1. Wordless Books: So Much to Say!
Dr. Gilda Martinez-Alba
Dr. Judith Cruzado-Guerrero
Towson, Maryland

2. Let’s get to know you… Who do you teach? PreK – 1grade 2 – 3 grade
College
Parents

3. How many wordless books do you have?
1 – 5
6 – 10
11 – 15
20+

4. How often do you use wordless books?
Everyday
Once a week
Once a month
Once a quarter/semester
Never

5. Do you know… when the first wordless book was published? Was it: 1921
1932
1946
1950

6. 1932

7. Do you know… when the second wordless book was published? Was it: 1933
1939
1942
1961

8. 1961

9. Wordless Books: For Motivation
Wordless picture books can be very engaging when used with English learners of all levels and ages to build English skills.
Students can feel successful, regardless of their literacy level in any language.

10. Wordless Books: Develop Various Skills with Visuals
oral language
vocabulary
listening
comprehension
writing skills
and more!

11. Wordless Books: For Writing and Discussions
Students of all ages can be authors
This can lead to a rich discussion
Study at the University of Utah studied wordless versus picture books

12. Wordless Books: Develop Comprehension and Bilingual Skills
One of the main goals of reading is comprehension
Teachers can use wordless picture books to explain comprehension strategies
Time to work on comprehension can be provided, while working on speaking and bilingual skills

13. Wordless Books: Parental Involvement
Parents wanting to participate in their child’s education can read the story to their child in any language, even if they cannot read or write in any language.
This can potentially lead to get students interested in books, while showing parents how they can help with their child’s academic progress.

14. Wordless Books: Other Benefits
for close reading of illustrations to develop discussions
to work on making inferences

15. STORIES WITH EASY PICTURES TO FOLLOW:
A Boy, a Dog, and a Frog Carl at the Dog Show Chalk Flora and the Flamingo My Friend Rabbit Pancakes for Breakfast Rainstorm Shapes, Shapes, Shapes The Lion and the Mouse The Snowman Wave

16. STORIES WITH MORE COMPLICATED PICTURES TO FOLLOW:
Flotsam
Free Fall
Journey
Mirror
Mr. Wuffles
Sidewalk Circus
The Red Book
Tuesday
Unspoken: A Story from the Underground Railroad
Zoom

17. http://www. amazon. com/Chalk-Bill-Thomson/dp/0761455264/ref=sr_1_1

18. Chalk
Chalk is a simple, yet exciting book about drawings that come to life
The book has a lesson for Chalk emphasizing writing and reading

19. Related Websites:
For follow-up discussions, students could look at the artist, Julian Beever’s website to see amazing 3-D sidewalk chalk drawings:
Or, they could look on Pinterest to see more chalk illusions:
On this Pinterest page there are numerous ideas for sidewalk chalk activities:

20. Julian Beever’s Chalk Art

21. Julian Beever’s Chalk Art

22. Julian Beever’s Chalk Art

23. Julian Beever’s Chalk Art

24. Pinterest Chalk Ideas

25. Related Apps:
Hello Chalk – free app for drawing with “chalk” on an iPad
Art of Glow – free app for drawing with bright glowing colors

26. Reference for Further Reading:
Tomas, Z., Kostka, I., & Mott-Smith, J. A. (2013). Teaching Writing. Alexandria, VA: TESOL International Association.

27. http://www. amazon. com/Flotsam-David-Wiesner/dp/0618194576/ref=sr_1_1

28. Flotsam
Flotsam, is a complicated story about a camera’s travels in the ocean, which has a wealth of vocabulary that can be discussed.

29. Flotsam A mystery bag Teacher shows book
Students work in pairs to go over one illustration while discussing vocabulary
Students share ideas with the class or they could record themselves sharing

30. Related Websites:
Students could look at David Wiesner’s website to see other books he has written to conduct an author study and make text-to-text connections.
In Time for Kids, a student interviewed David Wiesner. Students could follow the format to interview each other.

31. David Wiesner’s Website:

32. Time for Kids Interview:

33. Related Apps:
GeoDash - to learn more about the environment, National Geographic for Kids has this app for $1.99
Ocean Sounds Relax n Sleep - free app that can be used to create a soothing classroom environment

34. Reference for Further Reading:
Online Teaching Activity Index: Audio Recording and Podcasting

36. References
Arizpe, E. (2013). Making-meaning from wordless (or nearly wordless) picture books:
What educational research expects and what readers have to say. Cambridge
Journal of Education, 43(2), 163 – doi: / X
Dowhower, S. (1997). Wordless books: Promise and possibilities, a genre come of age.
Yearbook of the American Reading Forum. Retrieved from
06_Dowhower.pdf
Jung, Y. S., & Commeyras, M. (2012). Using wordless picture books to support
biliteracy development: The case study of a six-year-old Korean ESL boy.
Primary English Education, 18(2),
Le Roux, A., & Costandius, E. (2013). Wordless picture books in parent-child reading
in a south African context. Acta Academia, 45(2), 27 – 58.
Lindauer, S. L. K. (1988). Wordless books: An approach to visual literacy. Children’s
Literature in Education, 19(3), 136 – 142.
McAdam, J. E., & Sinkie, H. (2013). Picture books: Opening pathways for new arrival
children. English 4-11,
Peregoy, S. & Boyle, O. (2013). Reading, writing, and learning in ESL: A Resource
Book for Teaching K – 12 English Learners. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Ramos, A. M., & Ramos, R. (2011). Ecoliteracy through imagery: A close reading of
two wordless picture books. Children’s Literature in Education, 42, 325 – 339.
doi: /s
Stahl, K. A. D. (2014). Fostering inference generation with emergent and novice
readers. The Reading Teacher, 67(5), 384 – doi:  /trtr.1230

37. Questions?

38. Contact Info:
Gilda Martinez-Alba
Judy Cruzado-Guerrero