Teaching is an art where in various tools and techniques are employed to make the students learn better.
Many students today expect entertaining environment in the classroom for learning with interest and attention. Cartoons and picture books considered to be excellent teaching tools because they illustrate many ideas and values in a memorable and funny way. Furthermore, they can be perfectly adapted into nowadays teaching process and make it easier for a great number of pre-school and school children.
Cartoons were previously meant for the purpose of entertainment only, but now are widely being used for education, especially in teaching very young learners.
Why do we use cartoons?
· As a warm-up/ lead-in
To grab kids’ attention and as an activity to generate discussion and represent the ideas.
· Learning and Modeling by imitating and Skills Development
In this regard, children can learn through imitation by taking cartoon characters as models. Children are good observers and it is easy for them to remember gestures or even body languages of a character in the video. Besides, they can develop their thinking skills, information understanding, moral values, such as difference between right and wrong and how to make friends, handle various difficult situations and many other important things. Cartoons give children an opportunity to recall, reflect and apply the principles they learned.
· Cartoons can make children creators
They help in their brain and imagination developments. You can encourage them to create something on their own: new characters or even a new story!
· Cartoons are great tools in teaching YL
Visually the impact is immediate and all students are able to respond in some way to the educational point being made in the video. Cartoons develop curiosity and interest of toddlers. They can also serve a good means of teaching nursery rhymes, ABC, counting, colours, etc., especially in combination with TPR (Total Physical Response Approach).
· Cartoons can improve vocabulary
They create fun atmosphere in the classroom during the lesson in order to motivate the students, it can increase students’ vocabulary acquiring skills and make students more enthusiastic and active in learning English, so the teaching and learning process becomes alive, decreases academic stress, anxiety and boredom.
Picture books like cartoons, but inanimate ones
Study shows that early reading helps children learn to speak, interact and understand the world around them.
Read aloud early and keep it going!
As for very young learners, it’s still important to read aloud with them, and there are many books to choose from. Look for stories that have different experiences, backgrounds and which help your child find him or herself in books — as well as learn about other people’s lives.
Here is the list of must read picture books:
· The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson
· The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
· We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
· Owl Babies by Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson
· The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr
· The Paddington series by Michael Bond
· The Alfie and Annie Rose series by Shirley Hughes
· Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell
· The Kipper series by Mick Inkpen
· Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson
· The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
· Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
· Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
· I Am a Bunny by Richard Scarry
· Ducks Don’t Wear Socks by John Nedwidek
· The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
· Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr.
· Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBratney
· I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
· Fancy Nancy by Jane O’Connor
· Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney
· Elmer by David McKee
Have fun while reading and be playful
Use this as an opportunity to create different character voices to engage the child. Reading aloud since the first month seemed to be connected to a love of reading generally. Because where are children going to be hearing the most words? Picture books even include more uncommon words than conversations among adults!
“Reading to children also teaches them to listen, and “good listeners are going to be good readers.”
When adults are reading, children would be more likely to focus not only on the pictures but also on the words, which help them to become independent readers.
As they begin to grow, make sure books are available everywhere in the home
The more accessible you make books, the more you’ll see children’s reading frequency grow.
Bring books with you on car trips, or even to the doctor’s office waiting room. Besides, reading to your kids and students gives you the chance to meet the child you used to be and read the books you never read.
A child who has been read to will want to learn to read herself.
So, both cartoons and picture books are essential in teaching very young learners and are widely and effectively being used nowadays by many teachers as teaching tools.