Cover Sheet – For the Presenter
The following storyhour program is designed for preschoolers (primarily 2-3-year
olds). This storytime focuses on opposites which is an important early reading skill.
With this age group, we also begin working on letter recognition.
You don’t have to read the leader’s comments word-for-word, but try to include
the information in your own words especially the asides to the parents. The
information that is just for you (the presenter) is in italics.
The general outline of our storytime is:
I.
Opening Song
II.
Welcome/Introductory Comments
III.
Rhyme
IV.
Clapping Activity
V.
Book
VI.
Rhyme
VII.
Activity
VIII. Rhyme
IX.
Book
X.
Closing Song
Feel free to substitute your own opening and closing rhymes as well as any rhymes
with a similar theme that the children have heard before. Repetition of songs and
action rhymes from previous storytimes is better than introducing all new ones.
Props that you will need:
*Flannel board cut-outs of several well-known dinosaurs (stegosaurus,
tyrannosaurus, pterodactyl, brontosaurus, triceratops, etc.).
*Flannel board cut-outs of several things that begin with “D.”
*Flannel board cut-outs or other items for playing the “Big & Little” game.
*Some of the rhymes in large print to help the adults join in.
*Copies of the take home sheet.
*Name tags are a good way to reinforce “print awareness.”
Dinosaurs
Opening Song (to the tune of “London Bridge”)
Hello Song
Hi, hello and how are you?
How are you?
How are you?
Hi, hello and how are you?
How are you today?
(Repeat several times as the group settles in.)
Introduction
To the caregivers:
Welcome to storytime. I am glad you could all be here today. We are
going to be sharing some rhymes and books. Our themes today are
dinosaurs and opposites. Parents and caregivers, please set an example
for the children by joining in with our songs, rhymes and actions.
Let’s start with a rhyme about the letter D.
Put up a large letter D and a picture of a dinosaur. [If you aren’t familiar with this
rhyme, you can watch Cookie Monster sing it on You Tube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BovQyphS8kA
Rhyme
D is for dinosaur
That’s good enough for me
D is for dinosaur
That’s good enough for me
D is for dinosaur
That’s good enough for me
Dino, dino, dino
Starts with D
Take a moment to discuss what else starts with the letter D – begin with some
flannelboard pieces [dog, dragon, duck]. Then point out some things around the
room that begin with D also [door, dress, etc.].
Activity
Dinosaurs have long and strange names. Does anyone know the name of this
dinosaur? [Put up another dinosaur picture.. If the children do not know the name,
tell them.] When we hear a big word like this it helps if we clap out the sounds of
the word. [Demonstrate clapping “steg-o-saur-us” – or whichever dinosaur you
used.] Can you clap along with me now?
To the parents/caregivers:
Try this when you run across a longer word in a book.
[Repeat the clapping activity for several of the dinosaurs: pter-o-dac-tyl, steg-osaur-us, bron-to-saur-us, tri-cer-a-tops and ty-ran-no-saur-us, etc.]
Good! Now it’s time to settle down for a story. Let’s all reach for the ceiling . . .
try to touch our toes . . . turn around one time . . . and sit down in our places.
Book
Read: Dinosaur Roar by Mirra Ginsburg.
If you need to substitute another book, choose something that emphasizes
opposites – even if it isn’t about dinosaurs.
To the adults:
Knowing opposites is an important literacy skill.
Let’s repeat those opposite words again . . . [Go through the book repeating the
opposite words. Point to the words as you say them and be sure to pause to allow
the children to respond with the opposite if they can.]
-2-
Rhyme
[Recite the “Opposites” rhyme from page 74 of 1001 Rhymes and Fingerplays.
Repeat at least twice and pause to allow the children to respond with the opposite
words.]
Activity
Let’s play a game with my favorite opposites – “big and little.”
[Play a “big and little” game using a flannelboard or pairs of objects: put the small
items on one side of the flannelboard or table. Put up/hold up one large item at a
time and have the children pick the small item that matches. Use the terms “large”
and “small” and well as “big” and “little” to increase vocabulary.]
Now let’s have some fun with a silly dinosaur rhyme.
[You might want to add your own actions/gestures to this rhyme – stomping,
splashing in water, flying, etc.]
Rhyme/Song
(To the tune of “Jingle Bells”)
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
Stomping on the ground.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
What a fright’ning sound.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
Lived in water, too.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
Were they pink or green or blue?
Watch out!
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
Some flew through the air.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
Give anyone a scare.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
I like the way you look.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
But only in a book.
~S. Gruber
Book
Choose one of the following: Patrick’s Dinosaurs by Carol Carrick; Dinosaurs,
Dinosaurs by Byron Barton; Ten Terrible Dinosaurs by Paul Strickland; If the
Dinosaurs Came Back by Bernard Most; How Do Dinosaurs . . .? by Jane Yolen.
Note: the February 2006 issue of Library Sparks magazine has patterns for
finger puppets and a bed to go with How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? You can
borrow the magazine from Southwest Iowa Library Service Area.
Closing Rhyme
(Put up a large print rhyme and ask parents to join you. You will need a wristwatch
and a hankie or tissue.)
See you later, alligator (use hand to shade your eyes as if searching)
In a while, crocodile (point to watch or clock)
Bye-bye, butterfly (wave)
Toodle-oo, kangaroo (wave hankie)
Time to go, buffalo (look at watch and shake head as if running late)
Just like that, fat cat (snap fingers)
It’s the end, my friend. (shrug shoulders and throw up hands in a “giving up”
gesture)
To the adults:
Feel free to stay a while and visit or check out some books to take home.
(Point out any brochures or tip sheets that you have on display for
parents, etc.)
After Storytime Activities:
We like the idea of providing an activity/social time at the end of storyhour. Something simple is
fine. This gives parents a chance to visit and it re-inforces what the children learned.
Finger Folk by Marilyn Lohnes has a nice pattern for a stand-up dinosaur that children could
color and parents could help cut out. You can borrow this book from Southwest Iowa Library
Service Area.
You can print the 5 dinosaur “puzzles” from the Storytime Kits webpage: Print the black and
white pages on full sheets of paper. Print and trim the colored shapes in rectangles that will fit
onto the black and white pages to complete the dinosaurs. Mix up the colored rectangles to see if
the children can match-up the parts.
-4-
Dinosaurs
Take-Home Sheet
Rhymes from today’s storytime
LETTER RHYME
(substitute any letter!)
D is for dinosaur
That’s good enough for me
D is for dinosaur
That’s good enough for me
D is for dinosaur
That’s good enough for me
Dino, dino, dino
Starts with D
DINOSAURS
(To the tune of “Jingle Bells”)
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
Stomping on the ground.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
What a fright’ning sound.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
Lived in water, too.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
Were they pink or green or blue?
Watch out!
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
Some flew through the air.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
Give anyone a scare.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
I like the way you look.
Dinosaurs, dinosaurs
But only in a book.
Tips for Parents and Caregivers
Clapping out big words: When you come across a longer word that is unfamiliar to your
child, try clapping it out as we did at storytime. Clap your hands as you say each syllable of
the word and then have your child do it with you. For example, “bron-to-saur-us” has 4
claps.
If you have Internet access, check out these sites with dinosaur activities that your child
may enjoy:
DLTK’s Dinosaur Activities: http://www.dltk-kids.com/animals/dinosaurs.htm
Dinosaurs and Extinct Animals Preschool Activities and Crafts: http://www.firstschool.ws/theme/animals/dinosaurs.htm
Help your child decide which of the things below start with the letter “D.”