As the rain pounds on my roof and splatters on my windows – my thoughts turn to onomatopoeia. Perhaps if I write the word enough in this blog I will have learnt how to spell it!
I loved working with onomatopoeia when teaching little dots. Their creativity in making those words suit the sounds meant we developed the most amazing soundscapes and their ownership of ‘their’ words showed as they performed with great gusto.
There are some fabulous picture books that use equally fabulous examples of onomatopoeia. Dr. Seuss is, of course, the master of onomatopoeia. His story “Mr. Brown can Moo! Can YOU?” was a favourite of our children and is now loved to bits (literally) by our grandchildren. But while we all know of Dr. Seuss – there are many other picture books that make the most of children’s love of onomatopoeia. Here are a few you might like to check out:
- Muncha! Muncha! Muncha!
- Clang! Clang! Beep! Beep! Listen to the City
- Tap Tap Boom Boom
- Split! Splat!
- Clang! Went the Cymbals
- KA-BOOM! A Dictionary of Comic Book Words, Symbols & Onomatopoeia
- Snow Sounds: An Onomatopoeic Story
- Slop Goes the Soup
- When Papa Snores
- If You Were Onopatopoeia
Maureen Gerard has created a series of lessons around using comic books to teach onomatopoeia. This is available through the ILA (International Literacy Association) site.
There are some great children’s readers that have examples of onomatopoeia:
- Jumbo
- Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter
- The Poggle and the Sausages
- The wind blows strong
You probably have these in your bookroom and we have the linked activities to recognize and practice the use of onomatopoeic sounds on our Read Think Learn website.
So as that rain sploshes on the grass and my gumboots (or wellies – for those of you in the UK) squelch through the sodden ground, I will continue to enjoy practicing onomatopoeia and hope that by this time tomorrow it is embedded in my brain as well as my heart.
Thank you,
Lesley
Chief Learning Officer