Language Experience Approach

Hunter told me a story about a fairy and some squirrels.  When he finished, I asked him if he would like me to write it down.  This is the Language Experience Approach.  He liked that idea and wanted me to type it for him.  He asked me to read it over and over while he added sentences to it. I pointed to the words as I read them.  He corrected, as I read it back, until it sounded right to him.  Then he said “OK, say that it is by me and illustrated by me.”  

We printed a couple of sentences per page and tomorrow he wants to draw pictures and make a book.   Hopefully, he will finish it.  I did not ask him to read it back because he noticed all the I’s in the story, pointed out the “g” that is different than handwritten, and pointed out “the.”   I do believe he learned something new. 

He wondered if he had to draw pictures for everything because that would be too much. I suggested that people could use their imagination for some of it. At the end he said, “Was it nice for me to save a fairy’s life?” He tells it like he really did all of it.  Here is his story. He said he wants to share it with all our friends. 

Keeping Fairies Safe

I found a fairy in a flower blossom. The fairy was cuddled up in a little round ball.

I fought all the grey squirrels that were aggressive. The squirrel was about to scratch the fairy’s cheek with its claw.

The squirrel cut the stem with its claw. It was a clean cut. I grabbed the blossom at the stem and used the other hand to knock out the squirrel.

I punched the squirrel right in the head, knocked it out, broke its jaw and it flew over the fence.

I knocked out all six and threw one by one over the fence. I picked up the fairy and held it in the cup of my hand.

I found a little woodpecker hole that a bird had lived in. I made a bowl-shaped bed out of feathers, lots and lots of feathers, and laid the fairy in the bed.

I found a leaf and covered it up in its bed. It was still asleep and it snored and snored and snored and snored.

The end.

Additional Resources:

A Charlotte Mason Blog about making books, Making Books with Children,  Glue Binding Books