Wordless picture books April 7, 2008

I have never used wordless picture books in my class because I did not understand them.  I had no idea the purpose or intent for classroom use.  Boy do I feel like an idiot.  This is why I love learning new things.  I would never have thought to give a wordless picture book to a struggling reader so they could feel success.  I think that success is something we all need and this can give hope to those students that do not feel success in school. 

I also think that it is great for those struggling in writing.  This way they do not have to start from scratch but build on something concrete.  I know that in second grade my students are very concrete learners and this would just really excite them.  I can’t wait to try a wordless picture book in my classroom to write a story with.  I think it would be great to have several groups writing about the same book and when published compare the books and see how they had different things to say about the same book.  My second graders would love the challenge I think.