GOING ON A PATTERN HUNT: An Extension Activity for GOODNIGHT, ARK

Teachers and Parents:  This is the first in a series I will be posting especially for you.

Going on a PATTERN Hunt

An Extension Activity for Pre-Readers (and Emergent-Readers too!)

Seeing and recognizing patterns are important skills for pre-readers. They lay the ground work for understanding words and stories. With that in mind, here are some fun pattern-related activities you and your child might enjoy after reading “Goodnight, Ark”.

Picture Patterns: Each page of “Goodnight, Ark” is full colors and patterns. Colors alternate.  Shapes are repeated (ex: round apples, crescent-shaped bananas, rectangular netting). Stripes and dots abound.  Look carefully, and you’ll even find swirls. As you explore Jane’s wonderful illustrations, see how many visual patterns you and your child can find. Afterwards, grab crayons and paper and make your own patterns.  Or go on a pattern hunt around your house looking for fun visual patterns in curtains, plants, tiles etc.

Text Patterns: The text, too, is patterned visually. Pre-readers might enjoy examining the lay out of words. With your child, notice how the text is clumped into verses. Count how many lines are in each verse (four) and note that this is a repeating pattern throughout the story.

Sound Patterns: When you read the story aloud you’ll note that the sounds of the words form their own patterns as well. With your child, listen for sound patterns. Each verse contains rhyming words at the end of the 2nd and 4th lines (ex: dash/crash, slide/glide). There are also words that repeat one right after the other (ex: rain/rain, pop/pop ping/ping).  Another pattern young listeners might notice are the repeating beginning sounds in within some lines (ex: zip/zing, squee/squee/squawk!). After exploring these various sound patterns, you and your child might enjoy making a game of creating your own sound patterns using rhyme, repetition, and alliteration.

NOTE: This activity was first featured on the terrific preschool blog, Our Out-of-Sync Life.