Tag Archives: literacy

Picture Stories and Fairy Tales

Posted on March 19, 2016 by Jennie

Picture stories are powerful.  And, they are complicated.  Children have to recall what they know, then have the words to tell a story in their own way.  Our recent picture stories added even more layers of work; deciding what characters … Continue reading →

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How Reading-Aloud Made Me the Teacher and Person I Am Today.

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Jennie

My very first day of teaching preschool in Massachusetts, thirty-two years ago, was both career and life altering.  Lindy, my co-teacher, asked me to read the picture books to children each day after our Morning Meeting.  Sure (gulp)!  I was … Continue reading →

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Reading Aloud. ‘Star Wars’, Move Over

Posted on January 7, 2016 by Jennie

Thursdays I read aloud at the library.  I chapter read, and that is far different than reading a story.  Each Thursday ends with and then?  For thirty minutes children are glued to every word, because those words are powerful and … Continue reading →

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Reading Aloud; A Source of Making Cuban Cigars

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Jennie

Reading aloud never gets old.  It weathers time and generations.  It makes a marked difference.  Children who are read aloud to are typically one grade year ahead of their peers.  They have ‘the right stuff’, because all those words they … Continue reading →

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Writing to an Author

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Jennie

I write and I read.  When I read something that knocks my socks off, I write to the author.  This doesn’t happen often.  Perhaps that’s because it takes quite a lot to knock my socks off.  Yet when I do … Continue reading →

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Marinating Vocabulary

Posted on September 30, 2015 by Jennie

‘Marinating Vocabulary’.  I heard Pam Allyn, a guru on reading and reading-aloud, speak those words last week.  They hit me like a stone.  Each time I read aloud from a chapter book those words do far more than go into … Continue reading →

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Twists and Turns at Museums, Books and Art

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Jennie

A trip to a museum is much like climbing into a great book with a storyline of unexpected twists and turns.  Yesterday was no exception.  I visited the Eric Carle Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts.  It has the best bookstore I … Continue reading →

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When Children Tell the Stories

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Jennie

Storytelling is a huge part of my classroom because it ignites the fire of listening and learning; new words, different ideas, adventure, compassion… hearing stories told aloud brings words and ideas to life.  This is exciting, because children are captivated … Continue reading →

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Storytelling With Children

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Jennie

The reason storytelling has been a mainstay of communication for centuries goes far beyond imparting words to tell a story.  Words come to life when spoken aloud.  People have to listen, stretch their minds, and make the pictures in their … Continue reading →

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Chapter Reading

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Jennie

Chapter reading is one of our treasured moments of the day. We bring to life the imagination, the world, and the past. The anticipation of ‘what happens next’ stirs excitement every day. Children listen and think. They ask questions. Ask … Continue reading →

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