Repetitive Sentences vs. An Interesting Storyline

Use this forum to discuss the July 2018 Book of the Month "Toni the Superhero" by R.D. Base
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holsam_87
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Re: Repetitive Sentences vs. An Interesting Storyline

Post by holsam_87 »

Britty01 wrote: 07 Jul 2018, 18:54
holsam_87 wrote: 01 Jul 2018, 17:40 This book is geared more towards emergent readers so the repetitive sentences work best. Kids could also guess what is happening based on the pictures. I also noticed that a lot of the words were simple with the cvc form which refers to consonant, vowel, and consonant. Using those words reinforces sight words for beginning readers.
Well put. The target audience is 0 - 4 years, so I felt it was appropriate for that age group.
Thanks, I have background in Reading Education, so I figured I could apply that here.
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Post by prinjeh18 »

Repetitive sentences can help young beginners as parents guide them to say those words over and over again. My young kids love those words and remember it easily like " terrific".
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Post by Storm+ »

A plot might have made this story more interesting for older readers, but this book is clearly not meant for older readers. This book is meant for children who are just beginning to read, and repetition makes it easier for younger kids to learn and memorize new words. Further, there is a lot of variety in the activities Toni does rather than a plot, but I see this as a strength. If the story was read by a child with a small vocabulary and that child learned the words within it, it might be problematic for that child only to have a vocabulary relating to helping with the dishes or playing a game with friends. The diversity of the activities Toni engages in helps broaden a child's vocabulary while remaining simple enough to facilitate learning, which I find important.
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Post by PABS »

DorcasToo wrote: 01 Jul 2018, 23:49 The traditional storyline isn't as effective as this repetitive style. A child will easily relate to a word they have seen repeatedly. Enhancing their mastery and understanding. I think this is what the author intended to achieve.
I agree. I think that the author's goal is to teach, and so the repetition is necessary. And I think children will still enjoy the book. I remember that my son loved Go, Dog. Go!, which relies heavily on repetition.
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Post by DorcasToo »

PABS wrote: 08 Jul 2018, 19:06
DorcasToo wrote: 01 Jul 2018, 23:49 The traditional storyline isn't as effective as this repetitive style. A child will easily relate to a word they have seen repeatedly. Enhancing their mastery and understanding. I think this is what the author intended to achieve.
I agree. I think that the author's goal is to teach, and so the repetition is necessary. And I think children will still enjoy the book. I remember that my son loved Go, Dog. Go!, which relies heavily on repetition.
I can totally see a kid relate with that :techie-studyingbrown:
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ZenaLei7 wrote: 01 Jul 2018, 12:04 I don't think having plots in a children's book, especially one that is a picture book, is important at all since the main purpose of a children's book is for kids to learn how to read. I think kids would enjoy reading books that are colorful and simple to read.
I agree with you when it comes to beginning reader books. Beyond that level, a plot may be helpful.
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Post by Christina Rose »

holsam_87 wrote: 01 Jul 2018, 17:40 This book is geared more towards emergent readers so the repetitive sentences work best. Kids could also guess what is happening based on the pictures. I also noticed that a lot of the words were simple with the cvc form which refers to consonant, vowel, and consonant. Using those words reinforces sight words for beginning readers.
Thanks for bringing up the cvc form. I wasn't aware of it before. Now that you've mentioned it, I can see how the form is being used quite often in childrens books and learning activities.
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Post by Christina Rose »

Mjgarrison wrote: 02 Jul 2018, 01:14 As a preschool teacher I have noticed that a young child would rather read a book with repetitive text and coinciding visual cues because it allows them to actually read a book before they have all of the skills to otherwise do so. A book that is more plot based is fun for them to have someone read to them, but most of the time until they are 5 or 6 years of age they won’t to be able to read them.
It's nice to get the opinion of a preschool teacher. Your points make sense, and it sounds like the author was pretty spot on with the repetitive nature of this book.
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Post by Christina Rose »

I don't think the storyline is as important as the repetition of words for the target age group. Simplicity and repetition is important when learning to read. I also think that the illustrations are key to keeping a child's attention at this age. Plots don't really factor in until the focus switches from learning to read to reading comprehension.
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Post by julessawyer »

Repetitive sentences are good for familiarization stage and from that it can proceed to a more difficult vocabulary in the subsequent books. The first book was introductory so it was like a getting to know stage of the main protagonist. A good story line will also be good although kids in this age group tend to focus on the illustration more and how entertaining it is. :)
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Post by Jerry Ekid »

Repetitive Sentences vs. An
Interesting Storyline.
Two different things but can work together to make a perfect story.
Most times the Interesting Storyline is more important than the Repetitive Sentence.
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Post by holsam_87 »

Christina Rose wrote: 09 Jul 2018, 05:04
holsam_87 wrote: 01 Jul 2018, 17:40 This book is geared more towards emergent readers so the repetitive sentences work best. Kids could also guess what is happening based on the pictures. I also noticed that a lot of the words were simple with the cvc form which refers to consonant, vowel, and consonant. Using those words reinforces sight words for beginning readers.
Thanks for bringing up the cvc form. I wasn't aware of it before. Now that you've mentioned it, I can see how the form is being used quite often in childrens books and learning activities.
Thanks, I learned about it college and I have seen it in use for children in Kindergarten. A lot of words were also sight words, so its good practice for kids to start using them early on.
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Post by Christina Rose »

holsam_87 wrote: 09 Jul 2018, 21:22
Christina Rose wrote: 09 Jul 2018, 05:04
holsam_87 wrote: 01 Jul 2018, 17:40 This book is geared more towards emergent readers so the repetitive sentences work best. Kids could also guess what is happening based on the pictures. I also noticed that a lot of the words were simple with the cvc form which refers to consonant, vowel, and consonant. Using those words reinforces sight words for beginning readers.
Thanks for bringing up the cvc form. I wasn't aware of it before. Now that you've mentioned it, I can see how the form is being used quite often in childrens books and learning activities.
Thanks, I learned about it college and I have seen it in use for children in Kindergarten. A lot of words were also sight words, so its good practice for kids to start using them early on.
Thanks. I'll keep a look out for words like that when picking out books for my youngest. I may buy or make some flashcards with pictures as well. :)
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Post by holsam_87 »

That's a great idea, good luck.
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Post by NL Hartje »

I really feel like it depends on the age of the child. If we're talking about a tot who needs to be read to, then yes, the one action per page seems incredibly appropriate.

However, I definitely think reading age children are often undersold. They enjoy stories as much as adults. I think there could have been more plot development and cause/effect reasoning.
“So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.”
-Dr. Seuss
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