I didn’t like reading Owly very much, I wanted there to be words, I wanted the story to be told to me. Maybe I’m just not used to this type of book. I did love the pictures though, and the expressions and images of the characters told a really good story. I definitely think something like this would be very useful to use, especially with struggling readers and writers.
I would love to try to use a wordless book like this to encourage my students to write. I think this would really help my students. Many students I will work with will struggle with writing, and having pictures to guide their thoughts could really benefit them in writing stories. This would also aide them in learning the parts of a story, and allow them to read more complex stories than they may be able to read with actual text.
So while I didn’t really like reading it, it’s definitely a type of book I would use in my classroom.
sschemanske said,
November 16, 2008 @ 10:18 pm
I held the same reaction as you. Although I did not enjoy the book that much I too think it would be helpful in working with struggling readers and writers. Teaching is all about the students and not our own personal interests. I am glad to see you would put the needs of your students first.
Dawn Thomas said,
November 18, 2008 @ 2:19 am
I agree with you and Sarah. I did not enjoy the book either but I would use wordless books in my classroom and I have used them. I believe it was just this particular one did not interest me but it definitely could interest another person.
cjrivers said,
November 18, 2008 @ 3:16 pm
haha…I hear you ladies! I got so frustrated reading Owly. I ended up having to go back and “re-read” the frames because my brain just couldn’t follow the story. Maybe if I wasn’t a 26-year old reading a wordless picture book for the first time it would be different. Reading it as a child and being able to create a story would be effective, but I’m a little set in my ways at this point