Thursday, October 13, 2011

Young Author and Illustrator Shares His Book

Hello,

One of my first grade students, Ben, is a very motivated reader but he was struggling with the elements necessary to be a fluent reader. One of my strategies is to use a student’s own writing to facilitate the reading process.

Ben had the great idea to take characters from one book he enjoyed and write a new story, with illustrations!

Ben’s book is titled, The Cow Good and the Cat.

Ben's Book - The Cow Good and the Cat - Cover

I should probably mention that Ben is a zealous action figure fan. Luckily for me I am also versed in some of the action figures and their corresponding comics.

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Here, Ben begins by introducing his characters.

 

 

 

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The action begins!

 

 

 

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I love Ben’s word choice on this page: meanwhile. Obviously he has heard this word used by adults. Another testament for why it is important to talk with your child and students. The more authentic language they hear, the greater their own use of language will be verbally and in their writing.

 

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Ben uses great action words and visuals!

 

 

 

 

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The story is winding down.

 

 

 

 

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The end.

 

 

 

 

As a teacher, I am also taking note of Ben’s use of words with the long and short vowel sounds that we have been working on. And of course, I asked Ben to read his book to me. Reading his own work boosted his confidence in his reading skills because he was able to read more fluently.

Great work, Ben! I’m hoping there is a sequel to The Cow Good and the Cat!

Happy Reading,

Kathleen

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