Guest Author - Diane Claus

The Shared Reading set focuses on four nursery rhymes that are familiar to all children. Each rhyme has a large poster with the rhyme written out, removable picture clings, four illustrated storybooks, four cards that can be used to retell the story and a CD that has the rhymes put to music.

The posters are written out in large easy to see type with the words large enough to draw the child’s attention to the individual words without visually overwhelming them.

The clings are large enough to completely cover the words and small enough so that they do not interfere with the other words on the poster. The pictures on the clings are pulled directly from the books. The only problem was that they were a bit difficult to take off of the poster and the children had a few problems handling them.

The books use a large simple font for the words. The pictures directly relate to the words on the page and are simple with the subjects large and background details kept simple. The books are perfect for preschools to follow along with the story.

The CD’s appeal to children with its unique rap format and its use of cloze procedure to encourage participation. Cloze procedure leaves out words and the children fill in the words.

The retelling cars are taken directly from the story and can be used to help reinforce the story or to teach sequencing.

The four rhymes that are the focus of the shared reading set.

Jack and Jill
Humpty Dumpty
Little Boy Blue
Hey Diddle Diddle

I felt the set was extremely well designed. A child who is familiar with the rhyme will be able to deduce what the poster says if the clings are on it.

When I pulled the Humpty Dumpty poster out of the box my son recognized the pictures as Humpty Dumpty and “read” the poster. Not only did he enjoy being able to “read” the rhyme he was willing to spend an hour learning what the other posters were and having me read him the books. There are very few things that he will devote his full attention to for an extended period of time.

The Shared reading set is beautifully designed and would be a great addition to any classroom.

For more information checkout Shared Reading Set