This is a sample handout for a preschool storytime for children ages 4, 5 and 6 years old. Much of the wording and activities are borrowed from Saroj Nadkarni Ghoting and Pamela Martin-Diaz's book Early Literacy Storytimes @ your library and the ALA Every Child Ready to Read @ your library training manual. This sample was a handout from a preschool storytime at the Harrison County Public Library in Corydon, IN. Parents are not required to stay during the library's storytime. That is why the back of the double-sided handout is a take-home parent tip because most of the parents are not in the activity room during the storytime. These tips let the parents know what early literacy skill was featured during the storytime and how to make a connection at home. Most of the storytimes at HCPL include a craft or activity in addition to the stories, fingerplays and songs. Not all of the books included are read during each storytime. Books are selected based on the children present and their response to the material. For more information contact Alisa Burch, Youth Services Manager, Harrison County Public Library at aburch@hcpl.lib.in.us .
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How big is a dinosaur? Stretch up high, as high as the sky, We still can’t touch the dinosaur’s eye. Reach out wide, as far as you can The job’s too big, we need a new plan. Dinosaur, dinosaur Dino, dino, dino, dino dinosaur. Let’s join hands with some of our friends, We now can reach from end to end. Let’s lie down, side by side, This dinosaur is ten kids wide. Dinosaur, dinosaur Dino, dino, dino, dino dinosaur. Dig for Dinosaurs (tune of What Shall We Do with the Drunken Sailor) Let’s dig, dig, dig for dino Dig, dig, dig for dino Dig, dig, dig for dino Dig for dinosaurs! Dino-Pokey Put your claws in. Put your claws out. Put your claws in and scratch them all about. Do the “dino-pokey” and turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about. Put your teeth in. Put your teeth out. Put your teeth in and chomp them all about. Put your feet in. Put your feet out. Put your feet in and stomp them all about. Put your tail in. Put your tail out. Put your tail in and wag it all about. Bringing Home a Baby Dinosaur Oh, I’m bringing home a baby dinosaur. Won’t my mommy fall right through the floor? Cause I’m bringing home a baby dinosaur. ROAR!!! Boy, is he noisy! |
Tyrannosaurus We’d better hide or run away, Tyrannosaurus comes this way. He’s looking hungry, fierce and mean, We might escape if we’re not seen. Let’s crouch down low here by the fern He might just go and not return. But on he comes, he’s so nearby! Let’s hold our breath and close our eyes. Oh, look at the powerful legs and claws, And worse, the awesome teeth and jaws! He’s passed us now and goes downhill, But don’t move yet, stay very still. Ah, whew! At last he’s gone away To hunt some other place today.
Ten Huge Dinosaurs 10 huge dinosaurs were standing in a line. 1 tripped on a cobblestone and then there were- 9 huge dinosaurs were trying to skate. 1 cracked right through the ice and then there were- 8 huge dinosaurs were counting past 11. 1 counted up too far, and then there were- 7 huge dinosaurs learned some magic tricks, 1 did a disappearing act and then there were- 6 huge dinosaurs were learning how to drive. 1 forgot to put in gas, so then there were – 5 huge dinosaurs joined the drum corps. 1 forgot the drumstick and then there were – 4 huge dinosaurs were wading in the sea. 1 waded out too far and then there were – 3 huge dinosaurs looked for me and you. 1 gave up the search and then there were – 2 huge dinosaurs went to the Amazon. 1sailed up to his head, and then there was – 1 lonesome dinosaur knew his friends had gone He found a big museum and then there were none |
Parent Tip Take-Home – Phonological Awareness
Phonological awareness involves understanding that words are made up of smaller sounds. When they have this skill, children are able to think about how words sound, separate from what they mean.
Today at the Library…
we played around with words and their sounds by segmenting words, or breaking them into their syllables. Playing with words this way now will help your child later in school when he or she has to break words into syllables as a way of decoding words. Clapping out the parts of words is one way to help your child hear the parts or words.
Try to clap out the syllables of dinosaur names. For example, T- Rex would have two claps, Ty-ran-no-sau-rus would have five!
Here are some other dinosaur names to try…
Steg-o-sau-rus I-gua-no-don
Tri-cer-a-tops Di-plo-do-cus
A-pat-o-sau-rus Al-lo-sau-rus
An-ky-lo-sau-rus Bra-chi-o-sau-rus
Child’s Name-o-sau-rus
Here are some fun fiction dinosaur books to share with your child…
Big Old Bones by Carol Carrick
Bones, Bones, Dinosaur Bones by Byron Barton
Dinosaur Bones by Aliki
Dinosaur Roar! by Paul & Henrietta Stickland
Harry and the Dinosaurs… series by Ian Whybrow
How Do Dinosaurs…series by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
Patrick’s Dinosaurs and What Happened to Patrick’s Dinosaurs? by Carol Carrick
T is for Terrible by Peter McCarty
Whatever Happened to the Dinosaurs? by Bernard Most
In addition there are many non-fiction dinosaur books in the 567 Dewey range.
Reading dinosaur books may introduce your child to new vocabulary words. The more words kids know; the better off they will be when they learn to read. Research tells us that it is easier to read a word that you have already heard. You can use books to help expand your child’s vocabulary. Look for words that have the same meaning, or are synonyms. You can also look at words that are opposites, or antonyms.