Staff member:

• to provide a storytime or other activity to occupy the children during the parent preparation time.

Staff member:

• to prepare parents to read "Changes, Changes" with their children.
  
• to prepare parents to make a set of paper blocks to build the structures from the book.
  
• to collect participant evaluation forms at the end of the program.

Parent Preparation:
Work with the parents to do a "pre-reading" activity. The "pre-reading" activity is the presentation of questions that relate to the subject of the book or to the topic of the activity. These questions are asked and discussed before reading the book.

Pre-Reading Activity
Ask the parents to remember some natural or man-made disasters that have interrupted their lives. How did they and their family cope with the disaster? What changes were made in their lives as a result of the experience?

Model reading "Changes, Changes"
Parents can share books.
Have the parents look at the title page and share in the large group what they think the book is going to be about. Have the parents give names to the male and female characters. (Possible responses: Mr. and Mrs. Wood, Mr. and Mrs. Block, Mr. and Mrs. Splinter.)

Take the parents page by page through the book, discussing what the characters are doing. Before going on to the next page, have the parents predict what mishap the characters may be facing and what they will be building with their blocks. For instance, on pages 3 and 4, ask the parents to predict what the characters will build with their blocks. On page 12, ask the parents to speculate what is going to happen next, what is the next disaster the characters are going to face and how will they survive it? What structural changes will the characters make with their blocks?

Note to the Facilitator: The pages in the book have been numbered so that it is easier to refer to events in the story without describing the pictures.

At the conclusion of the book, ask the parents how the house pictured on page 29 is different from the original one on page 7.

Discussion: How the Parents Can Work With The Children
Have the parents share what questions they can ask their children to elicit predictions concerning what kind of disaster is going to happen next and what the characters will build to respond to the new situation. (Possible responses: What do you think is going to happen next? What can Mr. and Mrs. Wood do about it? What will they build with their blocks that will help them out?

Additionally, the parents can be given the suggestion to ask their children HOW the house on page 29 is different from the original one on page 7 and WHY the houses look different.

This discussion time should be a time of clarification and review for the parents of the techniques that were demonstrated during the modeling of the reading activity. This time is intended to build the parents ability and confidence for working with their children.

How To Make and Use the Changes Blocks
Have the parents color in the block with the same colors as used in the book.
Have the parents arrange their blocks replicating some of the things the characters built in the story.
Have the parents explore other things they can build with their blocks.

Discussion: How the Parents Can Work With The Children
Discuss the value of taking the blocks "off the pages of the book." Explain how the blocks expand the audio and visual activity of reading a book into a tactile and kinesthetic activity, thereby meeting the different learning styles of both adults and children.

Note to Facilitator: The parents will enjoy having their own set of blocks and can assist their children in making the child's set during family activity time. If parents feel their children are too young to make a set of blocks, provide time for the parents to make a second set for their children during the parent preparation time.

Description of Family Activity:
Parents will read "Changes, Changes" with their children.
In parent-child pairs, parents will guide children in making a set of blocks.
Parents will guide their children in replicating some of the buildings the characters make in the book.
Parents and their children will reunite with the large group. They will then build a structure together using one set of their blocks.
Have the families view each other's structures.
DISASTER STRIKES!
The facilitator chooses a block or a few blocks that get destroyed! For instance, the facilitator says, "There are termites and two of the green blocks get eaten," or "There is a tornado and three of the yellow blocks get blown away."
Families explore how the loss of specific blocks will effect the design of their structures. What changes can they make to keep some of their original structure? Is it impossible to do so?
Have the families share their changes with the large group.

Note to Facilitator: Limited English adults may want to do the family activity in their native language. Since it is hoped that these activities will enhance parent-child communication, they should use any language in which they are comfortable.

Recommended Age of Children:
Three to ten year old children. This is an activity that crosses a large age range because the activity is of coloring, cutting shapes and arranging shapes. The parents can assist their children to as great an extent as needed. The goal of the activity is the experience of the book which is grounded in the discussion, not the coloring or cutting.

Ways to Alter Activity for Younger or Older Siblings:
Parents can assist in the coloring and cutting for younger siblings. Parents can prepare their children's set of blocks prior to the activity. Older children can create more complicated structures.

Extension Activity:
Encourage parents to borrow "Changes, Changes" from the library and to use their block sets at home. If they have real blocks at home, encourage them to try the activity in three dimensions.
Talk about the displayed books and hand out the prepared lists of related books.
Talk about where to find the wordless or limited text books in the library.
Encourage parents to borrow other titles and to try to read them using a predicting strategy.
If the children involved are very young, introduce their parents to tactile books such as "Pat the Bunny." Encourage them to borrow such books and to make a "touchable" book at home.

Related Books:
Wordless books: "Oops" by Mercer Mayer, "Swimmy" by Leo Lionni, "Amanda and the Mysterious Carpet" by Fernando Krahn, "Tuesday" by David Wiesner, "Picnic" by Emily McCully. Books written by Pat Hutchins: 'Ten Red Apples," "Good Night, Owl," "The Doorbell Rang," "Titch," "The Wind Blew," "The House that Sailed Away," "Rosie's Walk."

Evaluation:
There is a brief Participant Evaluation Survey included in the Facilitator's Guide.
These can be completed in writing or orally (by interview of staff one to one or in a group) depending on the English reading and writing abilities of the participants.
Explain that by telling us what they liked and what they didn't like, they help us put together better activities and they teach their children to think about what they liked.
The Participant Evaluation form asks about their satisfaction level and what they learned about reading wordless books, specifically using a predicting strategy with their children.
It asks what they plan to do with what they learned. It asks for their suggestions to improve this activity and suggestions for future activities.

To make suggestions and comments, email: ccolletti@ilsos.net

Notes to Myself - Lessons Learned for Next Time:

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