Using Picture Books to Engage Learners

Kristin SkogstadElementary Instructional Coach

Best Practices In Reading

• Steven Zemelmann, Harvey Daniels, and Arthur Hyde provide us with recommendations for teaching reading in their 2008 edition of Best Practices-Today’s Standards for Teaching and Learning in America’s Schools

Tips for Using Picture Books

• Use picture books in all subject areas to teach and reinforce standards

• Picture books can be read aloud several times and can be used for many teaching points.

• When teachers use picture books during shared reading or read aloud time it often becomes a collaborative learning activity. This helps to build a students schema.

• This is the perfect opportunity for teachers to model their thinking as readers.

Spotlight on Picture Books

*Empathy, discrimination, belonging

Time

Money

Importance of Thinking (Great to useBefore testing)

Conventions, dialogue, connections

Questioning, Inferring

Friendship, science connections, community

Point of view, voice

Summarizing timelines, primary source Materials, Social Studies connections

Social Studies Connections (Slavery), Idioms, compare/Contrast

Synthesizing; changes in thinking

Synthesizing, changes in thinking, Social Studies Connection - segregation

Making Inferences, Character Traits,Social Studies Connection - Holocaust

T/T and T/W Connections, Social Studies

Social Studies- Geography, inferring,

Family, point of view, voice,Social Studies Connections/History

Historical Fiction, Social Studies Connection,Inferring

Belonging, racial discrimination, characterDevelopment, inferring

Inferring, drawing conclusions, test prep

Communities, belonging, visualization, Creativity

Visualization, connections, rhythm

» Acceptance, characterization

» Geometric Shapes, Acceptance,

Good Character

Social Studies Connection, inferring, plot, friendship,

Let’s Explore Books!!

Yellow Cards: Primary or K-2 books Blue Cards: All or Most grade levels books

Green Cards: 2nd – 5th grade books

Purple Cards: Mostly 3rd – 5th grade – some of the books may work at lower levels as well.

Red Cards: Books to use during math time.

What Questions do you have??