When a young'un is learning how to read, we have three jobs. First, we want that little mind to be able to figure out the sounds. Second, we want them to know what the words mean. Third...and this one is huge in the long run...we want them to love to read. How do you develop a love of reading in a child? How do you show a child that she or he is a "reading native" and not just a digital native?
Early on in the reader-in-training process we need to give them books that they connect with naturally. We need to give them books that they want to read even when they are learning how to decode the sounds and discover the definitions.
Children who are born Investigators are looking to be competent at reading first and foremost. Then, they are looking to decide for themselves if this whole reading thing is worth trying. They want information. They want books that explain the world and give them vast stores of the data that will inform their own choices about whether or not we are doing things "the best way."
National Geographic really gets this Reader Type. They are on the same wave length.
This Pre-reader, Sleep Bear! is certainly not for the Day One reader. But once a reader-in-training has begun to gain some sight words and some fluency, this series is a good choice for them.
Here we are taking a look at a year in the life of a bear. Spectacular photos bring us up close and into the life of the bear. He opens in a snowy landscape and appears to be lumbering out of a cave down in a pile of boulders. Context clues abound. They also give us a vocabulary tree so we see the words we will encounter as we turn pages and, very important here, we instantly get why these words are important. What do bears do? "Wake up, eat, find a den, sleep."
So, a curious reader-in-training will get a first look at the important words and can gain some competency with those words before turning the pages. It's a great way to introduce the new words as though they are tools or new friends we will need along the way.
The photographs demonstrate the action of this bear's world.
Learning about the world makes reading important to these Reader Types. Give this one a whirl.
24 pages Ages 5-8 978-1426319600
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
Other titles in the series: Hang On Monkey; Slither Snake; Hop on Bunny; Peek, Otter
