and wanting to support literacy and communication, Cynthia introduced book making in the communication center. She talked with the children about the different parts of a book: beginning, middle, and end.
After working with several children, three challenges began to emerge:
Cynthia creates a 'connect the dots' to support Jasper in letter formation.
Jasper: “My favorite part about my book is the snakes. It’s easy making books but not the words so much. First, when I started making my book, I said I couldn’t make words but then with the dots I can and now I don’t think that anymore. I like cars so next time I will make a book about cars.”
Sage resolves issues of visual planning by pasting her caption over her drawing.
Sam 'sounds out' the words and spells phonetically.
Once the book is written, the teacher reads the story back to the child so they can then illustrate their drawings. The children are encouraged to write some part of their book even if it is just the front cover and their name.
The process of making a book is different for every child depending on where they are developmentally and with this in mind the time taken to “finish” the book varies.
Bryce K.: “It’s fun and it’s hard because you have to write the words and do all the stuff. My book is about paint.”
The teachers reflect that more collaboration could support the children’s skills and create deeper connection with each other. We will be making story-lines together in groups, investigating binding books and setting up children to assist others in new techniques through scaffolding and creating an instructional ‘how to’ book. -Cynthia and Kris