Picture Book Bingo

Picture books help us create mental models and build schema (a pattern of thought or behavior that organizes categories of information and the relationships among them). They are written at a reading level accessible to us with content varying to meet individual needs. Picture books help us understand complex ideas and vocabulary. Consider that, although picture books typically are written for children, they are meant to be read aloud and therefore utilize high-level vocabulary. There are also more and more picture books with adult themes.

Today and Thursday you will be reading to fill a bingo card. It’s not just any bingo card though. It’s a picture book bingo card. Sound silly to you? The goal of this activity is not just to read as fast as you can. It’s to read a variety of books on a variety of topics that have a variety of characters who experience a variety of conflicts. Some of the books are fiction. Some are non-fiction. 

Task: Each class read as many books as you can. But for three books you must do some thinking about the narrative elements and the theme of the book. 

1. Read books
2. Check off what you have read on the bingo card
3. Select a book to think about and choose how you would like to think about. Choices include:
   1. Character Web
   2. Story map or Plot Diagram
   3. Making Connections Chart
   4. Notice & Note Close Reading Chart
   5. Literary Research Note 
4. You must work with 3 books AND you must choose three different worksheets
5. Keep your bingo card and your worksheets in your folder.

List of common topics that often become themes (that’s when an author has something to say about the topic):