Today we read I Love Bugs
This is an adorable story with many uncommon words that are great vocabulary builders. Words like creepy, squirmy, dangling, spiny, swipey, frily, and clitter-clatter are numerous throughout the story. These are wonderful words that enhance a child's ability to describe objects and/or people in his/her environment. A great book to read to help children build a collection of adjectives that can later be used....in their writing insha'Allaah! And the story has a funny ending too. I think that was my favourite part of the book *smile*.
When teaching writing to students, prior to our Writing Workshops, I like to read books like these. Before reading the story, I invite children to listen for words that describe things and/or people. While reading the story, I also pause and point out how the author used a combination of words to really help the reader "see" the object or person, and know more about him/her/it, even if there is an illustration provided. After we finish the story, I take a few minutes to discuss with students how those words helped them enjoy and understand the story.
Sometimes, we even have a bulletin board reserved especially for words like these that students can refer to when they are writing independently. Or if I have already had my students make miniature, personal dictionaries, we take those out and add descriptive words like those found in this story.
An extension to this read-aloud could be inviting students to make their own bugs and then write a story describing their bug to the class (encourage them to use some of the adjectives they heard in this story *smile*). Students can also make books about bugs which they illustrate and write. Using adjectives from this story, students can produce funny, witty stories to share with their classmates, family and friends insha'Allaah.
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