https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky Reinforcing classroom reading strategies and interventions with fun-to-read books! en-us 2023-05-01 08:41:06 UTC 2026-01-24 22:07:28 UTC hello@padlet.com trmarissaandrews https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574397732 Beaumont, K. (2004). Baby Danced the Polka. Dial Books. 
This simple book, about a baby who just isn't ready for his nap, is a clever and engaging book for 2-4 year olds. It's designed to help children easily guess the rhyming word hidden under a flap, and after they do, they lift the flap to see if they've got it right. Jennifer Plecas, the Illustrator, cleverly depicts baby dancing where his body (illustrated on the flap) hides an expressive picture of baby dancing joyfully with with an equally animated partner - a different stuffed animal each time. Using a child-friendly illustrative style, Plecas complements Beaumont's rolling-off-the-tongue rhymes, perfectly! Both, author and illustrator do an incredible job of ensuring they capture the attention and interest of young readers.
This book teaches the skill of rhyme awareness. Children identify words that do and do not rhyme, and think of rhyming words on their own ( Fox, 2011. p. 27). This book also caters to children who are still learning to use picture cues to infer meaning of words, and so is a great resource to have in a classroom (or at home) for preschoolers and kindergartners. ]]> 2023-05-02 01:13:27 UTC https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574397732 trmarissaandrews https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574447126 Martin, B. Jr., Archambault, J. (2012). Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. New York: Little Simon. 
Here's yet another of my favorite rhyming books, that tells the tale of 'lowercase' letters climbing a coconut tree. The tree can't hold them, so 'Chicka Chicka Boom Boom', the 'uppercase' letters come to the rescue of their little ones who've got boo-boos. 
This entertaining alphabet picture book not only caters to children developing rhyming awareness, but also those at the partial alphabetic stage, drawing their attention to the alphabetic principle. Children in the partial alphabetic stage are beginning to use upper- and lowercase letters when they write, most often interchangeably (Fox, 2011, p. 17), and so, this is a great resource to streamline this.
Its simple yet entertaining storyline uses repetition and rhyme, inviting children to chant along with the person reading the book, while Lois Ehlert's collages are full of strong colors and movement that complement and extend the story. (Kennedy, 2019). Kennedy recommends this book 'for babies to six-year-olds' because of the fact that young children are sure to enjoy its rhythm, the story and the delightful illustrations, while the older ones will be engaged with the chanting (Kennedy, 2019). ]]> 2023-05-02 01:56:31 UTC https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574447126 trmarissaandrews https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574486342 Adams, P. (1972). There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Swindon: Child's Play. 
Pam Adams' detailed and colorful illustrations bring the much loved nursery rhyme to life, while the design with its  die-cut holes reveal all the animals the old lady swallows. 
The humor in the poem, describing an old lady who swallows everything from a fly to a cat and a horse, combines powerfully with its creative visual rendition, making this a great book to engage reluctant readers to develop the reading habit and promote rhyming awareness. 
Bonus: There's a little puppet lady, to represent the one in the book available on Etsy.com to further engage children with learning difficulties and special needs, through play and puppetry, and also perhaps enable integrated learning, for a pre-school group or kindergarten classroom.]]> 2023-05-02 02:30:09 UTC https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574486342 trmarissaandrews https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574519770 Trapani, I. (1997), The Itsy Bitsy Spider. U.S : Charles Bridge Publishing.
Iza Trapani tells familiar rhymes and songs, adds verses and helps readers reimagine them with her unique vibrant watercolor illustrations. This book is a perfect read-aloud, and with its engaging rhythm and imaginative power, is sure to keep kindergartners engaged. The delightful antics by the spider will definitely intrigue the energetic and playful ones in a classroom. 
Nursery Rhymes, that have the reinforcement of books like these, go along way in developing rhyme awareness and help children associate spoken words with written words, while also having scope to reach out to multiple learning styles within a classroom engaging them through music, rhythm, visuals, and body movement. 
Here, is another great resource for integrated learning (targeting two different area standards equitably) which I believe is a powerful approach to language development for all children, but also, extremely beneficial to English Language Learners and those  who might encounter reading difficulties.]]> 2023-05-02 02:59:14 UTC https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574519770 trmarissaandrews https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574540403 Zimmerman, A., Clemesha, D. (1999). Trashy Town. harper Collins.
This book is a favorite among my nephews, possibly because of the subject, but let's not take away how brilliantly written and illustrated it is, in its simplicity. 
In this book, Mr. Gilly drives around Trashy Town collecting garbage. After each of his pick-ups, we have a repetitive refrain "Dump it in, smash it down, drive around trashy town!" This simple strategy (and writing style) proves beneficial to young learners developing phonemic and rhyme awareness. While it helps develop spoken vocabulary, the picture cues help readers to aid in early word recognition by giving them opportunity to make associations between spoken words and written words, through the illustrations, while they infer meanings of words. This is another great resource for preschoolers and kindergartners. ]]> 2023-05-02 03:18:33 UTC https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574540403 trmarissaandrews https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574576435 Prince, J. (2006). I saw an Ant on the railroad Track. (Illustrated Edition). Union Square Kids. 
This captivating book, fascinated the artist in me, and I'm sure it will captivate children with its beautifully rendered illustrations. The author's writing style with its lovely rhythm and rhyme takes an imaginative mind on stimulating and engaging journey along a railroad track. 
This entertaining trip, revolves around a hungry little ant and a gentle giant switchman. I love the visual comparison in the characters and within the layout and what it does to help children infer meaning of words like 'giant' (whom they might not really relate too and 'ant' (that is otherwise too tiny for them to 'know'), while portraying the characters in an endearing and warm storyline. I love the relatability and the opportunity to 'talk about' the story and engage in meaningful conversation to develop spoken vocabulary, and help children relate to their environment. Yet another great resource for integrated learning and developing the language arts beyond in and through its reading goals. For example, concepts like 'eastbound ant on a westbound track'. 
A versatile book for preschoolers through to Grade 1, this rhyming one, would be most effective as a read-aloud when read expressively and is sure to engage the most reluctant reader.

]]> 2023-05-02 03:54:32 UTC https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574576435 trmarissaandrews https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574598404 Graves, S. (2003,2006). Fun with Phonics Set. The Book Studio. 
I found this set of books in my school library. This set include five hardcover books designed to stimulate young readers. 
These simple stories focus on three-letter words, and are a great resource for phonics. While i wouldn't consider them  'decodable' books, they do focus largely of decodable words. 
This is a great resources for developing phonemic awareness, rhyme awareness, consonant and vowel sounds and the CVC pattern.

]]> 2023-05-02 04:21:33 UTC https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574598404 trmarissaandrews https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574618755 Murray, w. (2009). Key Words with Peter and Jane. UK: Ladybird.
This series has 36 books that cover 12 reading levels. Each level has 3 books - a, b, c. While this is not typically a phonics program, it introduces children to 'key words' within this age group and links into phonics within its method, which proves beneficial at having a balanced classroom reading program. 
Key Words with Peter and Jane uses the most frequently used words in the English language as a starting point for learning to read successfully and confidently, through its 'look and say' skill, aiding in fluency development. 
What I love about this series is its approach to repetition, through practice and its ability to link reading, writing and phonics, and doing this methodically across the a, b and c series, and also across the 12 levels.
Series 'a' gradually introduces new words, while series 'b' provides further practice of words featured in the 'a' series, while series 'c' links reading with writing and phonics, while reinforcing the words introduced in the 'a' and 'b' books of the respective level. 
I would recommend 1a - Play with us, 1b - Look at this, and 1c - Read and write, for this age group/ reading level. 
Levels, 2 through to 4, are also recommended for this age group. I recommend having the entire series so as to enable a teacher to engage fast learners and advanced readers, and have resources like these available for them. ]]> 2023-05-02 04:43:25 UTC https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574618755 trmarissaandrews https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574654649 Gibbons, E. Just Decodables - Decodable Passages Bundle. The Literacy Nest. Retrieved from teacherspayteachers.com.
I just came across these, and need to find out more, but thought it would be a useful resource for students with dyslexia within a classroom. 
This seems to be a great resource  when students need decoding practice with specific phonics skills, and to build confidence. 
Emily is a structured literacy educator with over 20 years of experience and understands the need for varied practice with decodable passages to help build mastery. Every skill, within the bundle, contains 3 different passages. Together with using a systematic and explicit phonics approach, these are the perfect tool, especially for reading intervention. (Gibbons, (n.d). 
The sets include CVC, Digraphs, Blends, VCe, Vowel Teams, r-Controlled Vowels, Open Syllables and more. 
While these skills seem beyond the reading level I have targeted in this Text Set, I thought it would be beneficial to include it here, at its beginning level, to be carried forward.
Here are some reviews that helped me make this decision:
"These are a perfect fit for my decodable book collection! I have Emily's other decodables, and just like those, these are easy to use and great for differentiation! - Alicia. P. 
"The passages included in this resource are engaging and the students enjoy reading them! A nice extra is that the students like to talk about the passage after they read it." - Dale G.

]]> 2023-05-02 05:15:16 UTC https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574654649 trmarissaandrews https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574680445  Phonics First Little Readers. Scholastic Teaching Resources (2021). Retrieved from michaels.com.
The box featured here, houses a set of 120 books (5 copies of 24 titles) and a teaching guide filled with lessons and tips for helping children decode words. A must have for every primary classroom library (michaels.com). 
This series contains engaging stories that give emergent readers practice with their growing knowledge of sound-spelling correspondences. This is apparently a companion to 'phonics guru' Wiley Blevin's latest book - 'Choosing and Using Decodable Texts' (michaels.com; amazon.in). 
Since my research on this is limited to the websites selling the product, I cannot vouch for the credibility, but an interesting resource to explore (based on its claims) nonetheless. 

]]> 2023-05-02 05:38:36 UTC https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574680445 trmarissaandrews https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574702634 Geisel, T. S., (1965). Fox in Socks. new York: Random House Books for Young Readers. 
A rhyming book list wouldn't be complete without at least one Dr. Seus read. This hard cover picture book of 'tongue tanglers', is one of my favorites. The cover says it all - "read aloud to find out just how smart your tongue is" (Geisel, 1965).  
This book, again, has been a winner with my nephews, with its humor and engaging rhymes, proving to be a lot of fun! 
The tongue twisters prove to be an effective 'exercise' for beginning readers to practice diction, and a 'challenge' so to speak, which is why I included it here - there need to be books for all kinds of readers within a classroom. ]]> 2023-05-02 05:59:24 UTC https://padlet.com/trmarissaandrews/1fp5msoiw1rszrky/wish/2574702634