Angela Burns’ East Oakview Elementary K-4 classroom for students with special needs wrapped up a three-week unit on all things Three Little Pigs by acting out the classic nursery rhyme.
“Reading like a storyteller is an ongoing goal for my readers,” Burns said. “This activity allows them to retell the story using props and vocabulary from the story. Being able to retell the story with success gives my students confidence as readers and engages them in literacy.”
Burns uses the Read It Once Again curriculum she acquired a few years ago, thanks to a grant from the Northview Education Foundation.
“The basis of the curriculum is to do repeated readings of familiar stories to support language and reading comprehension,” she explained. “We use an anchor book — usually a nursery rhyme — and then fractured or similar versions of that book and read them for three weeks.” Reading, writing, and even math lessons all had a Three Little Pigs theme.
“I love hearing the kids use their storyteller voices to retell,” Burns said. “Hearing their big bad wolf voice when they say, ‘I’ll huff and I’ll puff!’ cracks me up. The confidence and joy for reading that the kids have while they do it makes my day.”
