Stories

The stories in the Big Book have bright illustrations with contexts that the children will recognise. Regardless of whether they understand every word, they will be able to follow the storyline. The teacher’s enthusiasm for reading is contagious. When you take out the Big Book, convey this excitement with your facial expressions and comments. You can use the story time chant to transition:

It’s story time, story time, open the Big Book and look inside. When reading the story, it’s okay to pause throughout and interact with the pupils. Point to pictures in the book to elicit vocabulary Oh, look! What’s this? to count items, identify shapes or invite pupils to repeat a word or phrase from the story when you point to them. If necessary, use L1. If the children identify a picture or concept in L1, nod your head for positive reinforcement and say the word in English. In Lesson 1, only one page of the story will be introduced so that teachers can draw attention to the vocabulary in a context. The children will be able to identify the illustrations with the flashcards that have been presented. You will also build anticipation for the new story, as the pupils will need to wait until the following lesson to see what will happen. In Lesson 2, the story will be read to the class. The teacher can read the story or use the audio track. Repeat or revisit the story a second time telling it in your own words. Begin to have the pupils identify shapes and colours in the illustrations, as well as feelings when possible. In Lesson 3, read the story again, or use the animated video. The pupils may be ready to repeat some of the lines or join in, saying some of the vocabulary. There is also a pop-out activity in this lesson. The pupils can use the pop-outs to act out the story. You can help them by modeling the story with pop-outs and having the pupils repeat after you, and later try it on their own. We want the pupils to show that they understood the story by recreating it, although they may use few English words, or none at all, to start out. In Lesson 6, we revisit the story to consolidate what we’ve learnt in the unit. The teacher can read the story again, watch the animated video and/or re-enact the story again with the pop-outs. The most important aspect of using the Big Book is to make it an engaging and comfortable experience!