Blog entries tagged reading to the child

What about Franklin?

Tue, 29 Jul 2014 11:18:00 +0100

Franklin is the green turtle, main protagonist of the "Franklin" cartoon. When my girl was little she used to watch this cartoon. We have a book with this character. It is in English. I read it a while ago, but she was not interested to cooperate, to understand the text. We gave it a try again. What we did? We paid attention to the title first "Hurry up, Franklin" and the cover image. I asked her what does she think the title wants to say. She said that Franklin is running, so the title says "run Franklin". We had this conversation in our mother tongue. I gave the right answer and we did the same with the story. I read a page and then stopped. We had the conversation about the meaning of the text, watching the images. While I was reading she was able to translate some words. Then I followed the same strategy with almost all the text from the book. She was really excited when she heard about Rabbit. She knew the meaning of "rabbit". She learned a song about rabbits at kindergarten (at the English course).
A part of the text she was excited about is:
<It wasn't far to Bear's house. Just along the path, over the bridge and across the berry patch. Franklin meant no hurry - except he saw something unusual. He wandered off the path and found Rabbit bobbing up and down in the tall, green grass. "What are you doing?" Franklin asked Rabbit.
"Playing Leap Frog," said Rabbit. "Do you want to play with me?" [...] >
The book is a little bit difficult for her English level. But I am sure that once she goes to school we will do it better. She will read it all alone. :-)
I wanted her to hear me read in English, to let her understand the text while analyzing the images and I was glad when she could also translate a few words and expressions.

Let's compare books!

Tue, 17 Jun 2014 03:53:00 +0100

Lady and the Tramp. Two books written in different languages (English and Romanian). It was interresting in the end. I am saying "in the end" because my daughter was hard to convince to use Lady and the Tramp in our comparison activity. She wanted other stories, but unfortunately this is the only book that she have in two languages. I have to fix this in days to come.
First of all I asked her to compare the two books by the criteria of size, color, format, consistence. Then we talked about images. What are the differences between the way the characters are drawn and the similarities. We looked at the writting (she knows the letters and she can read only some short words in Romanian) and page numbers and in the end we read the stories in both languages.
This are a few of the observations that she made. The English book is smaller, thicher (even if it has a smaller number of pages), it is narrow, yellow, it is not new, and the scene images are different. One of the scene from the book written in Romanian is missing.
The Romanian version is blue, is bigger, thiner, new and and it has more writting and more images and scenes. About the images she observed some diferences, little ones, on the cover. Both of the books are soft and she said that it has the "Disney" logo on the cover. While reading the story in Romanian, she watched carefully the images and we talked about the way they are drawn/represented. I read also the English version and i asked her several times to try to "guess" what I read analyzing images.

A new book in English

Mon, 12 Aug 2013 06:37:00 +0100

My daughter received a new book in English titled "If I were a train driver". It was the perfect occasion to read a new story in English. She has other books in English but I translated them in Romanian while reading. I am pretty sure that I shouldn't have done it. She did not know that they are written in another language. I tried a few days ago to read them in English but they are no longer interesting for her. Maybe I will find a new way to introduce them in English too.
Even though she took a few English lessons in kindergarten, she quickly forgot what she was learning. We need to practice more. But I feel that it is difficult because most of the time I don't know how to learn her English. :-)
So, we have this new book. She put me read it in English for a lot of time. At home, but most of the time while we were going somewhere or being somewhere else than home. I am sure that she did this in a way to show to others that she knows a few words in English.
This book has 25 pages with big pictures and a sentence on each page. It is about a boy who imagines that he is a train driver. I read each sentence and I tried to correlate the image with the sentence. I also let her describe the image. I thought it will be a good idea to repet some expressions, showing the images, without translated them anymore like:
put on my uniform
i start the engine
red light, wait
green light...go
the passengers board the train
into the tunnel
out of the tunnel
up the hill
down the hill
over the bridge
under the bridge
trains with cars
lights on
wipers on
into the station
everyone out
well done
captain of a big ship.
If I ask her, she can say from this list, words like start, go, train, tunnel and cars. Words, not expressions or sentences. But we will certainly practice again with this book.

Dialogue about Pinocchio

Thu, 18 Jul 2013 02:02:00 +0100

Before afternoon sleep I let Teona choose a book from her library to read to her. This time I used a mediator, Peppa pig.

She chose Pinocchio.

Peppa: Why did you chose Pinocchio?

Teona: Because I like when Pinocchio becames a real boy. He is not from wood anymore. He is real!

P: What book do you think your mommy would have chosen?

T: The Beauty and the Beast.

P: Why do you think so?

T: Because it is a beautiful story about a princess.

P: I have heard about some donkeys in this story about Pinocchio...

T: Yes. It is a carriage with a lot of boys including Pinocchio and Jiminy standing on a wheel. They are taken to Neverland. (She makes a confusion about the place. it is about Neverland from Peter Pan and Pleasure Island from Pinocchio. Peppa could not correct her because she doesn't know the story. I did not know if I should interfere in the dialog. I did it later)

They are transformed into donkeys. Pinocchio will have a big tail and very big ears.

P: I don't know the story. What happend before?

T: Pinocchio met two cats Gideon and John and they brought him to Coachman, so that he could not find his way back home.

P: What happened after Pinocchio become a donkey?

T: He got away and went to save his father from the Monstro's belly.

Teona is getting bored but Peppa insists in asking her because she had never heard about this story and it will make her happy to hear it from her. She promised to ask three questions more.

P: Can you describe Pinocchio?

T: (looking at one picture from the book) It has a big nose now, because he lied. He has a hat with a feather, blue eyes like mine, a blue bow on his T-shirt, white gloves and he is made from wood. He also had an apple and a book from Geppetto when he went to school.

P: What character would you remove from the book and why?

T: The coachman. He is bad, transforms the kids into donkeys and take them to Neverland (again the confusion)

P: Who is your favorite character?

T: Blue Fairy. She has a magic wand and transforms toys into people. She is Jiminy's friend.

After a few minutes she felt asleep. No time for reading... I did it later.

While reading I asked her about the confusion... She remembered. Also I told her that I heard when she was saying to Peppa that she doen not like the Coachman. I asked her: What can the Coachman do for her to like him?

T: Love the children.

Me: What is your favorite scene from this story.

T: (I am sure that she asociated with the noun scene) The one in which Pinocchio dances on the scene with the dancers. He sings and everyone is having fun.

Me: What about the cover? Do you like the cover of this book?

T: I would put a bigger image of Blue Fairy, bigger than Pinocchio. (She likes more Blue Fairy)

Me: What about the pictures. What if it had no picture?

T: It would not be so beautiful.

Me: What's your favorite cover from the Disney collection books? (Each book has on the back the covers of the others books from collection)

T: The Aristocats. It has funny.

Me: How do you think the story continues?

T: I don't know.

I insist, she gaves me the same reply for 3 times.

Me: Do you think is a big man now?

T: I guess. I don't know. Maybe he is in Neverland with Peter Pan.

Reading to the child (part 3)

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:15:00 +0100

BOOK N. 2

The second book we read is titled “Dany the fawn”: this story is about a family of rabbits consisting of Daddy Rabbit, Mummy Rabbit and two bunnies.

One day, Daddy Rabbit brings the bunnies to school; while he’s coming home, in the wood, he sees a fawn named Dany, which looks hungry and frozen.

So, he offers it a shelter in his house.

While Dany is drinking a cup of milk, Mummy Rabbit and Daddy Rabbit realize that outside is starting a blizzard, and they worry for their bunnies, because they have to come home from school.

Dany is very kind, and it runs through the snow to help the bunnies, which can finally come home.

A. likes the fawn very much, in fact she looks carefully the cover of the book, on which there is a nice picture of the animal.

This animal reminds her the fawn Bambi, the Walt Disney’s character, in fact she never says Dany, but Bambi.

Even in this case I refer to the pictures, at which she looks with interest.

QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE CONTENT:

I constantly ask her some questions, to stimulate thinking and to involve her in the story’s interpretation:

F “Daddy Rabbit, while he is coming home, sees somebody: a little fawn! Look at the picture: does it look happy or sad? Why?”

A “It’s sad, because it’s frozen and it wants its mother!”

F “Yes. And what could happen after it?”

A “He takes Bambi to his home!”

F “Yes. Now, look at this picture: what’s happening to Mummy Rabbit? She’s looking out of the window, and she looks worried! Why?”

A “Because it’s snowing, and the bunnies are at school!”

F “So, what could happen after it?”

A “Bambi va les chercher!”

F (turning the page) “You’re right! So, what do you think about the fawn?”

A “Bambi is very kind because it takes the bunnies at home!”

F “Would you like to be one of the characters? Why?”

A “I would like to be the fawn, because it’s very nice and kind.”

OTHER

F “Do you like the cover of the book?”

A “Yes, I like it very much. Why don’t we draw a picture of the fawn?”

F “Ok!”

Observations:

I’m satisfied with the activity, because I noticed that I had child’s interest and attention.

We often read together, and A. likes listening very much, especially if I imitate the characters’ voices and I add details to reading, always referring to the pictures.

A. also likes listening the same book several times.

Reading to the child (part 2)

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:06:00 +0100

BOOK N. 1

We start from “The Ducks Painters”: briefly, the story is about two troublemaker ducks which have to paint Mrs. Rabbit’s home.

Mrs. Rabbit is very tidy, and since the ducks don’t do a good job, she doesn’t give them a reward (a cake), but a punishment (a pumpkin).

I begin to tell the story, referring to the pictures, adding details and trying to imitate the characters’ voices.

A. is attracted by the story and by the pictures, and she carefully looks at them.

QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE CONTENT

I ask her some questions, and she answers me referring to the pictures:

- F “What’s happening here? Mrs. Rabbit will be happy?

- A. describes the scene “No, they are getting everything dirty!” she says, referring to the picture and pointing with her finger the color spots all over the home. “They have made the floor, the table, le sofa, dirty!”

- F “You’re right! And what’s happening here?”

- A “Here comes Mrs. Rabbit…”

- F “Do you think she will be happy?”

- A “No! Because the ducks have made a mess all over the house!”

I focus on a picture in particular, observing that the ducks have a proud expression, despite the bad job they have done:

- F “Look, they’re smiling. Why?”

- A (she’s thinking) “I don’t know”

- F “Maybe, they think they have done a good job. But is Mrs. Rabbit happy, instead?”

- A. turns the page “No! Look!” she says, pointing with her finger Mrs. Rabbit’s upset expression.

- F “She looks desperate! What will she do now?”

- A. turns the page again, pronouncing: “Pumpkin!”, referring to the punishment that Mrs. Rabbit gives to the ducks.

At the end of the reading, A. asks me to read the book again.

She also says that, this time, she would like to be the narrator (obviously, by means of the pictures).

I tell her that I’m agree.

I observe with curiosity that she focuses on the same details I underlined before, also pointing the same pictures that I pointed. For example:

- “Mrs. Rabbit has a very clean and tidy home. Look, here she’s cleaning the floor!”

- “In this picture the ducks are laughing, because they think that Mrs. Rabbit will give them a cake!”

I ask her some question before starting the next reading:

F “Would you like to be one of the ducks?”

A “No…”

F “Why?”

A “Because they are nothing but trouble!”

Reading to the child (part 1)

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:58:00 +0100

Hello everyone, my name is Federica; I’m 25 years old and I live in Turin.

I would like to describe a reading activity based on principles of PASS;
I did this activity with the child I babysit with; she’s born to French parents, and raised in Italy.
I hope my post may be of interest to you.

Before performing the activity, I prepared several question to ask the child, and then I took note of her answers and her comments.

We spoke in Italian.

In some occasions, the child pronounced some words in French, the language of her parents; I have shown these words in Italics.

F = me A = child (4 years and 10 months)

QUESTIONS RELATED TO THE CHOICE OF BOOK

- F “Why don’t we read a book?”

- A “Yes, which one?”

- F “The one you like the most”

She starts leafing through various books.

Finally, she chooses two books: “The Ducks Painters” e “Dany The Fawn”.

- A “I’d like to read these two books!”

- F “Why?”

- A “Because they’re about animals, and I like animals very much”

- F “Ok. Who bought you these books?”

- A “Mum”

- F “Do you think she would like them?”

- A “I don’t know…”

- F “Do you think she would read them?”

- A (laughing) “Oh, no! She is an adult!”

- F “And your brother? Do you think he would read them?”

- A “No, he’s a boy. He only plays with voitures!”

- F “Do you think did you enjoy these books when you were a baby?”

- A “Yes, because I’ve always liked animals!”

A. is looking forward to read the books, and while I’m asking her the last questions, she opens the first book to make me understand that she doesn’t want to talk anymore, but reading.