Submitted by Terry Weber, Amboy, Illinois
Idea posted January 5, 2010
A few years ago, my reading specialist asked me to make some books for the songs we sing. She had been to a conference on reading that had said this is a good way to get first graders reading since they already know the words from singing the song. Most of the books use Print Shop® for the pictures but for "A Hippo In My Locker" (from Music K-8, Vol. 13, No. 4), I had students bring in various toy animals and then took pictures of them in the places they were supposed to be. For "I Like The Colors Of The Fall" (from Music K-8, Vol. 18, No. 1), I took pictures of the trees in our area. I really found a "yurple!" The kids think these are great, and the first grade teachers use them as one of their stations for their reading time. I also use them in music class as we sing the songs.