Literature Activity

What is it?

I did a shared reading of Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash with a kindergarten class. The elementary school is the one I attended Kindergarten through the 5th grade. I have many fond memories of visiting the library which shaped my love of books, libraries, and writing. I wanted to give the kids a similar experience.

Shared reading is a session where the students chime in with the reader at selected parts with the teacher or librarian, who serves as a guide throughout the reading.

What age group is it appropriate for?

A shared reading is most appropriate for preschoolers and kindergartners' which falls under phase 2 of the NAEYC Experimental reading and writing. By engaging children in shared reading, a teacher is helping fulfill the NAEYC goals in several ways.

Share some effective techniques for executing the activity

An important part of a shared learning is being a guide for the kids throughout the reading, along with making sure they are aware of their role in the story.

A good way to start is to provide a short background on the story which gets children interested in being a part of the activity. Reading at a slow pace is important for students to keep up with the reader and not miss their sections. Stopping periodically and commenting on the pictures and events in the book will keep children engaged. It's important to speak slowly and pay attention to your voice and presentation of the material.

One of the most important parts of a shared reading is asking children to participate in the story with you - otherwise, it becomes another reading {and they don't develop the skills}. After the story is over you can have a short discussion about what happened in the book (if time allows). Kids will enjoy contributing to the story.

How or why would you use it

I would use it as a fun activity to help develop literacy skills.

Goal and Purpose of the activity

There are a few goals I had in mind while planning this activity. I wanted to practice rhyming with the students, which is important for a child’s phonemic awareness, and to work on vocabulary development. Ideally, in a classroom, it would be read together 3-5 times, so that they would get more confident about joining in.

Why I selected this book for the class

I thought this picture book was appropriate for kindergartners at this point in the year. This book has engaging illustrations that keep the students interested. The text is easy to follow and tells a surprising story. This is consistent with Ellman's system for evaluating kids books. It's fun, but it lets them practice an important skill for literacy development (rhyming).

(Due to large size of the video I am unable to upload it. Please use the following link to view the video)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wNlc_GBpcKsZj5Ie7eXgcDHnvng5AojF/view?usp=sharing