Rhyming books

1) Book title: My Father Knows the Names of Things

2) APA Citation:

Yolen, J. (2010). My Father Knows the Names of Things. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's

Publishing.

3) ISBN #: 978-1-4169-4895-7

4) This story is about a boy and his father who go on a variety of adventures together. A great emphasis is placed on the father’s knowledge of the names of different things. For instance, the book contains a variety of mixed illustrations that go hand in hand with the different themes that are presented. For instance, the book discusses themes such as the names of planets, birds, dogs, cheese, bugs, fish, flowers, human bones, cats, candies and even dinosaurs. The colourful pictures also make it engaging for children to use their imagination when naming different concepts that have been described in the book.

5) I definitely feel that this book is appropriate for children aged three to five years. I think the vocabulary is appropriate however, it really makes children think about how to sort and classify different categories and concepts. Each page has about one to three lines of print that is placed in different parts of each page to match the powerful illustrations. This book will definitely keep the children interested because they can question whether they themselves know about the names of different things. They can also ask questions which further promotes their curiosity.

6) The illustrations in this book are what drew my attention to it in the first place. They appear to be carefully sketched and painted with vibrant colours that are appropriate for each theme. Overall, they seem to evoke a mood of wonder and curiosity that can really get children excited about learning in general. I feel that the beauty of this book lies in the fact that it has so many extensions that can be pulled out of it based on each theme. Educators can read this book to their students for a really long time.

7) Provocations:

In order to build background knowledge and provoke interest in the children, I could blow up a picture of the illustration on the title page and have it laminated. I could then place it in a visible spot in the classroom. This gives children an opportunity to examine who is in the picture and ask questions about their relationship. For example, are they father and son? Children would also be encouraged to ask a variety of questions about anything that comes to mind and gather all their “wonders” together as a class.

Another way to provoke interest could be to take a concept from the book, such as pictures of different types of birds and hang from the ceiling all over the classroom. This also encourages children to ask questions and build background knowledge about a particular topic. For example, they may wonder why each bird looks so different. They can also discuss where they think different types of birds live, i.e. the rainforest, jungle etc.

8) Possible ways to present the story:

Felt story: I could use a huge black felt board and add different felt pieces to portray the different characters and themes in the story. For instance, each theme can have its own set of felt pieces that teach a child about the names of different birds, planets, dogs, insects, fish, flowers, human bones, dinosaurs etc. The beauty of a felt story is that it can truly expand on the powerful illustrations in the book so that children have a great visual to relate to. The materials can be purchased from Michaels, 3H Craftworks society, or even local dollar stores.

Magnet board: The idea of emphasizing the different themes in relation to each character’s thoughts and feelings is similar to the way it is presented in the felt board. I could stick magnets at the back of each object and focus on other adjectives such as big, small, large, tiny etc. This is a great way to expand the children’s vocabulary and still use their imagination at the same time.

Story basket: This basket could be called the “magic basket” which is full of wonders about the names and properties of different things. It also promotes curiosity because children will wonder what you are going to pull out next in relation to a particular theme. For instance, with the concept of fish, there could be fish in a variety of sizes and colours.

Reading the book: When reading the book out loud, I would definitely chunk it by using sticky notes after each theme has been discussed. It would be interesting to hear what the children are curious about and want to learn more of. For example, I would stop at a page which states, “He knows which flowers are the tallest, And which beetles are the smallest”. I would encourage the children to stop and wonder what height flowers can really grow until. We can also try to name the tiniest bugs that come to mind.

9) Possible extensions for learning: The great thing about this book is that it provides endless opportunities for extensions. For instance, a teacher can pick a certain theme and carry it out for an entire month.

Dramatic play: A way to emphasize a theme such as the different types of fish could be to let the children pick a fish they are fascinated by and try to act like their chosen fish. They can imagine what it would be like to swim in the ocean, what that particular fish likes to eat, how they interact with their friends etc.

Science experiment: Children can conduct a science experiment to learn about the different sizes of flowers. At the same time, they can also learn how plants grow by examining how it grows from a tiny seed and blossoms into a beautiful flower. Teachers can place small jars and let the children place a seed inside. They can look after it and see how this transformation occurs and notice how long it takes to happen. This also provides children with a sense of ownership over a particular activity.

Songs: Children can learn the names of different types of bugs through a naming song. Each child can pick a bug that interests them and add it to the song. This can be done as a group activity for the whole class.

Discussion: Group participation can be encouraged in terms of enabling each child to pick a theme that interested them the most. They can then decide as a class, what they would like to learn about next and gather all their wonders and curiosities about that topic. For example, they could learn about naming planets and have an entire unit on space. They can then pretend to be astronauts in space discovering a new planet. I definitely think children would be excited to share their ideas with other and learn new things at the same time.