Our favorite books

Our favorite books from our last trip to the library. The asterick denotes books that Isadora requests that read over and over again (and over, and over, and over...)

We're Going on a Ghost Hunt, by Marcia Vaughan*
Little Bunny Foo Foo (just the song, no author)*
Three Little Kittens, by Paul Galdone
Henny Penny, by Paul Galdone
What do you know, by Lorinda Bryan Cauley
Muncha, Muncha, Muncha, by Candace Fleming*
Farmer Duck, by Martin Waddell
Max's Dragon Shirt, by Rosemary Wells*
Are You My Mother?, by P.D. Eastman
When Sophie Gets Angry, Really, Really Angry, by Molly Bang
Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, by Byron Barton*
Tops & Bottoms, by Janet Stevens
Flip, Flap, Fly, by Phyllis Root
I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, by Mary Ann Hoberman
Max Cleans Up, by Rosemary Wells
Martha Speaks, by Susan Meddaugh
Where's My Teddy?, by Jez Alborough
The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss
Minerva Louise and the Red Truck, by Janet Morgan Stoeke
Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore, by David McPhail
Chato's Kitchen, by Gary Soto*

More on dictated stories

Bridge (1989) offers the following guidelines for the dictation process:

1. Students should be able to read back the story, so it shouldn't be too long (Isadora tends to refuse to do this right now, but I read it back to her).
2. If possible, wait until the student's thought is complete, then record exactly what the student says (I have to slow Isadora down to one sentence at a time because she tends to spill it all out in one breath).
3. Say each word as you write it, asking the student to watch (I sound out the words as I write them).
4. As you record, provide some reading instruction appropriate for this student (So I try to correct some of her words, pronunciation, etc. - but not too much! I want it to be fun and if I do much correcting it will change that).
5. Read the story aloud for the student, encouraging students to join in as they are able (Isadora is better able to "read" back one or two word sentences - "The End" is her favorite).
6. Have the student read the selection independently when she or he is able (This may take a while!).

The theory behind dictated stories

So why am I writing down Isadora's stories? The dictated story has its roots in the Language Experience Approach to reading (Allen, 1976; Stauffer, 1969, 1980). To quote from the text Assessment and Instruction of Reading and Writing Difficulty (Lipson & Wixson, 2003),

"As a beginning reading method, LEA promotes student awareness of the relationship between oral and written language by having students produce a 'language experience story.' This story then become the reading material that is used for the delivery of instruction. Because this eliminates problems of a mismatch between the student's language and the reading materials, the technique has been widely used for very beginning learners..."

The goal is that Isadora will eventually read back the stories to me, but right now she just likes to have me write down the stories, have me re-read them, and then giggle about them.

Shhh! I'm going to tell a story!

This is how Isadora begins each story that she tells - making sure that she has my undivided attention. I have started writing down her stories as she tells them, letting her see how I write the letters and sounding out the words, and telling her, "slow down!" as I try to keep up with the disjointed little bits that she is quickly spilling out. I leave a blank space at the top of the page for her to draw a picture, but as of now she is not interested in drawing out the story and insists that I draw instead. I have resisted for the most part but I drew in something today...a stick figure man and a sheep. Want to hear the story? It has three parts, and if I were more of a techy I'd scan it, but here it is:


Part I
Little Bo Peep has not found his sheep. The wolf is his grandma but he's not and Little Bo Peep hits the wolf on the head! The End

Part II
Little Bo Peep bonked his sheep on the head. He saw three sheep. The End

Part III
Little Bo Peep has not found his sheep. He found his sheep! And was happy. The End


As you can see, my daughter is mixing is mixing Little Bo Peep and Little Red Riding Hood. Also, Little Bo Peep is apparently a boy since that has remained consistent throughout her stories.

I usually start by re-reading the stories she has created before (and she grins and giggles) and then we write down her new story on a fresh page. I correct some of her grammar as we go along. So for example, today Isadora said, "Little Bo Pee haven't found..." I said (and wrote down), "Oh, so Little Bo Peep has not found." When I did this she stopped and corrected me. "No, Little Bo Peep HAVEN'T found." And I said, "Oh, he hasn't found?" She paused and then we continued the story.

We'll see where the story goes...

What We're Reading

The big hit of the day for books is Chato's Kitchen, by Gary Soto. The things that Isadora loves are the Spanish accents that you have use while reading the book. The major drawback of the book are the Spanish accents that you have to use while reading all the spanish words. Kidding aside, it is a great book and has fabulous writing for a book that a preschooler can get into. One of my favorites: "He shivered the mice from his back and they dropped like gray fruit." Wow - can you not picture that?!! Isadora can't really get into those descriptions yet, but I believe it will help her build an appreciation of good writing. How can that NOT rub off on you?

In other news, Erik went to some cheap store that is by his work and got Isadora some cheap plastic dinosaurs. She was a little taken aback by the scary expression on the T-Rex, but insisted on bringing it to her bed. We happened to have the book Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, by Byron Barton, and so we read that aloud to her. The writing is really simple and the pictures are bright and clear. Isadora made a connection between her own dinosaur and the book: "Look, my dinosaur has plates!" Wellll, her dinosaur didn't really have plates, but it was exciting to see her make the connection between the book and her own little plastic dinosaur.