A Big Book Literacy Lesson Plan.

Literacy Lesson Plan Example 

"Look at Me"

 

Literacy Skills  in this Lesson

 

Concepts About Print

Prediction

Sequence

Rhythm

Picture interpretation

One to one matching

Vocabulary exploration

Left to right tracking 

Sight Words

look   at   I  am   me  a

 

Phonemic Awareness

Identify environmental sounds

Differentiate between sounds

Recognise beginning,  middle and end sounds of a word  

Recognise the sound "t" and the letter name for this sound
Identify rhyming sounds for "ook"

 

Comprehension Skills

Reading is much more than mastering the mechanical skills of print, sight words and phonics. When we enter the world of literature, we enter the world we create in our minds. To have meaning and to want to repeat the experience, reading needs to be personalised.

For older children comprehension is often their weakest skill, the missing link that will give their reading meaning, value and purpose. To grow comprehension skills we need to grow imagination. This resource and lesson plan seeks to nurture imagination. 

 

Lesson in Action: Introduction 

Place the Big Book "Look at Me" in the Teaching Stand.

Read slowly allowing for interruptions and comments; a free flow of thoughts and ideas.

Choose a favourite character and probe for understanding. Where do they live? What do they eat? Where do they sleep at night? What sounds do they make? What is the colours of their coat or costume?

Invite the children to move like each character, and develop a story for each character. You may only get to do this with one or two characters. It will depend on how deep you probe with your questioning and the energy levels of the children. Always question yourself as the teacher: Is everyone still engaged or do we need to move on?

 

Follow-up Action

Have painting material ready; big brushes,  clean paint and large paper so the children can paint their favourite character. As each child moves off to paint ask them to show you how their character moves, what their character might be doing and what we might see in their painting, so the imagination is activated as they begin to paint.

Or  use this process with collage paper ready in a range of colours and textures. Also have available large clean pieces of sturdy paper to create the collage on, with easy to manage scissors and paste.

Phonics

As children complete their work, set the artwork aside.

Gather together and turn to the Tiger page in the "Look at Me" Big Book.

Ask the children to guess the sound that this animal begins with.

Does anyone in the group or class name begin with this sound?

Are there any objects you can see that begin with this sound?

Play "Eye Spy with my little eye something that begins with the sound "t".

 Make a large card for display with the word "look", encourage children to tell you words that rhyme with this word. Clap, jump, hop and dance with the these words.

Reflect

Re-read the Big Book "Look at Me"

If there is time allow children who wish to show and talk about their artwork.

Name, frame and display everyone's artwork.

 

Repetition

Repetition allows the child to feel in control of their learning, as the activities associated with the reading of the Big Book become more and more familar to them.

The next day return to the Big Book "Look at Me".

Ask a child to act as "teacher" and guide the group or class through the reading of the book.

Focus on one to one matching, voice pointing and left to right tracking across the page.

Ask the children to find words they know.

Have the sight words: look, at, I am, me, a, on cards so the children can match them to the words on the page.

Also have the letter "t" on a card and ask the children to indentify the sound this letter makes.

Look at, discuss and enjoy their displayed artwork.

Retell the stories of each character or animal and repeat the movement activty. Add new stories.

Make large pieces of material available for the children to dress-up and dramatise their story in small groups or individually.

Video these stories and view them as an introduction the next time you read the book.

Practice

Place the Big Book "Look at Me" in the Teachers Stand and place it on the mat or a table for the children to read in their spare time.
Create a display for the sound "t"  and encourage children to add to the display with found objects and pictures that begin with this sound.
Read the Big Book many times together and support individual children to show their growing literacy skills by reading it aloud to the group.
For those who have good grasp of the sound "t", look and listen for "t" at the end and in the middle of words. build a list of these words and/or images. Move to another character beginning sound once "t" is a easily recognised sound and letter.
Display sentences from the book as caption cards and make word cards available for children to match the words and make the sentence.

Make a mural of the characters in the story and place them on the mural left to right as the appear in the book.
Write stories for each character together as a group or class story, describing the character's world where they live, what the do and imaginary happenings. 

Go to www.pixelhouseonline.com and read this book as an interactive ebook for a whole new experience with this book.



Performances to Develop Curiosity and Logical Thought

Pixelhouse would like you to know about:

Two Big Kids

Two Big Kids introduces young children to the world of science, performing arts or simply enthralls them in an entertaining and rewarding adventure.

 We know that the road ahead of our kids isn’t an easy one. We know that their hopefulness, their kindness and spirit will have to stand up against the confused selfishness of previous generations. We know that in the fleeting moments of their childhood it is our job to give them the armour and the tools to fight these battles, and to come out the other side the heroes we know they can be.

These tools, creativity and rationality, are developed only in an environment of empathy, where children have the bravery to think independently. Independence of thought – the power to lead their own learning – flourishes only when children know that their silly games and ideas aren’t so silly after all. We step in and provide the prompts, guiding their play away from cartoon characters constructed by corporations, towards moral tales, towards rationality and creativity. This allows us to develop every child’s ability to contribute new ideas, as well as every child’s ability to learn from the contributions of others.

Fortunately, developing this independent thought is strictly a matter of fun. Two Big Kids gives children a once in a lifetime opportunity to interact with world-class performers, allowing them to explore their own creativity and save the day. Available in both Auckland and Wellington for early childhood centres and kids’ parties, Two Big Kids not only teaches the value of play, but with the help of another big kid who recently represented New Zealand in a world physics tournament in Vienna, they also now offer performances specifically focused on introducing children to the world of science. These performances introduce rationality in an engaging way that leaves children with a curiosity and a logical thought process that will be with them for the rest of their life.

The Two Big Kids, Robbie Nicol and Maxwell Apse:
Currently studying Mathematics and Political Philosophy at the University of Auckland, Robbie recently returned from performances on the Globe Stage in London, while Maxwell, currently studying Film, Theatre and Philosophy at Victoria University, recently finished a season with Young & Hungry, a platform that showcases up and coming New Zealand talent.

Hugely passionate about theatre and the crucial nature of play in education, both Robbie and Max look to use their stage presence to develop the empathy and cooperation needed to promote playfulness within a group of children. An admirer of philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell, Robbie could not agree more that it is our job to discourage possessive impulses and encourage creative ones within our children. Robbie and Max live by the maxim that growing into a happy and confident adult, capable of making lives worthwhile both personally and for society at large, requires the kind of independent thought only possible through play.

The Mad Scientist, Evan Simmers:
Currently studying Engineering, Ancient History and Philosophy under a BA/BE conjoint at the University of Auckland, Evan Simmers is the big kid who recently represented New Zealand in a world physics tournament in Vienna. Evan recently realised that his proficiency at physics merely grew from the teachable qualities of an insatiable curiosity and an ability to think critically. Children are perfectly capable of leading their own learning, it is simply our job to provoke interest and ensure that we have created an environment in which they are able to continue asking questions, to invent their own answers and to then seek out more information if their proposed solutions don’t seem to do the trick.

Go to www.facebook.com/2bigkids
to find out what people are saying about the Two Big Kids performances and workshops.

 Contact Two big Kids at
                   twobigkids@gmail.com
                          027 7862 490