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Use a School Readiness Activity to provide early literacy thinking experiences for preschool children that will prepare them to do well in the early grades.
What Is a Book?
Purpose/Skills
- To develop book awareness
- To build vocabulary
Materials
Children's books
Vocabulary
book
title
cover
author
pictures
Literature Suggestion
Read A Trip to the Firehouse by Wendy Cheyette Lewison, or any other book children enjoy.
Warm-Up
Show children a book and point out the cover, the title or name of the book, and the author or writer's name. Then flip through the book and point out the words and pictures. Ask children to name some books they like.
Procedure
- Encourage children to look through a number of books. Talk about them.
- Help children see ways in which the books are alike: They all have pages you can turn; they have a front and a back; they have pictures and words. Discuss the idea that most books have words.
- Discuss how the books are different: They have different pictures and words; they're different sizes and shapes; they tell different stories.
- Allow children to choose a favorite book to read.
Enrichment
Have a book parade. Encourage each child to choose a favorite book and march around the room, holding it up. Ask them to tell one reason why they like their book. Then arrange the books in line like a "parade" on a table, each book open enough to stand on its own.
Observation Assessment
- Proficient - Child is able to describe a few characteristics of a book.
- In Process - Child may show an understanding of how a book is used, but cannot describe its characteristics.
- Not Yet Ready - Child cannot yet express what a book is, or how books are alike or different from one another.
