By Monica Phelps
| Children love to see themselves (and their favorite things) in pictures. By adding some text to those photographs you have the primary ingredients for a fun and educational activity for beginning readers. This project allows you to engage children in an enjoyable activity. It will help them become aware of print; learn to read aloud with you through repeating lines; and, eventually, read to themselves. |
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Materials
Directions
Give your book a theme, such as, my summer vacation, people who love me, things
I like to do, food I like to eat, a trip to the grocery store, etc. The theme
you choose will determine the kinds of picture you take. I often choose "My
Summer Vacation." It happens it be my own child's favorite theme.
Once you have the theme, the really fun part happens. Take pictures of your child in the appropriate situations. No, you don't have to wait until the summer vacation-you can "recreate" it! After the film is developed, arrange the photographs in a narrative sequence. Place the pictures on every other page of your album. The text for the photos will be on the opposite page.
The keys to making a good book for a child are rhyming words or lines of text that are repeated. Repeating a line aloud throughout the text is helpful for a struggling reader especially when participating with someone else during a reading activity. Programming an augmentative communication device for a repeating line is quick and easy. Possible repeating lines include "It was fun," "This is me…" "I like this. It is a …" etc.
Either type your text in an easily readable size that can be taped or glued to a 3x5 index card or write it in your best print. The text can then be placed in the compartment below the photograph.
That's it! Now it's time for you and your child to enjoy your photographic essay. Your child will probably ask you to read the book many times with them and you are now an author for a very appreciative audience.