This week we are giving Gulf Weekly BookClub members the opportunity to check out books designed by educational expertsto help parents support their child’s development as a reader … and walk awaywith a prize, courtesy of The Bookcase!
The suggested titles will also complementwhat children are learning at school and come from three major reading schemes- The Oxford Reading Tree, Letterland and Jolly Phonics.
READERS: Guess who Bertie Book’s favouriteLetterland character is and win a free copy of the Letterland Cookbook. Emailyour answer by Sunday at noon to editor@gulfweekly.com and the first correctentry drawn will win the prize. Normal GulfWeekly competition rules apply. Theeditor’s decision is final.
BOOK OF THE WEEK with Linda Jennings. ReadWith Biff, Chip & Kipper, First Stories Pack, Christopher Brickell, RoderickHunt,
Isbn 9780192739568 (Oxford UniversityPress) BD20 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members
This is one of the most popular homereading series, based on the Oxford Reading Tree, which is used to teachreading in 80 per cent of primary schools in the UK and Bahrain.
This range of books has inspired a love ofreading in more than 30 million children worldwide and will give your ownchildren everything they need to reinforce the skills taught at school byintroducing new readers to common words and everyday language.
This pack (which has been speciallyproduced to be used at home by parents) contains 16 First Stories at Levels 1-4to help young readers practice their reading skills. It is part of the verylarge range of the Oxford Reading Scheme which is kept in stock at The Bookcasefor schools and parents alike.
So read along and follow the adventures asyour child progresses from the very first Level 1 books (getting ready to read)the Level 4 (developing as a reader).
With lively stories and humorous illustrations,each book includes tips for parents and fun activities for children toconsolidate their learning and is being sold at less than half price to GulfWeekly Book Club members.
READ IT NOW IN PAPERBACK
Letterland Cookbook, Lisa Holt, Isbn978186099159 (Letterland) BD3.900 for Gulf Weekly Book Club members.
Letterland, for those of you who may notknow, is a unique, phonics-based approach to teaching reading, writing andspelling to 3-8 year olds.
The Letterland characters transform plain blackletter shapes into child-friendly pictograms and they all live in an imaginaryplace called Letterland.
Each character has its own song and I havenever come across an easier way to learn the alphabet which then develops intoa full reading and grammar scheme.
Simple stories about the Letterlandcharacters, explain the full range of dry phonics facts so that children aremotivated to listen, to think and to learn. These stories explain letter soundsand shapes, allowing children to progress quickly to word-building, reading andwriting.
Apart from educational materials forschool, this reading scheme probably has the best range of supplementarymaterials to use at home from a very early age, including jigsaws, DVDs, games,CDs and even a cookery book.
TheLetterland A-Z Cookbook is bursting with natural ingredients (and vocabulary)while featuring all the wonderful Letterland alphabet characters. So cook yourway from Annie Apple’s Happy Apples to Zig Zag Zebra’s Zesty Zooms!
The simple recipes teach basic cookeryskills, introduce children to new vocabulary and teach them to followinstructions and would be suitable for boys and girls aged 6+.
My favourite read of the week
My Jolly Phonics, Sara Wenham & SueLloyd, Isbn 978 1 844141 73 9 (Jolly Phonics) BD54.000 for Gulf Weekly BookClub members
Jolly Phonics is a fun and child-centredapproach to teaching literacy through synthetic phonics. With actions for eachof the 42 letter sounds, the multi-sensory method is very motivating forchildren and taught in several schools in Bahrain.
Many of their products are suitable for useat school and home but it would probably not be advisable to use this scheme athome it your child is not being taught it at school.
However, for those children learning the scheme, the above kit provides a range ofmulti-sensory resources that help your child learn to read and write.
With sing-a-long songs, fantastic computergames, enchanting stories, posters andsuper activity books , your child will not only gain a head start but willenjoy carrying all the items in a bright yellow canvas case … with a hiddenpencil set inside Snake’s mouth!
See Education Weekly: P15