Students in our morning reading group continue selecting books based on their background knowledge (schema) – realizing that they will have a better chance of connecting to a book when they have some shared experiences with the theme/topic of the book.

Students quickly selected three books from a huge selection of picture books. Then they ordered their choices #1, #2, #3 . Why did they choose the book they did as their first choice? After reading, students then shared any text to self or text to text connections.

Some book selections:

Gary chose The story of GROWL by Judy Horacek. Why was this his first choice? “Sometimes I growl when I’m angry. It makes me feel like a monster.”

After reading the book, did he have any connections?

“I used to hop, skip and jump around my garden. Sometimes I growl for fun. My Dad told me to stop growling because it’s loud. But I still was growling! I stopped one day.”

Lisa read Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse by Rebecca Janni. Why was this her first choice? “I know that if a horse wants to say hi, they rub their noses together. I learned that in a chapter book.”

After reading, what were her connections?

“It was easy to connect to this book because at home when I’m riding my bike, I reel like I’m riding a horse with the wind blowing in my hair like the girl in the story.”

Jenny chose to read Little Raccoon’s Big Question written by Miriam Schlien and illustrated by Ian Schoenherr. This book is all about a little raccoon wanting reassurance about his mother’s love. Jenny chose to read it because: “When I was little I saw a raccoon.  I know a lot about what raccoons do and they are one of my favourite animals.”

Her connections were about much more than what she knows about raccoons.

“When I was little I was thinking how much my mom loves me most. I was thinking does she love me when I eat, sleep or play with her.”

Josiah picked the book Big Smelly Bear by Britta Teckentrup. Why was this his first choice? “Everytime I go to my Mom’s home town, I always see bears and flies buzzing around.”

After reading, what connections did he have?

“When the big fluffy bear scratched the big smelly bear, I connected to it because I always see bears scratching trees and each other on the way to my Mom’s hometown Port Hardy. It is so fun there because I see my uncles, aunties and the big bears.”

Isn’t it great that there are so many picture books out there to interest everyone?