Good Karma » For Teachers

Helping Children Anticipate and Predict

Karma — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 17:34:56 +0000

Storytelling/Writing Tip

I am a firm believer that storytelling in the early developmental years is one of the keys to literacy and literacy efforts. I am not just talking about reading a story to a group of kids, I am referring instead to the art of storytelling, which is more of a performance and less of a recitation. I will share storytelling tips here which are great for writers too, because tips for good storytelling often can directly correlate to tips for good story writing. First tip: Helping kids make predictions while story telling.

Don’t you just love feeling smart? Kids aren’t any different, and storytelling is a great opportunity to make kids feel like little budding Einstiens. Remember, when children feel clever while listening to stories they feel less intimidated by “literature” which makes them more receptive to books and reading. And books and reading make kids smart, which in turn begins the circle anew.

With the right kind of book and the right kind of body language, you can help kids predict lines, story developments, upcoming rhymes, etc… As my example, I will use one of my stories that I regularly perform, Frog in the Bog–rhyming books. In that story I have a repeating, but unrhymed line, “And the frog grows a little bit bigger.” My aim with any repeating line in a story is to get the kids to anticipate the upcoming line and say it, in rhythm, with me.

To help kids anticipate the line I need to firmly set the pattern the first time I say the line, and cue the listener in to what they need to listen for to join in. This means that there is a definite dramatic pause before I say the line, then I scan the audience making eye contact as I sweep my eyes from one side of the room to the other. This lets them know, “Oh, something interesting is going to happen.“ Then as I say the line I emphasize the most important word (bigger) by saying it louder. For Frog in the Bog the cadence is almost like a scale, going higher and louder as the sentence flows: And the frog grows a little big BIGGER!

(Writers tip: Include font cues in your manuscript to indicate when there should be a change in flow, inflection, etc…: In Bear Snores On my font size changes and formatting were written by me into the manuscript.)

The vocal qualities are important, but so is body language. As I say the line I use one of my hands to demonstrate the frog’s growth (palm flat, outstretched, and I raise it up as I speak).

Usually by the second line the audience has come to recognize what to look for (I pause, look across the room, and widen my eyes). They often hesitantly join in. If that happens it is my job to reward their participation with a head nod and a smile signaling approval (kids aren’t always encouraged to speak out during stories–so they need to know in this case it‘s okay).

But if they didn’t quite get it, I have to cue them in that I want them to join. I do this by holding my hand up to my ear as I say the word “bigger”. I have never read the story in a school and had them not join in by the third time I say the line.

But later in the story the line changes to the “And the frog grows a whole lot smaller”. This gives us another opportunity to make children feel ahead of the story. Since I want my reader to be able predict that the line changes, I wrote it so that this time the reating line DID rhyme with the preceding line (holy tongue twister Batman!). In this case:

And right in the middle of his holler,
That frog grows a whole lot smaller!

To further emphasize the change from “bigger” to “smaller” I hush my voice a bit, and bring my hand lower to indicate shrinking. Most audiences guess the word smaller with these cues.

Rhyming books are great for helping children predict, but there are other types of story patterns that also work. Circular stories, unrhymed stories with repeating lines, etc. And of course, when reading picture books you can always point out clues in the art to help clue in your reader, or dramatically pause when you read a line that offers a plot clue.

I’m sure many of you are much better story tellers than I, but breaking down the process can help us understand what makes a great read aloud so successful and hopefully nail it in our own writing endeavors. And there is a special thrill in hearing an auditorium full of eager, bright-eyed little learners yelling your story at the top of their lungs!

The Cow Loves Cookies! Illustration process

Karma — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:12:05 +0000

This is a link to the blog of Marcellus Hall, illustrator of The Cow Loves Cookies. He posted a comparison of the beginning art samples for the book to the end pieces. The transformation from concept to final art is amazing, and I think it’s interesting to those of you wondering about the illustration process.

Booklist seems to appreciate the efforts of the talented Mr. Hall . The Booklist review said, “The big, clear watercolor pictures with thick ink lines leave lots of white space, and the simple rhyming lines, with descriptive words and messy action, will encourage preschoolers to join in.”

Well deserved praise. Bravo!

They said some very lovely things about my writing as well.

The Cow Loves Cookies can be preordered on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

National Poetry Month, some ideas for teachers

Karma — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:16:24 +0000

You know, when I teach older primary students (5th, 6th) a poetry seminar, I always start by asking who likes poetry. Many times only four or five students will raise their hands. Then I ask, “How many like music sung by a band or singer?” and most of the kids will raise their hands. I then say, “AH HA! So you DO like poetry?!” I point out that poetry is EVERYWHERE. It’s in commercials, music, and even video games (Oblivion, a popular video game, is full of cryptic poems). When kids realize that many of their favorite songs are nothing more than poetry set to music they open up a little bit. Share with them some truly humorous poems and they open up even more. Lay that foundation, and moving onto more somber or contemplative poetry isn’t nearly as painful.

So whenever you have students compile poetry for poetry notebooks, compilations–allow them a few pages for the lyrics of their favorite songs. This leads you into a great meter lesson by the way. And as something of a meter-cop I always look for good meter lessons!

Cool Meter Lesson

A lot of great songs don’t scan so well when simply read. Meter is greatly affected by singing–beats can be added to a line simply by singing one word for a longer time or adding “ooooo, ohhhh, ya ya”. A good meter lesson is to have the kids agree on one popular song (of course they must choose only from songs with clean lyrics..ha ha) and see if it scans when read aloud. If not, work with the students on adding words or changing lines just enough to keep true to the original thoughts of the song, while improving meter. (This lesson requires that the teacher has a basic concept of good meter and poetry rhythm.)

Good Poetry for Kids

Well, I hate to brag…but my new poetry book for kids has quite a mixture of poems, from the contemplative to the outrageously ridiculous, and I try to include a lot of teaching opportunities as well. (Teachers, there’s even a poem in honor of you–since so many humorous children’s poems villanize you–look for my poem called Red Letter Day)

Other great choices are Shel Silverstien, Jack Prelutsky, Doug Florian, Mary Ann Hoberman, Nikki Grimes. For more classic poems just introduce them to the tried and true–Emily Dickinson, Frost, Lear, Stevenson…and for something entirely different check out Robert Service. His poem “Bessie’s Boil” may be a bit hard for them to understand at first, but if you explain the brogue they will HOWL with laughter.

K….

Quick tip–read rhyme until you’re sick of it!

Karma — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:39:58 +0000

You all know I write rhyming books. I am a huge advocate of reading rhyme to kids–but remember read it until the child has it memorized. The great power in rhyme for kids is that good rhyme is easily committed to memory. Once a child remembers a rhyme every word in the poem or story is locked in their mind forever in context–which is what makes rhyme such a great vocabulary builder. But if you just read a rhyming story one or two times chances are it won’t work it’s way into the old brain cells permanently. So read, read, read the story over and over again. And again. And yes, again. Eventually your child will be able to read the story to you.

Really, you’ll thank me someday! Hee hee.

K….

Poetry lesson for kids….

Karma — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:17:16 +0000

I feel that rhyme and meter are fundamentals in poetry. Some people say that rhyme is a constraint which places unnatural boundaries on free thought. Others argue that since free verse is easier for children to write, it’s a good starting place. I personally (and it’s simply my opinion) don’t agree. Free verse can be very beautiful, but I feel children should be introduced to it after they have learned to write poetry with structure. Children naturally tune into and respond to verse. Rhyme and meter set language patterns and vocabulary context into their minds. They will feel a real sense of accomplishment upon writing their first rhymed poem.

But how do you teach them concepts like proper meter without sounding like the poetry police? One thing I like to do is have them start out by rewriting popular nursery rhymes and songs they are probably already familiar with. Mary Had a Little Lamb, Little Miss Muffet, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star are a few examples. But when rewriting them turn them into a hilarious joke. Don’t shy away from “hee hee” bathroom humor (within limits). Allowing kids to explore the “forbidden humor” will draw them right into the lesson.

The great thing about this approach is that kids already have the meter footprint in their mind from the original poem. As you brainstorm ideas with them you can point out where their version strays from the meter of the original and help them think of rewording that fits.

Here is an example (from my upcoming book “What’s the Weather Inside” of a nursery rhyme rewritten in a new and silly way.

Miss Muffet’s Revenge

Little Miss Muffet,

sat on her tuffet

eating a yogurt parfait.

Along came a spider

who sat down beside her.

She squished it

and flicked it away.

Karma

Missoula School Visit–a Great Experience!

Karma — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 03:52:27 +0000

A few months ago I did some author visits at two schools (Russell and Franklin) in Missoula, Montana. They went so fabulously I thought I would share some tips I learned from these wonderful school administrators (thank you Pat and Nancy!).

The main component in making an author visit successful is getting the kids pumped for the visit. If the kids aren’t excited for me to come, the visit will not be very exciting–period. I do my best, but nothing beats teachers working with the students before the visit to generate enthusiasm!

To get kids ready involves preparation. I will do my part, which is sending you ideas and materials to help prepare the students for the visit. Your part is spend weeks (not days) preparing students for the author visit. Use the time to read the author’s books, do crafts and activities which revolve around the author’s books, and let the the students check out the author’s website, etc…

This is a great display the schools prepared for my visit. There were dozens and dozens of pictures of students reading my books. What a great idea! Every child felt included in the visit, which ensured the students had a vested interest in the visit succeeding! Eureka!

This is a craft (a little blurry, sorry) the kids made that is suggested on the Features for Teacher’s activities on my website. It is a paper quilt made of students’ drawings based on my bear books. It was truly adorable.

But this wasn’t all they did! They also did hippo crafts for Hilda Must Be Dancing, they did Frog art, they made posters. The hallways were a tribute to reading and my books! This isn’t about my ego (really). It’s about getting the kids thrilled for the visit, and boy were they! Kids were literally coming up to me, hugging me, saying how excited they were. They were talking about how much they love books and reading and how long they had waited for the visit. It literally reminded me of kids who had waited for Christmas. The schools even did a countdown for weeks before the visit! Every day they would count down one more day until “Karma Wilson Day!”

Here is one of the posters that was made especially for the big day. Isn’t this great? When children see that the teachers are this excited, they figure it must be something big!

If you are planning an author visit with me or ANY author I ask you to do what Russell and Franklin schools did. Get your students begging for the visit! There should be a carnival air to the whole event.

Here are a few more ideas:

1. A week leading up to the visit hold lotteries each day for a signed book.

2. Help kids think of great questions for my Q&A period, and be diligent about explaining the difference between a question and a statement or story. (I love hearing the names of their cats and their latest injuries, but it does eat time…heh heh!)

3. Kids are excited to share their stories with me, so have them write a story to give me when I leave.

4. Ask art teachers, librarians, and even the PE teachers to contribute to the visit. Art projects can revolve around themes in my books, librarians can encourage kids to check out my books or use my books in story time, and PE teachers can do physical activities related to themes in my books (Frog hopping, Bear crawls, etc…) You can even enlist the lunch cooks! Can Bear book themed foods be served on the day of the visit?

The more involved everybody in the school is, the more the kids will catch the enthusiasm for the visit. They will naturally be excited about reading and writing, and that is the whole purpose of any author visit! So go CRAZY and use your imagination! I guarantee, you won’t regret it!

Karma

Giveaway #1! CONTEST CLOSED

Karma — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 18:06:02 +0000

Hurray, hurray for the giveaway!

The first teacher that emails me at karmawilsongiveaways@msn.com (must specify school location, address, phone number and grade you teach in the body of the email–info sent remains private) and references this blog entry gets a FREE Bear Wants More DVD and a free Bear event kit with stickers, posters, and goodies. (US and Canada only–sorry.) TEACHER CONTEST NOW CLOSED: WINNER–Teacher Mary Lehman, Congrats Mary!

First homeschool parent that emails me at karmawilsongiveaways@msn.com (must specify address, phone number, and indicate you homeschool in body of email–all info sent remains private) gets a free Hello, Calico! board book and free Calico stickers. (US and Canada Only–sorry.) Contest Closed: Winner–Amy Imbriaco, Congrats Amy!

Only one winner per category today.

These giveaways will run every other week or so starting now. I will be giving gifts to parents, teachers, kids, and more. Future gifts include paperback signed books, hardcover signed books, a collection of my photo cards, and sometime this year a FREE MASCOT VISIT! So keep visiting my blog because this is where all contests will take place. And if you are enjoying these entries, please take time to comment. Thanks!

Today’s gifts are a celebration of TEACHING, both at home or in a school envioronment.

NOTE: As soon as there are winners I will announce here that the contest is closed and list the names of the winners.

–K

Let Me Read You a Story–

Karma — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:00:53 +0000

Teachers (and parents) I don’t know if you are aware that Weston Woods/Scholastic have created videos of two of my books, Bear Snores On and Bear Wants More. The exciting news is that I’m the narrator!

Click here to view a Video clip:

The production is top-notch, and the art is all straight from the orginal books. The animation is very limited. These are true “story time” videos.

I cannot begin to tell you what a nervous wreck I was when I recorded the Bear Snores On video! I had to drive to Spokane and go to a professional recording studio. The whole session was phone-patched to the Weston Woods’ offices in New York. I literally quaked in my books, and we had to do a few takes before I calmed down enough to read without a quiver in my voice. It was all very terrifying–and great fun. There’s nothing like standing in a recording studio with those big ear phones on to feel like a “pop star”. I wanted to burst out in a rock song.

My kids and husband got to watch the proceedings–and it turned out to be a grand adventure and a learning experience.

These videos are a great resource for the classroom. Kids actually get to hear me read them my story.

Funny thing, I had braces on for the recording of Bear Snores On…if you listen you can hear a slight lisp. Still, Audiofile gave my effort a nod in their review: “The author/ narrator allows young listeners to appreciate the rhyme and beat of the story, to soak in the humor, and to admire the illustrations. She is gruff yet tender…. She gives sparkle to supporting creatures

Click here to order the Bear Snores On video

Click here to order the Bear Wants More video

Note: these link to the DVD version. If you want audio or VHS you need to specify when you order.

–K