A Year of Picture Books with Repetitive Text

Published on by Mary Cooney

Picture books with repetitive, predictable texts are one of the most enjoyable and effective tools for teaching young children early language skills. Young children love being able to anticipate and chime in with repeated texts. Needless to say, I am always on the hunt for picture books with predictable texts because Junior finds them so engaging and because there is so much he learns from them. So I created a list of picture books appropriate for each month of the year.

As with Five in a Row, I like to read the same picture book everyday for several days in a row with my son. Here are some of the things I try to accomplish:

  • Monday – explore the book, talk about new vocabulary, count items on a page, act out a scene from the book
  • Tuesday – look for rhyming words, practice saying rhyming words, work on prepositions (ie. where is the bear? in the den)
  • Wednesday – work on articulating targeted sounds or multi-syllabic words, practice saying repeated phrases
  • Thursday – fill in the blanks… I read a part and drop out a word/phrase and let Junior fill in
  • Friday – encourage Junior to read along as much as possible, sequence events in the book with pictures

For each month, I list four to six books because some months have more than four weeks. Most of these books should be available in the public library, especially through inter-library loan.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Want a print-out of this list? Download it here:

a-year-of-picture-books-with-repetitive-text-aDownload

What books would you add to this list?

4 thoughts on “A Year of Picture Books with Repetitive Text”

  2. Dear Mary I came across your ideas on teaching DS. My son is 11 and boy do I need help. He’s stubborn, doesn’t know his sounds to the alphabets, no colors, no shapes, can’t write his name. He scribbled 10 seconds and is done. I feel I’ve failed. He’s been at a tiny private school since 6 with different family para pros for 3 days maybe 4 hours a day. I feel like it’s more babysitting since he will drop down and sit on the floor and not do what he’s told. They try to follow a little schedule of going from class to a private little class for him and do some stuff. He goes to gym, recess, art, and the students love him and he loves them. He attend daily Mass with the school and has made his first communion this July. I’m looking for some guidance in a schedule right now to help him learn. I’m an old mama with 3 married children and 5 still at home. Timmy being the youngest. Do you have a suggestion of how to start my day with learning and how much time?

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    1. Dear Nicole,

      I’m glad you came across my blog!

      First off, you have NOT failed!!! You son has been going to daily mass; he received his first Holy Communion. That’s awesome! When we consider that our ultimate goal is to prepare our kids for Heaven and eternal life, everything else is fluff in comparison. You probably know such discouragement almost always comes from the Accuser, so try to ignore those thoughts of failure and focus on moving forward. It’s wonderful that you were able to send your son to a small school that tries to accommodate his needs and where the students love him.

      It seems to me what Timmy needs most is encouragement and motivation. Try to make a list of things and activities he loves most. Then find a time when you can work with him uninterrupted at the same time every day. Start with 10-15 min every day and make it fun. It doesn’t have to be academic– the goal is to establish a routine and a mindset that this is a time for you two to do an activity together that is enjoyable: puzzles, stickers, reading a book together, a board game, imitating rhythms on a drum, etc. His attitude toward this time spent with you is most important, so try to incorporate the activities and things he likes.

      After 2 weeks or so of this, add one academic activity – maybe a shape puzzle, or matching shapes — try to tie it with a topic he’s interested in. For example, if he likes cars, have a car drive from one shape to the matching shape. Always demonstrate several times first. See my post on teaching strategies. Most children with T21 (like most all other children) hate failure. Hence, the drop and flop or the flat-out refusal to do what he’s told. So always model first, then take turns. Give him a reward at the end of each session with you — for my son, it’s listening to his favorite music.

      Incrementally add in more academic activities and stretch the time he works with you. But very incrementally and always with lots of motivators and praise.

      I hope this helps! Please dig around the blog for posts on preschool concepts, reading, handwriting, etc. I also have a post coming on motivation in September. Finally, feel free to contact me again in comments.

      Sincerely, Mary

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