Oh, What Nonsense

I have such a strong belief in the power of fooling about with words. Children are hard wired to enjoy nonsense, (as are Book Chooks!) and playing with language is something they take to immediately. From early peek-a-boo and finger rhymes, through nursery rhymes, poems and songs, we are exposing our kids to new vocabulary, and the rhythms of language, as well as reinforcing the sheer pleasure of messing about with words.

Jokes, riddles and substitutions are also ways to have fun with literacy. Beginning readers who aren’t ready for a short novel might be less daunted by a book of short knock-knock jokes say, so keep an eye open for these at your local library or second-hand shops. It’s a magical moment when a child begins to understand jokes and riddles – their eyes light up, they giggle or guffaw, and usually spend the next few days (or weeks!) sharing that same joke with everyone they meet.

Here are some activities I use to encourage kids to play with language, develop their literacy skills, and have fun. All can be used by a parent, or adapted for the classroom. Watch for more of these in the coming weeks at the Book Chook blog, or check out the Book Chook Bag of Tricks.

Talk nonsense

Develop a conversation without real words between you and your child. Using only the letters of the alphabet, act out a meeting and a chat between two people or more. If someone doesn't feel comfortable with this, they might enjoy using puppets instead.

Here’s an example:

Person 1: A B!

Person 2: XYZ!

Person 1: BCD?

Person 2: OK. BCD?

Person 1: (holding stomach and making a face) O…LMNOP. BGQ.

Person 2: O! NFG. BQDFL. OK. TTFN. (waves)

Person 1: (waves) TTFN.

A similar activity is to improvise a conversation between two people or more using gibberish. Both exercises help children focus on non-verbal cues such as facial expressions, body language, intonation and tone of voice to communicate meaning.

Look out for examples of gibberish in songs for kids to enjoy, too. A couple of old ones that come to mind for me are My Friend the Witch Doctor, (Ting Tang, Wallah Wallah Bing Bang) and Mairzy Doats. Here’s a Chipmunk version of the witchdoctor song. Older children might enjoy reading poems by Lewis Carroll such as Jabberwocky, and The Mad Gardener’s Song. Younger ones can listen to the Muppets do Jabberwocky on Youtube. If kids enjoy nonsense, another poet they might like is Spike Milligan, whose poem On The Ning Nang Nong has been made into a song you can also find on Youtube. These in turn might inspire them to use nonsense words to write their own poetry. And if it’s nonsense you’re after, don’t forget the brilliant Edward Lear.

Substitute

Substitution is more a habit of thinking than a particular activity. With read-alouds, poems and songs, or in conversation, watch out for opportunities to make substitutions. This is a great creative thinking activity, encouraging kids to focus on the structures we use in language, and to generate new ideas. If you're looking for a way to make drills more fun with younger kids who need to learn sight words or spelling words for school, again try a puppet who seems to stumble, and substitute crazy guesses, and have your children correct it.

Here are some examples:

When you’re reading aloud, or telling stories, substitute other words for well-known phrases. What about Snow White and the Seven Dolphins, or The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Banana? This can develop into a running gag, especially with a much read book, where Dad substitutes words every now and then, and needs to be corrected by his kids! It’s also a great way to generate prompts for story telling or writing.

With a nursery rhyme like Hickery Dickery Dock, substitute different nonsense words that then generate a new rhyme.

Higgery Diggery Dig My brother he eats like a pig.

OR

Have kids close their eyes, listen to you, and raise a hand as soon as they hear something out of place or changed.

Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great sneeze.

If you have any nonsensical ideas that contribute to kids’ literacy, I’d love you to share them in the comments.

(Photo from Morguefile.)

Blabberize

Blabberize is easy, quick and another opportunity for kids to write for an authentic audience. It allows you to "speak" through a picture by recording your voice and moving the mouth on the face of the picture you have chosen. You need to write a script of some sort first, and then read it aloud, so it's another fun way to use literacy skills online.

You don't need to register to use Blabberize, but you do if you want to save and share what you create. The interface is so simple that it took me two minutes to make my Blabber.

The first step is to choose the picture you want from your computer. Kids could draw their own using software like Paint, and save it to a location on the computer, or draw their own on paper, then you'd need to scan it into the computer. The best type is a close-up or portrait with a clear mouth. I used a photo I'd taken previously.

Once it's chosen, you can crop it to hone in on the face and mouth you want to "speak" with. Next, you place the mouth, a red moldable sphere over the mouth on your picture's face, and tweak it to fit. Then you either record yourself saying something eg a previously written story, or upload something you've pre-recorded. And that is about it, except for saving and sharing, or keeping the whole thing to yourself.

You can see examples of other people's creations on the site. As usual, I recommend parental guidance in case of inappropriate content. I also recommend using a good quality microphone - mine is the mike/headset I use for Skype.

I think Blabberize has potential for use by students who want an interesting way to present their research about a famous person, or animal. It would make a cute way to send a digital story to a friend - simply find a picture of yourself, "mouth" it, save it and send the link or embed in your blog. The technology is not difficult, so it's accessible, user-friendly, and motivates kids to write. Here's an example of a teacher using Blabberize to set up her class project, and a student project about chickens. .

If you make your own Blabber, please let me know!

Now That's Cool!

If you read my last post, a review of the wonderful picture book by Glenda Millard and Rebecca Cool called Isabella’s Garden, you may have picked up how delighted I was to discover that we found some of Rebecca Cool’s art work in the Margaret River Gallery. I love the way she uses colour, pattern, and vintage fabrics. In the same gallery, we also saw some quirky sculptures by her husband, Ross Miller – the sort you take one look at and start to grin.

Thanks to directions from Margaret River Gallery’s Mechelle Bernhardt, Mr Book Chook and I took ourselves off to the local school to witness another visual feast from the talented Cool-Miller duo. Here are murals of children gardening on the external walls of classrooms that form a boundary around one of the most attractive and useful looking gardens I have ever seen. Permaculture principles seem to be behind it - beans and peas jostle rainbow chard, silver beet and herbs. Scarecrows preside over the whole, and the piece-de-resistance is a wonderful transparent gate, showing glimpses of the playground beyond, and decorated with two Cool children.

If you find yourself in Margaret River, Western Australia, be sure to include the Margaret River Primary School on your agenda. It's totally Cool!

Book Review, Isabellas Garden

The Book Chook has a new favourite picture book. Isabella’s Garden has pushed its way into my heart and mind with beautiful, poetic writing, and eye-popping illustrations. Written by Glenda Millard, illustrated by Rebecca Cool, and published by Walker Books Australia (2009), Isabella’s Garden is a stunning example of a cumulative story beautifully told by two master craftspeople.

It tells the story of the progress of seeds planted in dark deep soil in Isabella’s garden. Changes in the garden are lyrically described while the visual text shows children working and playing happily nearby. Millard is a poet who gifts us with words carefully chosen to evoke an emotional response:

These are the flowers that waltz with the wind that ruffles the buds, all velvety-skinned that swelled the shoots that sought the sun that kissed the clouds that cried the rain that soaked the seeds that slept in the soil all dark and deep, in Isabella’s garden.

Rebecca Cool’s artwork is magical. The Book Chook has a penchant for folk art, and Cool is a master of this style. Her use of colour and pattern makes her illustrations fascinating, and kids will enjoy exploring and re-exploring all the visual details. As I write this review, I am actually in Margaret River, Western Australia. Rebecca Cool lives nearby, and I was lucky enough to see more of her work in the Margaret River Gallery.

Cumulative stories like The House that Jack Built and There Was an Old Lady are great for beginning readers because their repeated text facilitates prediction. There IS repetition in Isabella’s Garden, but Glenda Millard also innovates as the seasons change, so youngsters will find the challenge of new and interesting vocabulary too. I am not familiar with Millard’s books, but will definitely be on the lookout for more by this talented Australian writer.

Isabella’s Garden would make a wonderful springboard to doing some gardening activities with your kids. Ask them to use the book to discover what seeds need to grow into plants. Can children notice any of the book’s details in their own garden? Kids might enjoy designing their own garden patch, choosing seeds, and then digging, planting and tending until their seeds germinate. If you don’t have a patch of soil available, consider a container garden, or an experiment on seed germination. Encouraging kids to be observant and responsive to changes in the garden is a useful skill to develop, and can lead to a lifelong interest in the outdoors.

The Book Chook Goes West or Literacy on the Go

Regular readers of my blog may have worked out that I am travelling right now. In fact, we have crossed Australia from the east coast to the west coast and we're currently in Perth, Western Australia. Blogging friends have requested an update on our journey, so that's what this will be. If you're thinking, "but what about literacy?" never fear. You can scroll down this page to the heading: Literacy on the Go, and avoid the 21st century equivalent of a boring slide night!

In case you’re interested, this is the route we took. We left Coffs Harbour NSW on October 1, and spent between 1 and 3 nights in: Gunnedah NSW, Narrandera NSW, Mildura Vic, Angaston SA, Port Augusta SA, Ceduna SA. Then we began to cross the Nullarbor, a virtually treeless plain, hundreds of kilometres wide. We stayed one night each at Eucla WA, Norseman WA, Merredin WA, York WA, until we arrived in Perth where we are taking a break from driving and wearing out shoe leather instead.

I made slideshows at both Animoto and Photopeach, but Blogger won't let me embed them for some reason. (I am blaming incompatibility with my ancient laptop and hinting that I need a new one!) But you can link below to see what is not a chronological record, but visual snippets of our trip, accompanied by Grieg's Morning Mood.

The Book Chook Goes West on PhotoPeach

One of the many highlights of our journey has been the opportunity to meet Rebecca Newman, editor of Alphabet Soup magazine, and her delightful daughter, Matilda. Rebecca knew I was interested in Kodaly and took me to see a wonderful music lesson based on his philosophy. I’ll give you some more details about this, including its online presence, soon.

From Perth, we go to Margaret River and the south-western corner of WA, then start for home. Meanwhile, let me tell you about a word game you can teach your kids and play in the car.

Literacy on the Go

My husband and I both love word games. When we’re travelling vast distances, we use these games to while away the time, and keep mentally alert. One of our favourites we call the word game. It is a little like Mastermind, but with no equipment.

One person, A, thinks of a five-letter word. A tells B the first letter of the word. B makes guesses at the word and finds out if letters are correct and in the correct place, correct but in the wrong place, or not correct at all. B gets five chances to guess the word.

Here’s an example:

A – My five letter word starts with D.

B – Is it drive?

A - It’s not drive. There are no correct letters.

B - Is it donut?

A – It’s not donut. The N is correct and in the right place. The U is correct but in the wrong place.

B – Is it dunny?

A – It’s not dunny. The U is correct and in the right place, the N is correct and in the right place.

B – Is it dunks?

A – Yes! That’s it. The word is dunks.

This game is much easier if you are not driving, and can use pencil and paper to keep a record. But doing it mentally is very good memory training! We tend to play for fun, but you can keep a running score if you want – the guesser gets 5 points for guessing the word first go, four for guessing on the second go, three for third, two for fourth, one for fifth, and none for missing the word in five guesses. Try four letter words with younger kids.

I hope you’ll give it a try. Here’s one to get you started: a five-letter word beginning with P. If you want to play, use comments or email me.

Creative Writing with PIC-LITS

See the full PicLit at PicLits.com

PIC-LITS is a great way to encourage your child to try writing some poetry. You don't have to sign in to play, but you must if you want to save or share your work. It took me about ten seconds.

First you choose a photo from a scrolling line-up. Then the site encourages you either to drag and drop some suggested words onto your "canvas", or create your own.

This is one of those great web resources that are motivating because they're fun. The bonus is, kids are using reading, writing and creative skills, instead of having fun with passive entertainment like TV.

Colour Me Crazy

Here's a great page I discovered via Pat at Successful Teaching. It's Crayola's jazzy drawing tablet. Once you open the page, it's simple and intuitive to get started with your crayons, markers and brushes. You can choose different tools, colours, and tip sizes on the palette, then move away from the palette, left click and start drawing. The site allows you to print your efforts, but not save them, so I took a screen grab of my crazy creation seen at left.

Controlling the mouse takes a little practice. I deliberately went outside the lines with my effort so you wouldn't feel bothered by your own glitches. (If you believe that, can I interest you in some swampy real estate?)

"But wait!" I hear you say. "What has this got to do with literacy?" It's been a while since I was a kid, but if I'd had this tablet available for practising writing words and learning spelling, I just know my enthusiasm would have been unbounded. I think children of any age will have fun with this. How about a decorated letter to a friend which they can print and send by snail mail?

The main Crayola site has sections for parents, educators, and a ton of creative ideas for kids. It's well worth a look if you don't know it.

Book Review, Sheep, Goat and the Creaking Gate

What is it that makes us happy? Charming picture books make me happy, but for some, happiness is elusive. In Sheep, Goat and the Creaking Gate, Sheep really really wishes she had a Jellagong tree in her paddock, just like the one in Goat’s paddock. Whereas Goat really really wishes he had a cool stream in his paddock, just like the one Sheep has. Will Sheep ever find a way to taste those Jellagong leaves, despite the creaking of the gate? And if she does, will it make her happy?

Sheep, Goat and the Creaking Gate is the second of Claire Saxby’s picture books I’ve read, and has confirmed this Australian writer as one of my favourites. Published by Windy Hollow Books, it is illustrated by Judith Rossell, whose charming artwork has a textured quality, and includes intriguing collaged details. I love the tiny hole-punched newsprint pieces in the pasture.

There are many things to love about this picture book: the gentle humour, the quirky characters, the simplicity of pictures and text all make it an ideal choice for the under sevens. I think most kids will relate to a character wanting something so much that it almost becomes an obsession. In fact, the torment of never having tasted the leaves on the Jellagong tree in Goat’s paddock lies like a burr under Sheep’s fleece:

Sheep was so tired she could hardly walk. She kicked at clumps of grass and scowled at the sun. Oats tasted like chalk and clover tasted like soggy cardboard. Sheep wished she’d never seen the Jellagong tree.

The trials of two animals who don’t want to share will make kids giggle, but also make them think about how unsettling it is to always want something you can’t have. Picture books can be powerful teachers in this way - not by preaching, but by allowing children to share characters’ problems and work out conclusions for themselves. Because Claire Saxby encourages us to think about the nature of happiness and whether grass is actually greener on the other side of the fence, it is an ideal book to use as a spark for discussion. We learn, almost unconsciously, how silly it is not to share when we have plenty, and understand at last that some sheep will never be truly satisfied with what they have.

Sheep, Goat and the Creaking Gate makes a great choice for any home, school or public library’s picture book collection. After all, you can NEVER have too many wonderful picture books!

Ten Ways to Involve the Whole Family in Reading Aloud

We read to children for all the same reasons we talk with children: to reassure, to entertain, to bond; to inform or explain, to arouse curiosity, to inspire. But in reading aloud, we also condition the child's brain to associate reading with pleasure, create background knowledge, build vocabulary, and provide a reading role model.
Jim Trelease

Weaving read aloud time into the fabric of family life is often just a matter of looking for opportunities and turning them into habits. Here are some ideas for involving your whole family in reading aloud. I'd love you to add any more in the comments section below this post.

* Have read aloud time at bed time. Many parents do this, in the sense that one parent reads aloud to one child. But consider making it a time for the whole family. A comfy place could be mum and dad's bed, after baths, giving everyone a quiet time to share a story, and discuss what is coming up tomorrow.

* Take a book to read aloud on family picnics. Adults can share reading and eating!

* Have read aloud books in the car for those times when you are waiting. There's often time to read a whole poem for kids at the traffic lights.

* Take a favourite read-aloud book to doctor or dental appointments. I'm pretty sure your audience will grow if there are other kids waiting!

* Ask visitors to your home if they have a favorite book to read aloud, or would like to choose one to read to you all.

* Older kids might like to share the role of reading aloud.

* Establish a family read aloud time. Have everyone pick something to read aloud: a passage from a book or a favourite page. Really young ones might choose a book they know by heart, or tell what they think the page says.

* Build read aloud into the routine of your day. Choose easy times to remember eg just before, or just after dinner. Make it something to look forward to.

* Have read aloud times at sleepovers and parties. Give books as gifts or party favours, and have kids share their favourite sections.

* Have lots of books in your home, of different genres and types. Make sure there's a huge book pool to chose from. Consider choosing poetry to read aloud.

(Don't forget Mem Fox's Fourteen Fantastic Hints on Reading Aloud, or listen to the Divine Ms Mem on her own website.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/solomonster/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Spore Creature Creator

The Spore Creature Creator doesn't have a lot of reading or writing associated with it, but it's fun! I think it would make a great spark for children's writing - have them design their own creature at Spore Creature Creator 2D, then follow up by writing a creature profile, or a narrative telling of their creature's adventures.

The Spore interface is fairly intuitive. Once your egg hatches, you drag a body part to the body, wait until that part lights up, then let it go and it attaches to the body. It won't let you do silly things like attach hands to the body with no limbs - not that I tried of course. You can resize and re-position body parts using little guiding balls. The creator has extra features like ability to save, email and investigate other people's creations.

My creature is Eek. She has clawed toes which make wearing socks a problem, but are very handy for fending off opponents during beach soccer. Her snippy-snapper is ideal for picking raspberries. Eek dotes on raspberries. In fact, she used to be blue, but ate so many berries that she turned this lovely shade of blush.

Book Review, Martha doesn't say sorry

I love the work of Australian illustrator, Bruce Whatley, but I wasn't familiar with Samantha Berger's writing. After reading Martha doesn't say sorry! I will definitely be on the look-out for this team in the future.

Published by Little, Brown and Company (2009), it's a charming picture book that will have kids giggling, but I suspect it will also make them think about Martha's problem. You see, Martha never apologizes. She does all sorts of other co-operative stuff - she shares, hugs, makes presents for others. But when she does the not-nice things, like poking out her tongue, or throwing or kicking, Martha doesn't say sorry. Soon we see the consequences of Martha's rude behaviour. When she wants things like cookies, piggyback rides and hugs, her family members just aren't inclined to give them to her. At last, Martha realizes she needs to make some changes.

The illustrations are large, and full of quirky charm. In Martha, Whatley has somehow morphed an otter and a human to create the perfect character for this picture book. We can all relate to someone who is quite snooty about what they will and won't do. Berger's text is perfect - just enough to tell us what's going on, with the nuances left to the illustrator. Like all good picture books, there's humour, repetition and great rhythm.

"What?" asks her mother.
"What?" asks her father.
"Fwa?" asks her baby brother.

Martha doesn't say sorry! is a story kids will ask for over and over again. It would make a great addition to family, classroom or public libraries. I'd suggest follow-up discussions about co-operation and how to get along with other people. Children could also use the book as a model for their own writing about a young character with a problem.

Fun With Words - Spell with Flickr

Spell with Flickr is a simple way to focus on visual literacy. Once you follow the link, just type a word into the box marked "spell". Press the "spell" button and it grabs images from Flickr to represent each letter you typed. If you are not happy with a letter offered, simply click on it to change it. You can also copy the html code and embed it the way I did for the "fun with words" image I created.

This might be a useful device when kids are trying to come up with an interesting heading for a school project, especially if the project is in the communication area. It would work well for a digital project using something like Glogster.

How about taking the idea into the real world and taking your family on a letter or word walk? Have your kids keep a sharp eye out for letters on signs, ads and buildings and work out a way to collect them. Digital photos or a special sketch book would be fun. Discuss which signs you like, which ones work well, what impression you think the communicator was trying to create. Older kids might like to delve into illuminated letters. As a follow-up, have everyone design special letters for their own names. (There are some great examples at this Princeton art lesson.)

Focusing on visual literacy really increases our observation skills, and helps us to infer and make meaning from images. It's especially important to remember when we're discussing picture books with kids. That's one of the reasons I love picture books so much - there can be a whole sub theme and plot going on apart from the text. Wonderful!

Review, Blurt

Uproar is not the norm in our home - and that's the way we like it. But when Blurt! arrived from the USA, there was uproar aplenty.

Board games are such a fun way to involve kids in literacy. With our society's emphasis on screen-related activities, it's refreshing to find an activity that allows social interaction with your loved ones. Add to that a huge dollop of fun, an emphasis on vocabulary, and a chance to outshout your husband and son, and you have the Book Chook's take on Blurt!

The object of the game is to answer questions before anyone else does. The board is a classic "travel around the edge" one, and there are game pieces and a die. The fun comes from the question cards. Essentially, you have to say (yell, scream...) the word represented by a clue before your opponents. The clues have been very well thought-out. We didn't find a card that stumped us, but we had plenty that ensured lots of blurting before the correct answer. There are two levels of difficulty. A junior version of the rules is included, ideal for the classroom, where students write their answers and gain points for spelling words correctly.

One nice twist involves challenging someone to a one-on-one word duel if you land on their space. This can result in that player being sent backwards. Similarly, if you land on a space that matches the colour of your game piece, you can challenge anyone ahead of you to a one-on-one. Tension mounts when you are playing to win!

I love word games, but I also like it when a game has just the right element of chance to level the playing field. In my case, that element of chance allowed me to catch up to my quick-thinking son and almost defeat him. (I have a secret plan that involves introducing him to a bowl of fresh popcorn for our re-match tomorrow.)

The concept behind Blurt! isn't new - answering questions is the main idea behind lots of great games. Blurt! succeeds because it gets the balance between skill and chance just right, because the clues have been well thought-out, and because it can be played by people aged 7+. I think it would make a great family or classroom game.

Post script: We are now on our fourth re-match. This thing is addictive!