The students in room 217 have been enjoying the author Karma Wilson’s Bear book series. Using a book series helps students to recognize important elements of the story such as characters, setting, and plot through familiarity. Each Bear book includes Bear and his friends and takes place in his cave (lair). Using picture props of the characters and a coffee can for the lair allows the students to interact and engage with the story as they take turns placing Bear and his friends inside. The repetitive nature of the stories lends itself to an increase in comprehension. Through the use of a recordable speech button, each child is able to recite the repetitive phrases such as “Bear says thanks” and “Bear snores on” which increases further connection with the story. To aid in the success of students with visual impairments by reducing visual complexity, the pictures are high contrast with solid black backgrounds and the vocabulary words are made using Roman Bubble letters. Students are encouraged to match the characters to their names and to use picture cues when completing sentences.
