How do children learn new words? Either by hearing them or seeing them. For an early reader or a child who cannot yet read, hearing a word is a crucial part of learning that word. Hearing a new word through repetition is how we learn.
By reading aloud often enough to a child we expose them to more and more new words. By providing them a rich vocabulary of words, when they are eventually ready to read on their own they will draw on this repository of words to make sense of what they have read. The richer the vocabulary a child has been exposed to, the better their listening and reading comprehension.
Kids have many different learning styles. Some are "visual" learners, other "auditory" learners and some "tactile" learners. With this playlist, you can hear the words, see the words, and also use my book with these same stories to “touch” the words "Mrs. P's Four Favorite Fairy Tales & Funny Stories".
I love to engage children at the beginning by looking at the book cover and asking them “What do you think this story is about?” And after reading to a child, asking them open-ended questions to encourage discussion and help them focus on the details of a book. Relating to them on a personal level “Have you ever felt like…” is another great way to aid in comprehension. Have them take my free reading challenge quiz on these stories and “win a pot of gold”.
Here is my video playlist of these 4 stories that "show" the words.
My 4 Favorite Stories Learning Guide Questions:
Jack and the Beanstalk by Joseph Jacobs
- Who is your favorite character and why?
- Why did Jack trade his family’s cow for some beans? Do you think it was a good trade?
- What character traits does Jack have?
- Is Jack honest with his mother?
- Why did Jack steal from the ogre? Is it ever OK to steal?
- Write an alternate ending to this story
The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen
- How does the author make his point that vanity is foolish?
- The Emperor’s obsession (an unreasonable preoccupation with something) was clothes. If you could give him some advice about his obsession what would it be?
- Why do you think the emperor continued to walk even after he realized he was wearing nothing?
- The word magnificent is used in the story, can you write a sentence using this word and also think of other words that have a similar meaning?
- How does the theme “Honesty is the best policy” fit the story?
- What is the moral of the story?
The Frog Prince by The Brother’s Grimm
- How did the Prince turn into a frog?
- How many nights did the frog sleep in the castle?
- Do you think the King was right in making the Princess keep the promise she made to the frog?
- Have you ever made a promise you couldn’t keep, write about it.
- What can we learn from this story?
Sleeping Beauty by The Brother’s Grimm
- This version by the Brother’s Grimm is sometimes referred to as “Briar Rose”, why do you think that may be the case?
- Are there other fairy tales you can think of that have a similar theme?
- Have you heard other versions of this story? Why do stories ofter change over time?
- Re-write the ending of the story.
- Write your own Fairy Tale. Use your own characters and include magic and struggles between good and evil.
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