Living Books

The information on these pages has been developed while using Living Books in the classroom, however much of it may be applicable to other interactive CD ROM story books.

What is a Living Book?

Living Books are a great concept and they've been around for a few years now. I saw my first Living Book (Just Grandma and Me) in 1992, and since then the range of titles has grown and grown. They let a child read a story on the computer and explore concepts within the pages. What I'm really pleased to see is that each Living Book title comes with a paper back version of the original story - I never miss a chance to emphasise how important it is to read with children and to do activities *away* from the computer. Learning is a whole life experience, and computers play an important part, but remember that it is only a part.

Read to Me

Although it is great fun to play in the story pages, it may be a good thing to have the story read all the way through from time to time so that the child can see the whole story without it being disjointed. In other words, they g et the whole picture. After doing this, ask them to retell the story in their own words, or at least to tell about their favourite part.

Using the book this way does not leave much time for story prediction and discussion. It may be better to leave this activity until after the individual pages have been read and explored.

Let Me Play

This is the most exciting option for the book. Each page is read to the child and then the child has the chance to explore the page and click on individual objects and characters. There is a lot of opportunity for comprehension and communication skills to be developed here. Below is a list of activities to enhance the learning opportunities for the students.

Other Information

If you are looking for some great deals, the Living Books Frameworks give you 4 titles each with teacher notes, blackline masters, an additonal story book related to the theme, and more. "Sheila Rae the Brave" is another great title from these people. This book has extra activities that should impress you. There are also several "3 for Me" packs that I've seen advertised. It is often cheaper to purchase the CD's in this way than to buy them individually. Site licenses are available for schools who need more than one copy of the software.

I will shortly be adding some reviews for the Berenstain Bears and Arthur's Reading Race so stay tuned.

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