Interactive Read Alouds Across the Curriculum
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Why Use Classic Nursery Rhymes?
The first answer that always comes to my mind is simply rhymes are fun. Children for generations have enjoyed the silliness of characters' antics. Linda Dorn shared these nursery rhymes with us, so we could share them with teachers. Nursery rhymes provide a great way to work on phonological awareness with the youngest readers. Nursery rhymes introduce young listeners to story structure in its most basic form. There's an orientation -- Peter Pumpkin eater has a wife. There's a problem -- He's having trouble keeping her. And, there's a resolution -- He puts her in a pumpkin shell and there he keeps her very well. Nursery rhymes also introduce children to a cast of characters who are likely to reappear throughout their school lives. You can't enjoy Ahlberg's delightful Each Peach Pear Plum if you don't get the allusions to the nursery rhymes. Nursery rhymes also greatly enrich young children's vocabularies and supply some early lessons in the way our language works. Jack Sprat is lean; when we read this rhyme to children, we have to explain that word. And children add another word to their developing vocabularies. When a child asks, "What does it mean -- Molly my sister and I fell out?", you explain that "fell out" is an expression we don't use much anymore. It used to mean "had an argument". And children get a glimpse of how words and expressions work in English. Finally, nursery rhymes encourage thinking skills with short, simple texts. While their uncontrolled vocabulary may occasionally make them tough to decode, their unrelenting rhythm makes them perfect for emerging readers.
A-Rhyme-A-Week Units and Downloadables
On Mondays, revisit favorite rhymes, then introduce this week's new rhyme during shared reading. Whenever you are able to locate the tune, teach children the rhyme through song. Also chant the rhyme, and work on its rhythm. On Tuesdays, emphasize acting out the rhyme, using our various Monday chants to provide the accompaniment for our "actors". On Wednesdays, introduce the rhyming picture set, explaining the new vocabulary that comes with the picture set. On Thursdays, work with the picture sets and the Riddle Rhymes. On Fridays, review, using new Riddle Rhymes, acting out, singing, and chanting.  |
