Page 162 - Literacy Based Speech Language Therapy Activities Digital Version

Literacy-Based Speech Language Therapy Activities

What are Predictable Books?

Predictable books have structured patterns so that a reader can anticipate upcoming story events.
They employ repetitive lines, plots, refrains, rhythm, or phrases. The books for younger children
contain visuals to help tell the story.

Why Are Predictable Books Important?

If the idea of predictable books is new to you, you are in for a real treat. One of the best ways to
increase a child’s participation (without relying on his or her ability to demonstrate reading fluency

and comprehension), is to select a book that has repetition and predictability. Predictable books have
been a hot topic with educators, librarians, and literacy coaches for many years, and for good reasons.

Here are just a few of the benefits of predictable books:

High level of participation:
The familiarity that the stories generate, the rhyming, and the repetitive nature encourages children to
take an active role in the story-telling rather than simply listening.

Pre‐reading skills
Predictable books introduce the most common grammatical constructs and also compare and
contrast sounds with rhyming words. The quick pace of several of the book types teaches how to
progress through a book from top to bottom, left to right, and page to page.

Natural inflection
The natural inflection that we use in daily conversation is conveyed through the story-telling of

predictable books. Because of the high level of repetition, children have an opportunity to practice
and play with the nuances of language.

Narrative structure
Predictable books introduce the most common and basic story structures which are the foundation
for understanding plot and story-writing in the older grades.

Utterance expansion
The repetitive nature of predictable books and the rhyme schemes enable a child to produce longer

utterances than they would normally use. This is extremely important for children with expressive
language impairments and phonological delays who typically produce communication that is short,
relative to their age. Predictable books create a framework to explore and practice longer words and
utterances.

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