Take a Picture Book Walk...

...and help children learn important early literacy skills - especially background knowledge and vocabulary!

A Picture Book Walk helps develop your children's language and pre-reading skills. Have a conversation with your child around a book before you read it. Talk about the pictures keeping in mind what is needed to understand the story when it is read.

• A Picture Book Walk is not reading the book: it's talking about the pictures - getting to know the book together

• A Picture Book Walk works best with books that have a predictable sequence or story.

• When using this reading technique, speak in the language that is most comfortable for YOU!

What to Do:

• Look at the cover.

• Point to and say name of author and title.

• Looking at the cover, ask your child what he thinks the book will be about.

• Without reading the words in the book, encourage your child to turn the pages one at a time.

• Point to a picture and ask "what" questions

  •   What do you see on this page?

  •   What is happening?

  •   What is this picture telling you?

  •   What do you think will happen?

• When you talk about the pictures

  •   Take turns talking

  •   Introduce new words; explain what they mean

  •   Add a bit more information to what your child says

  •   Rephrase what your child says adding more words or ideas

  •   Help your child make connections to past experiences and future events.
    Examples:

    • When did you  . . . ?

    •   How did you feel when. . . ?

    •   How would you feel if . . . ?

• Guide your child so he will understand the story

  •  What words might he need to know?

  •  What does he need to know to understand the story?

Guidelines from: Saroj Ghoting, www.earlylit.net