Chapter 5: Picture Books
By: Yolexis Camargo, Melissa, Connie Betancourt, and Royelle Collier
When Picture Books Are Used Effectively:
- Become non threatening- Picture books are easier to digest when they are broken up into smaller portions and broken up with illustrations.
- Picture books help readers stay focused-Picture books help teachers focus on a particular reading or thinking skill. Reading long chapters may be daunting for some students and with picture books it gets to the point of the plot.
- Set a purpose for learning- Picture books help students activate prior knowledge, attitudes and beliefs.
- Provides common knowledge-It also helps connect a students schema and the new material they will be learning.
- Activate thinking on a visual level- Picture books help students shift their understandings from text to picture.
- Build reading comprehension- Picture books set the story elements (plot, character, setting, conflict) and the use of picture books will help build the students comprehension.
- Exemplifies figurative language- Alliterations, flashback, foreshadowing, irony, metaphors, parody, personification, poetic justice, satire and symbols.
- Tell stories with illustrations- Illustrations can tell a story without having any words attached, students can either tell whats going to happen next or they can create a story from the illustrations provided.
- Teach critical thinking skills- Students can use illustrations from picture books to explain what will happen next or to get a general feeling of what's going on.
- Can be FUN!!!!
Reference:
- http://teachingreadingandla.pbworks.com/f/Picture%20Books%20Across%20the%20Curriculum%202011%20revised.pdf
What To For In High Quality Picture Books:
- Choose topics and themes children enjoy and need
- Make sure illustrations are accurate to plot, characters, settings and eye catching
- They should avoid stereotyping
- Length and context of text should be appropriate to the age of the child
- Books should offer something to the person reading and listening to the book
Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/choosing_High_Quality_Children%27s_Literature/Picture_Book_Illustrations
Strategies for Teaching
- Predictions: During read-aloud, stop the book and ask several students to predict what will happen. Remind the students to use the clues in the text and pictures. If you’re reading a book that has a semi-unpredictable ending, re-read the story with students, looking for possible clues to predict the ending.
- Inferences: During read-aloud, you can stop the book and ask students how they think a character is feeling by showing them pictures that show the character’s facial expressions.
- Roll & Retell: Roll a die and depending on the number it lands on students will answer various questions such as the following:
The Do’s Of Using Picture Books In The Classroom:
Best Picture Books
and Authors
http://lovetolearn2012.blogspot.com/search?q=Making+Predictions+with+picture+books
http://www.gottoteach.com/2015/09/teaching-plot-with-picture-books.html
- Find a picture book that captures the students attention, this is the students first introduction to art.
- Use picture books across the curriculum. Using picture books to teach other subjects can be less threatening for some students and encourage them get into the lesson.
- Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Newsletter. (n.d.). Retrieved November 15, 2016, from http://www.carolhurst.com/newsletters/21bnewsletters.html
- Keep a variety of picture books on hand for students to explore.
- Start off with easy to read picture books that students can digest and then add more complex books as you go along.
- Encourage students to come up with their own critical thinking skills about the illustrations in the book.
- Have fun with picture books!!!!!
According to Scholastic.com, a poll taken by teachers, children's author's and children's literature experts named the following top 10 best picture books and authors.
- Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle
- The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg
- Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown
- Love You Forever, by Robert Munsch
- The Giving Tree, by Shel Silverstein
- Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, by William Steig
- Madeline, by Ludgwig Bemelmans
- The Little House, by Virginia Lee Burton
- Blueberries for Sale, by Robert McCloskey
Why Picture Books Are
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/teachers-picks-top-25-picture-books
- Introduces children to the concept of reading
- Encourages conversation
- Strengthens visual thinking skills
- Teaches children how to be better listeners
- Develops critical thinking
- Helps build vocabulary
- Plants a seed for writing skills
- Helps show children that reading is important
- Encourage joy in reading
Reference:
http://inkygirl.com/inkygirl-main/2013/11/7/why-picture-books-are-important.html
Examples of Picture Books
The Artist's Style in Picture Books
- Blueberries for Sal
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar
- Curious George
- Eloise
- The Rainbow Fish
- Where the Wild Things are
- The Giving Tree
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit
- Corduroy
- Clifford the Big Red Dog
- If You Give a Mouse A Cookie
There are many ways for an author to create their own style. It depends on the type of media they want. It may include:
- Paints: (2) kinds: translucent and tranparent
- Acrylic: Plastic-based, creating an opaque effect
- Gouache: Water-based paint composed of powdered color mixed with chalk.
- Tempera: A quick, drying, bright paint that can be diluted with water to create softer effects
- Watercolor: A very popular medium of artists, made by mixing pigment with water
Reference:
www2.nkfust.edu.tw/~emchen/CLit/picturebook_styles.htm