Teaching Reading to Young
Learners
Serena Chu
English Language Fellow
Universidad Autonoma de San
Luis Potosi
Some problems with reading and
young learners
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Read too slowly
Don’t have enough vocabulary
Get frustrated
Bored
Would rather watch TV or play video games
So…
How do we get children excited about reading?
Teaching Reading to Young
Learners
• Get students involved—make the reading
relevant to them!
• Use art, music, drama, and dance
• Connect reading to other skills
• Read to them
• Give them opportunities to love reading
Getting children involved
• Mini-books
• Sequencing stories
• Reading to children
• Activities
Making Words
G
I
N
G
E R B R
E
A
Form new words:
ginger
read
man
hand
thing
dear
beat
the
bread
ran
D
M
A N
I’m the Gingerbread Man
I’m the Gingerbread Man and I’m here to say,
You can’t catch me, no not today.
I’ve run away from a big brown horse,
And I can run from you of course, of course.
I took a ride on the sly fox’s back.
He ate me up for a tasty snack.
Yum! Yum!
Gingerbread Man Recipe
Ingredients:
¾ cup Crisco shortening (not oil)
1 cup light brown sugar
¼ cup molasses
1 egg
2 ¼ cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
Gingerbread Man Recipe
Mix all items. Refrigerate overnight. Form small balls (about 4
cm. diameter) to give to each child, so they can shape it into a man or
woman. If they don’t use it all, they can make cookies with it. Add
M & M’s for facial features.
Spray Pam on individual pieces of foil that have been “wadded
up” and then smoothed out. Write each student’s name on the foil with
a permanent marker.
Bake for 10 mins. at 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
After the gingerbreads cool, use colored frosting to decorate around
the edges. Students can use plastic sandwich bags with holes cut in the
corner. They can use cream cheese frosting from a can.
Gingerbread Man Fingerplay and
Chant
Five little gingerbread men lying on a tray,
One jumped up and ran away.
Shouting, “Catch me, catch me, catch me if you
can…
I run really fast, I’m a gingerbread man!
(Repeat with four, three, two, one…)
Gingerbread Man Fingerplay and
Chant, con’t.
No more gingerbread men lying on a tray,
They all jumped up and ran away.
Oh, how I wish they had stayed with me to
play.
Next time I’ll eat them before they run away!
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• Sequencing cards
• Video: Reading and asking reading aloud
questions
Egg carton caterpillar and
caterpillar magnet
Coffee filter butterflies
• Color the coffee filters with markers
• Place on brown paper and spray with water
• Squish and tie filters together with pipe cleaners or use a
clothespin and stick on eyes
The Very Hungry Student
(name of student)
On Monday, ___________
ate
(one apple)
______________.
On Tuesday, he/she ate
(two pancakes)
__________________.
Life cycle of a butterfly
paper bag
button
green fuzzy balls
• You can do this on a paper plate
tissue paper
Song (sung to the tune of
Addams’ family)
Refrain:
My tummy is fat (snap snap)
I like it like that (snap snap)
I wiggle around,
I jiggle around,
My tummy is fat (snap snap)
Song (sung to the tune of
Addams’ family)
I’m a hairy caterpiller
I’m such a chubby feller
I love to eat and eat,
Those leaves are such a treat!
*Back to refrain
The Little Caterpillar (to the
tune of Itsy Bitsy Spider)
The little caterpillar climbed up into a tree (climb fingers)
Spun his cocoon and slept so quietly (spin hands and sleep)
All through the winter he didn’t make a sound (shake head no
with finger in front of lips)
He dreamt of his new life when he’d be flying around (pretend
to sleep)
The Little Caterpillar, con’t.
While he was sleeping the snow did gently fall (fingers
wiggle down)
Winter came and went then he heard the robin’s call: “Come
on Mr. Butterfly, out of your cocoon! (hand to mouth and
shout)
Spread your wings and fly for me while I sing my tune.”
(spread arms and wave)
What can parents and
teachers do?
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Read to your children
Take your children to the library
Give them books as gifts
Encourage with stickers or other rewards
Ask them questions when reading to them
(read aloud)
What can parents and
teachers do?
• Have students retell story after you’ve read it
to them
• Integrate reading with other skills: art,
science, math, speaking, and writing
Other ideas for teaching
reading:
 Have students act out parts of the book
 Characterization: draw characters in groups
 Listen to books on tape
 Reading circles