scholarly journals Good Night, Bat! : Good Morning, Squirrel! by P. Meisel

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Den Haan
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
English Language ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Good Night ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
Good Morning ◽  
Grade One

Meisel, Paul. Good Night, Bat! : Good Morning, Squirrel! Highlights, 2016.Paul Meisel, Geisel Honor award winning author and illustrator, creates a humorous story about friendship and miscommunication. This fictional picture book follows homeless Bat on his journey to finding the perfect new home. Through whimsical mis-read notes the friendship between Bat and Squirrel blossoms.The literary content in this story is invaluable for young readers. Meisel demonstrates the complexities of the English language by playing with simple words and phrases while demanding that readers also read the images. This play on words offers a charming world in which young children can explore and expand upon their vocabulary.Complimenting this hilarious story are illustrations that demand the reader’s attention. At a first glance, the visuals appear gloomy due to the brown, green and grey tones. However, the expressions of Bat and Squirrel, along with the simple but easily misunderstood leaf note’s enable young readers to become enthralled in the world of Bat and Squirrel.Combining the two essential features of playing with language and reading illustrations, Good Night, Bat! Good Morning, Squirrel! is an essential read-aloud story for any early childhood classroom.Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Leah Den HaanLeah Den Haan is a grade one French immersion teacher with Edmonton Public Schools. She has always enjoyed children’s literature and loves sharing her love of reading with her students on a daily basis.

scholarly journals Found by S. Yoon

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara Kammerer
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Elementary Education ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Rightful Owner ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
The University

Yoon, Salina. Found. New York, NY: Walker Books for Young Readers, 2015. Print.The fictional picture book Found, written and illustrated by Salina Yoon, takes place in the forest and follows Bear, who found a stuffed bunny and tries to find its rightful owner by putting up FOUND flyers and searching for them.This book has a strong visual quality with fun illustrations in bold colours. The limited text on each page is appealing for younger and beginning readers and work collaboratively with the illustrations in an aesthetically pleasing manner. The story could be understood without looking at the text as the illustrations clearly dictate what is happening in the plot. Yoon includes a variety of ‘Lost’ posters throughout the book that are engaging to read, beyond the book’s text.Children can easily make connections to this picture book because of the idea of ‘lost’ and ‘found’ are familiar to them. Some readers may find the book’s ending unrealistic as the bunny’s rightful owner allows Bear to keep it. Young readers may recognize that in real life, this is often not the case, or they may have a false hope in the future when they find something they would like to keep that is not theirs.Recommended: 2 out of 4 StarsReviewer: Tara KammererTara Kammerer is a grade 2 teacher with Elk Island Public Schools and is currently completing her Masters Degree in Elementary Education at the University of Alberta. Tara loves how excited her grade 2 students get every time she brings a new book into the classroom to read aloud to them!

scholarly journals Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns We Can All Get Along by H. Binkow & A. Reverend

2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Williams
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Unique Feature ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Young Rabbit ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Language And Literacy ◽  
Reasonable Solution ◽  
Grade One ◽  
Positive Outlook

Binkow, Howard and Ana Reverend.  Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns We Can All Get Along. New York: Scholastic Inc., 2014. Print.This fictional picture book tells a ­­­­­­­heartwarming story of a young rabbit named Howard who has a conversation with his Grandma after his friends host a picnic but neglect to invite him. Howard’s Grandma helps him realize that he has a tendency to cause conflict between his friends in an attempt to “get his way” or “always be right,” and that this may be why he wasn’t invited. After considering ways to sneak into the party in a disguise, wise Grandma rabbit suggests he learn to get along with his friends so he can go as himself. Grandma teaches Howard some important lessons in considering the perspectives of his friends. She helps Howard see how his friends feel when he insists on always being right and reminds him that he will need plenty of practice. Grandma’s main lesson is that “everyone gets the chance to be right, have a say, and have a turn”. In the end, Howard apologizes to his friends, promises to practice making better choices, and gets to go to the picnic.Howard Binkow and Reverend Ana specifically guide the reader through 29 pages with 0 – 6 sentences per page containing rich language regarding positive friendship choices. The text provides the foundation for an effective teacher read-aloud appropriate for students in lower elementary. The artists David A. Cutting and Mike Ferrin use a colourful sponge technique to soften the borders and gently shape the characters on every page. The illustrations are self-explanatory and contain engaging expressions, showing a range of different emotions on the characters’ faces.The use of various animals allows the characters to be universally relatable to most students. The text and images explicitly teach lifelong lessons and establish the cause and effect impacts of a child’s behavior on other people. It relays the powerful message that change requires practice and that it can sometimes be hard work to get along with others. The ending provides a reasonable solution to the problem, leaving the reader with a positive outlook on the lesson and its outcome.Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns We Can All Get Along is part of a series of life lesson books using Howard as the main character. While he is far from perfect, students enjoy the realistic relationship struggles he learns to overcome. A unique feature of all of the books in the series is that the last two pages have a “Suggestions for Lessons and Reflections” based on lessons in the book.This lesson-explicit picture book meaningfully relates to the audience and is a promising start to any cooperation or emotions lesson.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Jane WilliamsJane Williams is a grade one teacher in Beaumont who is working on completing her Masters of Education in Language and Literacy. She believes that every GREAT lesson begins with a story.

Tom’s Tweet by J. Esbaum

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Desmarais
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Young Readers ◽  
A Minor

Esbaum, Jill. Tom’s Tweet. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Print. This delightful picture book is about an unlikely friendship between a hulking cat named Tom and a tiny bird called “Tweet”. The story begins with Tom feasting his eyes on Tweet, ready to gobble him up for breakfast, when he quickly realizes that his prey is simply too skinny to eat. Tom is about to leave yet he finds it impossible to ignore Tweet’s incessant tweeting, so he decides that he’ll put a stop to the ruckus by finding a juicy worm for his hungry friend. Hilarity ensues when Tom selects a suitable wiggler and gingerly mashes it to a pulp in his mouth to make it more digestible for Tweet. Nota bene: the picture of Tom’s bulging face as he squirms with the worm in his mouth may provoke hearty laughter from readers of all ages. The engaging story continues with animated scenes that show Tom returning Tweet to his home nest after being pursued by angry Mama Tweet. Later in the evening Tom realizes that he actually misses that “bothersome bird”, so readers will be pleased to see that Tweet returns the next day. Tom declares, “Tarnation! You have to stay up there. You cannot be my friend! I’m a cat!” The book concludes with Tom “tweety-sitting” for Mama Tweet, now that she sees Tom as a lovable softie and not a threat to her feathered offspring. The flow of events in Tom’s Tweet has a musical cadence, and the story begs to be read aloud. All of the illustrations were created using Photoshop, and they have an irresistible quality that is both fun and colourful. A minor quibble with the book is the colour and choice of font, which is not an ideal pairing with the charming illustrations. Nevertheless, “Tom’s Tweet” is an excellent choice to introduce young readers to the concept of friendship. Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars
              Reviewer: Robert Desmarais

scholarly journals This is My Book! by M. Pett

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Eremenko
Keyword(s):  
Life Stories ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Real Life ◽  
The Other ◽  
Read Aloud ◽  
Master Plan ◽  
Main Character ◽  
Great Work ◽  
Small Children ◽  
Young Readers

Pett, Mark. This is My Book! Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2016. This simple children’s picture book written and illustrated by the self proclaimed “authorstrator”, Mark Pett, conveys a strong message about sharing to its 3-7 year old audience. The pristinely white pages are the backdrops to the author’s instructions on how to create a book. Pett skillfully poses himself as the main character, making it known that he is the boss of this great work of art and solely in charge of how to accomplish his goal. Of utmost importance, under his decree, is that the book itself needs to stay nice and clean, implying that whoever is reading it will look with their eyes and not with their hands. Ironically, this endeavor is virtually impossible when dealing with small children. In the durable pages meant for little hands, the desire for control exhibited by Mr. Pett, the main character, is evident. When he introduces a secondary character, Perfectly Polite Panda, who speaks up immediately professing that he prefers to be called Spike, mild irritation results as he sets out the other rules for creating his book. Unbeknownst to Mr. Pett, Polite Panda shows his creativity by drawing characters Pinky, Joe, Norbert and Squiggly on those pristine walls. As expected, Mr. Pett becomes very upset that his rules are not being followed. It is obvious he doesn’t like to share the spotlight and it is in this moment where Spike’s free-flowing actions start to unravel Mr. Pett’s master plan. The illustrations showcase Mr. Pett’s irritation and frustration which eventually lead to an all out temper tantrum with clenched fists and even jumping up and down. Undoubtedly, every child has felt these emotions and could identify with the main character. Both parents and their children could have fun in a read aloud mimicking, both in tone and action, how silly children and sometimes even adults can sound when they don’t get their way. “Why aren’t you listening to me?!” Mr. Pet pleads almost crying in exasperation while the other characters smile happily at the notion of using pop ups in his book. Providing flaps, pull tabs and pop-ups, much to the dismay of Mr. Pett, Spike gives the audience an opportunity to be interactive with the book itself, a feature many children will love. Experiencing a complete melt-down at the actions of Spike, Mr. Pett finally resolves to listen to him as he explains that the book really isn’t just his in the first place; rather, it’s everyone’s to enjoy and create. There is even a space at the back inviting the audience to practice his or her own creative drawing as well. Similar in messaging as Pett’s earlier work The Girl and The Bicycle, much can be learned from the company of others and a story needn’t contain a lot of words to accomplish this feat. Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Shannon EremenkoShannon is a Grade Six teacher in an Edmonton elementary school who loves to incorporate real life stories to make curriculum come alive in her classroom.

Effectiveness of partial French immersion for children from different social class and ethnic backgrounds

1987 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 137-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naomi E. Holobow ◽  
Fred Genesee ◽  
Wallace E. Lambert ◽  
Joseph Gastright ◽  
Myriam Met
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Social Class ◽  
Middle Class ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Immersion Experience ◽  
Language Tests ◽  
Class Background

ABSTRACTA program of partial (half-day) French immersion in the Cincinnati Public Schools was evaluated in the kindergarten year. The English and French language development of participating native English-speaking children from both working and middle class backgrounds was assessed. The results indicated, firstly, that the pupils who spent half of their academic time in a foreign language (French) progressed just as well in English as carefully matched control pupils who followed a conventional all-English program. Secondly, it was found that socioeconomically underprivileged children (both black and white) benefited from an immersion-type introduction to a foreign language as much as pupils from middle class homes did. The degree of progress made in French was not linked with the social class background of the pupils even though this background factor clearly affected the students' performance on the English language tests. These results suggest that the immersion experience may help to diminish the effects of social class background.

scholarly journals Producing bilinguals through immersion education: Development of metalinguistic awareness

2012 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELLEN BIALYSTOK ◽  
KATHLEEN F. PEETS ◽  
SYLVAIN MORENO
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Executive Control ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Developmental Differences ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Metalinguistic Awareness ◽  
Education Development ◽  
Immersion Education

ABSTRACTThis study examined metalinguistic awareness in children who were becoming bilingual in an immersion education program. The purpose was to determine at what point in emerging bilingualism the previously reported metalinguistic advantages appear and what types of metalinguistic tasks reveal these developmental differences. Participants were 124 children in second and fifth grades who were enrolled in either a French immersion or a regular English program. All children were from monolingual English-speaking homes and attended local public schools in middle socioeconomic neighborhoods. Measures included morphological awareness, syntactic awareness, and verbal fluency, with all testing in English. These tasks differed in their need for executive control, a cognitive ability that is enhanced in bilingual children. Overall, the metalinguistic advantages reported in earlier research emerged gradually, with advantages for tasks requiring more executive control (grammaticality judgment) appearing later and some tasks improving but not exceeding performance of monolinguals (verbal fluency) even by fifth grade. These findings demonstrate the gradual emergence of changes in metalinguistic concepts associated with bilingualism over a period of about 5 years. Performance on English-language proficiency tasks was maintained by French immersion children throughout in spite of schooling being conducted in French.

A Large Scale Program in French Immersion

1976 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Merrill Swain ◽  
Henri C. Barik
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Grade Level ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Immersion Program ◽  
Grade Levels ◽  
End Of Grade ◽  
English Language Skills

Abstract The school performance of pupils in Grades 1-3 of the French immersion program in operation in Ottawa public schools is evaluated in comparison with that of pupils in the regular English program. By the end of Grade I immersion program pupils taught reading in French lag behind their peers in the regular program in English language skills involving English reading, but they show some ability to transfer reading skills from French to English. By the end of Grade 2, following the introduction of English Language Arts into the curriculum for 60 minutes a day, immersion pupils still lag behind their regular program peers in most English language skills considered, although their level of performance is consistent with their grade level. By the end of Grade 3, immersion pupils match regular program pupils in all English language skills tested except spelling. At each grade level pupils in the two programs perform equivalently in mathematical skills and reveal similar IQ measures. Immersion pupils are more proficient in French than pupils of corresponding or higher grade levels receiving daily instruction in French as a second language, and do adequately in comparison with native French-speaking pupils.

scholarly journals Good Night Owl by G. Pizzoli

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Seiler
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
Visual Representation ◽  
Elementary Classroom ◽  
Good Night ◽  
Predictable Pattern ◽  
The Way

Pizzoli, Greg. Good Night Owl. Scholastic Inc., 2016.Good Night Owl, an illustrated picture book, is an easy read that will keep younger children looking for the mouse hiding in the pictures, and wondering what Owl will do next. The predictable pattern of Owl hearing a noise and then reacting to it continues throughout the story. These reactions quickly grow in severity, with Owl checking to see if it was the wind at the start, to tearing down the walls of the house with a sledge hammer at the end. When there are no more options for extreme reactions, Owl realizes that the noise wasn’t so bad after all and ends up going to sleep peacefully. The story begins with a calm and quiet tone, continues with progressive excitement, and finally ends with the same calmness of the beginning, lulling Owl to sleep. The cartoon-like illustrations enhance the story and text by giving the reader a visual representation of the emotions that Owl is experiencing. Children will easily be able to understand how Owl feels at each point of the story.Owl’s reactionary behaviour could be a good springboard in discussion to show the importance of thinking before acting. Though the consequences for Owl’s reactions are not mentioned (only briefly shown in the pictures as his house is destroyed), my children easily saw how these actions were not necessary, thought of what could have been done instead, and together we laughed a lot along the way. This is a wonderfully fun and easy read that would be a welcome addition to an elementary classroom or library.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Lisa SeilerLisa Seiler is a grade 4 teacher with Edmonton Public Schools and mother of two girls, aged 6 and 10 years.

scholarly journals In the Red Canoe by L. Davidson

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin Skow
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Elementary Education ◽  
Picture Book ◽  
French Immersion ◽  
Growing Up ◽  
University Of Alberta ◽  
Personal Connection ◽  
The Many ◽  
The University ◽  
Book Publishers

Davidson, Leslie A. In The Red Canoe, illustrated by Laura Bifano. Orca Book Publishers, 2016.“In the Red Canoe” is a fictional picture book written by Leslie A. Davidson and illustrated by Laura Bifano. This beautiful story takes place by a lakeside cottage and follows the magical exploration of nature by a grandfather and his grandchild. As they paddle along the lake in a red canoe, they are surrounded by the many delightful elements of nature including vibrant flowers, elusive frogs and soaring birds. Written in first person through the eyes of a young child, this book engages all readers who may have grown up with a family cottage and stimulates the curiosity of readers who may have not yet had the chance to explore nature.The poetic pattern of this text is presented in a smooth, rhythmic way. The descriptive language is delicate and the beauty of nature is captured through strong imagery. The author’s chosen words of “We don’t say much we mostly look” represent the magic of this book as the elegance of this story could have been depicted solely with the images.The vivid illustrations of this story capture the breathtaking scenery that exists in the outdoors and celebrate the personal connection of grandparent and grandchild through painted images of physical and emotional closeness. The pictures do not clearly specify the gender of the grandchild which make this story easy for most children to connect with.Highly Recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Kerstin SkowKerstin Skow is a grade 2 french immersion teacher with Edmonton Public Schools and is currently completing her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education at the University of Alberta. Kerstin was an avid reader growing up and enjoys fostering a love of reading in her students.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document