Paxton’s Owls
It’s always fun to use student toys that are motivating when making experience books.
One of my students has a squishable owl that changes color. As literacy is an important aspect to what we do, I am always paying attention to what motivates my students and finding ways to tie in literacy. I had fun making an experience book around this owl as I was told by mom how much Paxton loves playing with this owl.
In the story, Paxton couldn’t go to sleep until he found all his owls. They were hiding in the forest, high up in the trees.
This book targets several different skills, including the Sensory Balance that is always forthright in my mind making sure I incorporate all the senses. As the owl changes colors, my student can match the owl to the colored owls in the book. When Paxton finds the right owl, he squishes his owl watching it slowly pop back up bringing in the tactual sense.
The concepts of “above”, “below”, “on top of”, “under”, “next to” introduces O&M concepts written throughout the story as the owls are in various locations on the branches.
The auditory sense is incorporated with the script I’ve written. Paxton makes an owl sound to find all his owls. As he makes his owl sound, the next owl to find answers back. I either “hoot” back, or play actual owl sounds taken from the internet.
The book is CVI friendly. The branches are made to lift off to help the student find the owl if the branches and tree presents too much visual clutter.
Reading this book together has become a fun activity. It is just another example of how to incorporate the visual, tactual, and auditory senses in reading a book together, along with sliding in some O&M concepts.
Here are a few of the pages
