length and complexity of its sentences and the difficulty and number of syllables of
its words, you would see that most of these books are intended to be read to rather
than by young children (Chamberlain & Leal, 1999). However, a format specifically
designed to give beginning readers successful independent reading experiences
has the generic name easy-to-read books . Some publishers have their own trademarked
names for their easy-to-read series—for example, “I Can Read” and “Ready
to Read” books.
The uniqueness of easy-to-read books makes them simple to recognize. First,
because they are read independently by children, the books are smaller than regular
picture books. In addition, the pages look very different. The illustrations are
designed to give clues to the meanings of the words, but the pictures are smaller
and less profuse, allowing the text to take up a greater proportion of each page.
A liberal amount of white space is achieved by larger print, more space between
lines, and lines that end with the phrase rather than running flush to the right
margin. Perhaps the most significant characteristic of easy-to-read books is the restricted
vocabulary. Usually fewer than 250 different words appear in a book, and
these are arranged in short simple sentences, often with word patterns, repeated
text, and even rhyming lines to make decoding new words easier. The difficulty
of the vocabulary is also controlled, with the majority of the words having only
one syllable.
Beginning readers tire easily, and their comprehension is taxed when they
have to remember the plot of a book that they are not reading straight through.
Authors of many easy-to-read books take this into consideration and break their
books into separate stories or short episodic chapters. These books have a table
of contents with the title of each story or chapter. Young children gain experience
in using a table of contents, and they feel accomplishment in reading a book with
“chapters.” Young readers often call these “chapter books,” though they are more
aptly called transitional books because they are a bridge between picture books
and storybooks.
The history of this format is interesting. After twenty years of publishing picture
storybooks for children, Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) published the first easy-toread
book, The Cat in the Hat, in 1957. Else Holmelund Minarik’s Little Bear immediately
followed. Both authors wrote several sequels to those early books. Other authors
who have enjoyed great success with this format include Arnold Lobel with Frog and
Toad Are Friends and Cynthia Rylant with Henry and Mudge: The First Book of Their
Adventures . Both of these books were also followed by popular sequels.
The majority of the early easy-to-read books were animal fantasy, but they are
now available in all genres. Good stories, simple text, and well-matched illustrations
make these books appealing to beginning readers of all ages. Remember the 12-yearold
halfback from earlier in this chapter? At the beginning of the summer, he read
at the primer level; by the end of the summer, he could independently read the Frog
and Toad book he picked out the first day.
length and complexity of its sentences and the difficulty and number of syllables of
its words, you would see that most of these books are intended to be read to rather
than by young children (Chamberlain & Leal, 1999). However, a format specifically
designed to give beginning readers successful independent reading experiences
has the generic name easy-to-read books . Some publishers have their own trademarked
names for their easy-to-read series—for example, “I Can Read” and “Ready
to Read” books.
The uniqueness of easy-to-read books makes them simple to recognize. First,
because they are read independently by children, the books are smaller than regular
picture books. In addition, the pages look very different. The illustrations are
designed to give clues to the meanings of the words, but the pictures are smaller
and less profuse, allowing the text to take up a greater proportion of each page.
A liberal amount of white space is achieved by larger print, more space between
lines, and lines that end with the phrase rather than running flush to the right
margin. Perhaps the most significant characteristic of easy-to-read books is the restricted
vocabulary. Usually fewer than 250 different words appear in a book, and
these are arranged in short simple sentences, often with word patterns, repeated
text, and even rhyming lines to make decoding new words easier. The difficulty
of the vocabulary is also controlled, with the majority of the words having only
one syllable.
Beginning readers tire easily, and their comprehension is taxed when they
have to remember the plot of a book that they are not reading straight through.
Authors of many easy-to-read books take this into consideration and break their
books into separate stories or short episodic chapters. These books have a table
of contents with the title of each story or chapter. Young children gain experience
in using a table of contents, and they feel accomplishment in reading a book with
“chapters.” Young readers often call these “chapter books,” though they are more
aptly called transitional books because they are a bridge between picture books
and storybooks.
The history of this format is interesting. After twenty years of publishing picture
storybooks for children, Theodore Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) published the first easy-toread
book, The Cat in the Hat, in 1957. Else Holmelund Minarik’s Little Bear immediately
followed. Both authors wrote several sequels to those early books. Other authors
who have enjoyed great success with this format include Arnold Lobel with Frog and
Toad Are Friends and Cynthia Rylant with Henry and Mudge: The First Book of Their
Adventures . Both of these books were also followed by popular sequels.
The majority of the early easy-to-read books were animal fantasy, but they are
now available in all genres. Good stories, simple text, and well-matched illustrations
make these books appealing to beginning readers of all ages. Remember the 12-yearold
halfback from earlier in this chapter? At the beginning of the summer, he read
at the primer level; by the end of the summer, he could independently read the Frog
and Toad book he picked out the first day.
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..