A STORY BOOK without sentences seems to be a strange idea. One might initially perceive of these books as a bit of effort to understand. Yet these artistic, wordless masterpieces are a powerful tool in the development of language and literacy.
Through the illustrations, children follow the plot, the rise in conflict, and the resolution. They “read” the images and interpret the emotions of the characters. In this way, wordless picture books are universal; they can be read by all children and adults. They can be read by people of all languages. They build relationships between children as they develop the story together. Their pictures are open to interpretation and every person reads a wordless picture book in their own way.
Wordless picture books are excellent for non-readers, dual language readers, and especially struggling readers. The story is in the power of the observer. They don’t need to worry about words or sentence structure, just get lost in the world created through the illustrations.
In this course we give concrete examples of how to engage children in storytelling using open-ended questions related to images presented in the books.
We provide direction in creating literacy rich learning environments. In all of our classrooms we find (1) books in every learning center; (2) books are read in small groups to allow children to connect to the image and share their ideas; and (3) books drive the learning as we investigate life through projects.
In this course, we are not only reviewing wordless books but also showing teachers how to expand the learning with projects. We sprinkle in additional fiction and non-fiction books to extend the learning; providing guides and resources for teachers.
To learn more about this course please visit UDEMY.COM for affordable and enjoyable professional development:
Extraordinary Children’s Books: Wordless Picture Books 3 PDHs
Lehman, B. (2004). The Red Book. Clarion Books.
Raschka, C. (2015). A Ball for Daisy. Random House Studio.
Thomson, B. (2012). Chalk. Two Lions.
Weisner, D. (2011). Tuesday. Clarion Books.
