STORYTELLING

BROWN BEAR, BROWN BEAR. WHAT DO YOU SEE?

After watching the video of the story "Brown Bear, Brown Bear. What do you see?" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8M2TvyR3_XE), my group (called English Pitinghlish) have answered the following questions, related to the story and the storytelling. These are our answers:

1. Why is this an appropriate story to read with both preschool and primary children? Give at least three different reasons.

Because during the reading there are questions to predict the story, which is a method of motivating our students and making sure they are all listening. Moreover, because the story uses a technique of repetition to reassure that children understand what the book is asking for. In addition, the way in which it is written lets us exaggerate the key words by acting out and it is also helpful to guide the reading. And finally, it is appropriate because the fact that every animal and colour is repeated at the end of the story allows children to remember more easily what they have just learnt.

 

2. How would you use this story with your students? Think of two before reading activities, two during reading activities and two after reading activities that you could do with your students if you read this story in class.

 

Before reading:

These activities would be both related to aspects of the cover of the book. The first one would be asking questions to the pupils about the things they can see on the cover in order to illicit their previous knowledge. And the second activity would be encouraging the students to tell what they think that may happen in the book, just looking at its cover.

 

During reading: 

The activities thought to do during the reading try to motivate children to follow the story and to reassure that they are actually listening. The first one would be acting out the key words and encouraging the pupils to do it at the same time. And the second one would be asking questions about the content, to see if the children understand the vocabulary and the different colours in order to scaffold the comprehension of the story.

 

After reading: 
These two activites would be useful to check that the pupils have understood the content of the story and are able to use the words that they have learnt. The first one would be encouraging the group to remember the animals and their colours. Finally, the second activity would be asking them to draw an animal and paint it with a colour; then they could write a sentence or just tell what they have drawn following the structure of the story.

 

3. What age and grade would your students be?

 

They would probably be preschool children (3 to 5-year-old kids) or pupils from first grade of Primary Education (6 or 7-year-old kids).

 

4. What language objectives would you have for this story?

 

 

- To improve the English pronunciation.

- To learn more vocabulary related to animals and colours.

- To know the adjective order in a phrase.

- To introduce the W- questions. 

 

5. Find one other story written by either Eric Carle or Bill Martin Jr. that you could also use with your students. 

 

- The mixed up chamaleon, to practice with vocabulary related to animals and the colours.

- The very hungry caterpillar, to practice with vocabulary related to food, numbers and the days of the week.
- Polar bear, polar bear, what do you hear?, to practice with vocabulary related to animals and the sounds that they make.
- Today is monday, to practice with vocabulary related to food, the days of the week, and also to encourage memorizing.