Predictable Literature Selections and Activities for Language Arts Instruction

Predictable Literature Selections and Activities for Language Arts InstructionAuthor(s): Gail Heald-TaylorSource: The Reading Teacher, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Oct., 1987), pp. 6-12Published by: Wiley on behalf of the International Reading AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20199687 .

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Predictable literature selections and activities for language arts instruction

Using pattern literature selections helps beginning readers gain meaning from text. This article discusses predictable literature and offers suggestions for its use.

Gail Heald-Taylor

Much has been written supporting the value of literature for language arts in struction. In particular predictable lit erature has been advocated for use

with beginning readers and slower learners (Allen and Allen, 1982;

Bridge, Winograd, and Haley, 1983; Doake, 1979; Heald-Taylor, 1985;

Holdaway, 1979; Jalongo and Brom

ley, 1984; Rhodes, 1981; Tompkins andWebeler, 1983).

This article will discuss the charac teristics of pattern literature, outlining quality language arts activities appro priate for specific literature selections and pointing out language behaviours useful in evaluating student growth.

Characteristics of predictable literature

Literature with many predictable fea

tures such as strong rhythm and

rhyme, repeated patterns, refrains,

logical sequences, supportive illustra

tions, and traditional story structures

provide the emergent readers support in gaining meaning from the text. The selections used in this article have been rated according to the above pre dictable attributes that each selection exhibits.

The following guide has been used to rate each selection.

***most predictable: texts have 4 or more predictable attributes

**very predictable: texts have 3 or more predictable attributes

*predictable: texts have 2 or more

predictable attributes

Predictable literature selections and activities The following 10 current literature se lections are excellent starting points

6 The Reading Teacher October 1987



for initiating a literature-based lan

guage arts program. Suggested student activities accompany each selection.

Additional books are presented in the list accompanying this article.

Trouble in the Ark by Rose Gerald

(ISBN 0-370-30833-6). Level: ***most predictable.

Animal sounds: Make the animal sounds at the appropriate time as the

story is read aloud. Flannel board: Make felt cutouts of

the animals and place them on a giant felt ark attached to the flannel board

during a choral reading session.

Guinea Pigs Far and Near by Kate Duke (ISBN 0-525-44112-3). Level: ***most predictable.

Movement: Move in all the ways the guinea pigs did in the story.

Writing: Write and illustrate your concept book based on action words or

opposites.

Seven Eggs by Meredith Hooper (ISBN 0-7444-0040-6). Level: **very predictable.

Research: Find out all you can

about one animal which hatches from an egg. Make a picture or story chart to show your findings.

animal:

mother

baby

home

habits

Oh A-Hunting We Will Go by John

Langstaff (ISBN 0-689-50007-6). Level: ***most predictable.

Puppets: Make stick or pie plate puppets of the characters in the story and use them as props in choral read

ing.

Word study: Think of rhyming fam ilies for the vocabulary in the story and use the ideas to dictate or write a new version.

Old Mother Hubbard by Colin Hawkins and Jacqui Hawkins (ISBN

0-399-21162-4). Level: ***most pre dictable.

Telephone: Telephone a nursery

rhyme character and give suggestions how to solve his/her problem.

Drama: Act out a nursery rhyme with a partner. Have friends guess who it is.

Spot Goes to the Beach by Eric Hill

(ISBN 0-399-21247-7). Level: **very predictable.

Dictionary: Make a picture dictio

nary of items you need at a beach. (A is for air pump, B is for beach towel, C is for beach chair).

Problem solving: Design a new

beach umbrella, lifesaving machine, or beach game.

The Napping House by Audrey Wood

(ISBN 0-15-256708-9). Level: *pre dictable.

Story board: Paint a mural of the bedroom making the bed extra large.

Make cut and paste construction paper characters to place on the bed as the

story is told.

Writing: Dictate or write another cumulative story based on farm or zoo

animals.

The Big Sneeze by Ruth Brown (ISBN 0-7737-2044-8). Level: *predictable.

Visual arts: Make plasticine models or painted portraits of the animals to use as props for choral reading.

Vocabulary development: Make a word chart of alternative vocabulary which could have been used in the

story. Use the new ideas to write your own version.

t*A\(ch scattered -+lie sfartled hens

-l-Wxt spread

Scarce clvx:Ks

sHouiereci &hocKe?l aetse

SpfmMed

The New Baby Calf by Edith Newlin Chase and Barbara Reid (ISBN 0-590

71405-8). Level: *predictable.

Predictable literature selections and activities 7



Sentence strips: Dictate sentences

about baby animals and undercopy the

text.

Illustrate: Attach each strip to an il

lustration and make it into another big book.

A, My Name Is Alice by Jane Bayer (ISBN 0-8037-0123-3). Level: **very

predictable. Writing: Dictate or write a page for

a class book of names. Illustrate a pic ture of yourself.

Research: Research an animal men

tioned in the story (condor, echidna,

ibex).

Evaluation

Monitoring literacy growth requires keen observation of what each child

does as s/he is engaged in reading a

book, but educators often find this task

difficult because we don't know what

to look for and often don't recognize that which is significant in all that we see.

Too often our perceptions have been

clouded by past experiences in using traditional evaluation methods such as

word counts, basal levels, or worse,

standardized tests. Such procedures

Pattern book selections

(See also the books mentioned in the accompanying article.) ***most predictable

Selections contain 4 or more of the following attributes: limited text per page, repeated pattern, refrain, rhyme, strong rhythm, supportive illustrations.

Althea. Can You Moo? London, England: Dinosaur Press, 1981.

Carle, Eric. What's for Lunch? New York, N.Y.: Putnam, 1982. Duke, Kate. Guinea Pig ABC. New York, N.Y.: E.P. Dutton, 1983. Duke, Kate. Guinea Pigs Far and Near. New York, N.Y: E.P. Dutton, 1984.

Gibbons, Gail. Trucks. New York, N.Y: Thomas Y Crowell, 1981.

Ginsburg, Mirra. Kittens from One to Ten. New York, N.Y: Crown, 1980. Hands, Hargrave. Bunny Sees. London, England: Walker Books, 1985.

Hands, Hargrave. Duckling Sees. London, England: Walker Books, 1985.

Hands, Hargrave. Little Goat Sees. London, England: Walker Books, 1985. Hands, Hargrave. Little Lamb Sees. London, England: Walker Books, 1985. Hands, Hargrave. Puppy Sees. London, England: Walker Books, 1985. Hawkins, Colin, and Jacqui Hawkins. Old Mother Hubbard. New York, N.Y:

Putnam, 1985. Hill, Eric. Where's Spot? New York, N.Y: Putnam, 1980.

Langstaff, John. OhA-Hunting We Will Go. New York, N.Y: Atheneum, 1984. Lobel, Arnold. On Market Street. Toronto, Ont.: Scholastic, 1981. Parish, Peggy. / Can, Can You? New York, N.Y: Greenwillow, 1980. Prater, John. On Friday Something Funny Happened. London, England: Puffin

Books, 1985. Rockwell, Anne. Planes. New York, N.Y: E.P. Dutton, 1985. Rose, Gerald. Trouble in the Ark. London, England: The Bodley Head, 1985. Tafuri, Nancy. Have You Seen My Duckling? New York, N.Y: Greenwillow, 1984.

Watanabe, Shigeo. Hallo, How Are You? New York, N.Y: Penguin, 1979.

continued on next page




Pattern book selections (continued)

Wildsmith, Brian. Cat on the Mat. Toronto, Ont.: Oxford Press, 1982.

Wildsmith, Brian. Toot Toot. London, England: Oxford Press, 1984.

Ziefert, Harriet. Where is My Dinner? New York, N.Y.: Putnam, 1985.

Ziefert, Harriet. Where Is My Family? New York, N.Y: Putnam, 1985. Ziefert, Harriet. Where Is My Friend? New York, N.Y: Putnam, 1985.

** very predictable

Selections have 3 or more of the following attributes: limited text per page, re

peated pattern, refrain, rhyme, strong rhythm, supportive illustrations.

Bayer, Jane. A, My Name Is Alice. New York, N.Y: E.P. Dutton, 1984.

Ginsburg, Mirra. Across the Stream. New York, N.Y: Puffin Books, 1985.

Goss, Janet L, and Jerome Harste. It Didn't Frighten Me. Worthington, Ohio:

Willowisp, 1985.

Hill, Eric. Spot Goes to the Beach. New York, N.Y: Putnam, 1985.

Hines, Anna Grossnickle. Come to the Meadow. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mif

flin, 1984.

Hooper, Meredith. Seven Eggs. London, England: Patrick Hardy Books, 1985.

Luton, Mildred. Little Chicks' Mothers and All the Others. New York, N.Y: Viking, 1983.

Rockwell, Anne. Boats. New York, N.Y: E.P Dutton, 1982.

Roffey, Maureen. Home Sweet Home. London, England: The Bodley Head, 1983.

Roffey, Maureen. Look, There's My Hat. London, England: The Bodley Head, 1984.

* predictable selections

Selections contain 2 or more of the following attributes: limited text per page, repeated pattern, refrain, rhyme, strong rhythm, supportive illustrations.

Allen, Pamela. Who Sank the Boat? London, England: Hamish Hamilton, 1982. Bauer, Caroline Feller. My Mom Travels a Lot. New York, N.Y: Frederick Warne,

1981.

Bayley, Nicola. Spider Cat. London, England: Walker Books, 1984. Brett, Jan. Annie and the Wild Animals. Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 1985. Brown, Ruth. If at First You Do Not See. London, England: Anderson Press,

1985. Brown, Ruth. The Big Sneeze. New York, N.Y: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1985. Chase, Edith Newlin. The New Baby Calf. Toronto, Ont.: Scholastic, 1984.

Degen, Bruce. Jamberry New York, N.Y: Harper & Row, 1983.

Duke, Kate. Seven Froggies Went to School. New York, N.Y: E.P. Dutton, 1985.

Grindley, Sally Knock, Knock, Who's There? London, England: Hamish Hamil

ton, 1985.

Lobel, Arnold. The Rose in My Garden. New York, N.Y: Greenwillow, 1984.

Mayer, Mercer. Just Grandma and Me. Racine, Wis.: Golden Books, 1983.

Murphy, Jill. Peace at Last. New York, N.Y: Dial, 1980.

Stinson, Kathy. Big or Little. Toronto, Ont.: Annick Press, 1984.

Szekeres, Cyndy. Puppy Too Small. Racine, Wis.: Golden Books, 1984. Wood, Audrey. Quick as a Cricket. Purton, England: Child's Play (International),

1982.

Wood, Audrey The Napping House. New York, N.Y: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1984.

Zolotow, Charlotte. Some Things Go Together. New York, N.Y: Thomas Y Crowell, 1983.




give us very minimal knowledge of lit

eracy development because they focus on isolated fragmented aspects of read

ing, ignoring completely the functions of speaking, listening, and writing.

On the other hand, observing stu dents in the act of reading continually gives us insights into literacy develop

ment. Support your visual observa

tions by taping a reader on a video or

tape recorder as s/he is reading and write down exactly what you observe the youngster doing. Does the child

hold the book right side up? Are pages turned in a left to right direction? Does s/he point to the words? Does the oral

reading match the printed text? Can the student retell the story in his/her own words? Does the student choose to read? These questions may help you initiate "kid watching."

Literature reading inventory The literature behaviour inventory ac

companying this article is the docu mentation of reading behaviours of

Literature reading behaviour inventory

Child's name:. Age:. D.O.B:

Book awareness

The child: listens to stories

shares reading with others (unison

reading) begins looking at books as a self

initiated activity holds the book right side up turns pages in sequence from right to

left, front to back

examines pictures in a book

enjoys having stories read to him or her

Beginning Secure Date

Comprehension The child:

recalls the main idea of the story recalls details from the story can name events in the story understands cause and effect in the

story

predicts


Readinglike behaviour

The child: attempts to read the selection (oral response may or may not reflect the

exact text or pictures) attempts to read using pictures as the

cue to story line (attends to pictures)

attempts to read by retelling a remem

bered text (attends to memory and

pictures)

attempts to read matching the retelling to particular pages (page matching

using pictures and memory as clues)






Literature reading behaviour inventory (continued)

Directionality The child:

consistently turns pages from right to

left recognizes where print begins on a

page recognizes where print ends on a page

begins to move his/her eyes and finger left to right across the print while at

tempting to read (finger does not stop at individual words)

develops awareness of line directionality

(child's finger moves left to right across

line of print and then moves to the far

left of the page and down to track the

next line of print)


Print and word awareness

The child: begins to point to clumps of letters and

assigns an oral response (each oral

response may not accurately match the

text) begins to accurately word match:

?beginning of sentences

?names of people and things ?end of sentences

holistic remembering?uses memory,

picture and text to recall the story line

accurately word matches a repetitive

pattern in the story tracks (word points) to find a specific

word word points according to oral language

syllables

recognizes common words in stories

integrates many strategies to get mean

ing (picture clues, memory, tracking, word recognition, context and syntax)

begins to accurately word match familiar

literature pattern books (uses picture clues, memory, word recognition, con

text and syntax)

begins to self-correct for meaning



hundreds of children who learned to read with literature. Many of the beha viours have been listed to give teachers additional support in evaluating read

ing growth. The inventory is meant to be a guide

only. Since the behaviours cited are a

composite of behaviours from many children, the inventory does not repre sent a typical profile for any one child. It is common therefore that children

will demonstrate many, but not all, of the behaviours documented on the in

ventory.




Literature reading behaviour inventory (continued)

Use of cueing systems The child:

uses memory, picture clues, tracking,

syntax and semantic systems well

becomes aware of letter and sound

symbol relationships

recognizes letter names in familiar

words

talks about his or her own reading behaviours ("That's 'dog'. I know be

cause it begins like my name?David.")

begins to use the phonetic cueing

system with familiar materials

integrates picture, memory, tracking,

syntax, semantics and phonetics to read

familiar material

begins to transfer reading behaviour

from known material to unknown mate

rial

uses a variety of cueing systems to read

new material


Texts

The child: reads familiar predictable texts

reads unfamiliar pattern texts

reads unfamiliar texts (without pattern) reads factual texts

reads a variety of texts (functional,

fantasy) chooses to read for enjoyment


The behaviours have been organized according to the categories of book

awareness, comprehension, reading like behaviour, directionality, print, and word awareness, use of cueing systems, and types of text. There has been no attempt to organize the beha viours sequentially since research claims that children do not learn in a

linear fashion.

Consequently, in developing a pro file on an individual student, don't be

surprised that some entries will be made in every category on any given date, rather than in a sequential order.

A doctoral candidate at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in

Toronto, Ontario, Heald-Taylor is in terested in literacy development, espe

cially instruction focusing on whole

language.

References Allen, Roach V., and Claryce Allen. Language Experience

Activities. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 1982. Bridge, Connie A., Peter N. Winograd, and Darliene Haley.

"Using Predictable Materials vs. Preprimers to Teach Beginning Sight Words." The Reading Teacher, vol. 36 (May 1983), pp. 884-91.

Doake, David. "Book Experience and Emergent Reading Behaviour." Paper presented at the International Reading Association annual convention, Atlanta, GA: April 1979.

Heald-Taylor, Gail. Making and Using Big Books. Toronto, ON: Shirley Lewis Consulting Services, 1985.

Holdaway, Don. The Foundations of Literacy. Toronto, ON: Ashton Scholastic, 1979.

Jalongo, Mary Renck, and Karen D'Angelo Bromley. "De veloping Linguistic Competence through Song Pic ture Books." The Reading Teacher, vol. 37 (May 1984), pp. 840-45.

Rhodes, Lynn K. "I Can Read Predictable Books as Re sources for Reading and Writing Instruction." The Reading Teacher, vol. 34 (February 1981), pp. 511-18.

Tompkins, Gail E., and MaryBeth Webeler. "What Will Happen Next? Using Predictable Books with Young Children." The Reading Teacher, vol. 36 (February 1983), pp. 498-502.




Documents

Predictable Literature Selections and Activities for Language Arts Instruction