A Little DODO reading session for a child of five to eight builds the habits a reading level will one day measure: words met through pictures before print, a book's rhythm carried out loud, and every answer backed by a finger on the page. Two lessons on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? show how it works.
Which book do the two lessons use?
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? is a picture book built on one question. Each animal asks it, and the answer is the next animal: a brown bear sees a red bird, then come a yellow duck, a blue horse, a green frog, a purple cat, a white dog, a black sheep and a goldfish, and at the very end a teacher and children. The refrain "What do you see?" comes round on every other page.
Little DODO spends two lessons in a row on this book, both reading pages 7 to 32, and both written for children of six to eight. The first reads it for what happens. The second reads it again for a pattern in its words.
What does the first lesson look like?
The first lesson brings four new words, two readings, two questions, and a close that asks for evidence. Before the book opens, the early-childhood educator holds up a picture and a word card together: looking, teacher, children, goldfish. The child says each word and acts out the animal or the person, then finds the word on the page and traces its first letter. The picture comes first on purpose. A child who can't yet decode "goldfish" can still know exactly what a goldfish is.
Then the book. The two of them walk through the pictures from page 8 to page 28, naming each animal's colour and guessing who comes next. The educator reads the whole book at storytelling pace and stops at every "What do you see?" to let the child guess. On the second reading the child says the refrain each time it comes round. The rhythm does work the child can't yet do alone, carrying them through the pattern before they can read every word.
Two questions follow: "What does the brown bear see first?" and "Who sees the children at the end?" Every answer comes with a finger on the page. "Show me the evidence," the educator says, and "I just know" doesn't count. Talk comes before drawing, so a child who freezes at a blank page can describe first, then draw one thing they can see right now.
The lesson closes the way these lessons always close, with the child finishing a sentence, "I know because I saw…", and naming the page or the animal.
What changes in the second lesson on the same book?
The second lesson reads the same book for a word pattern: action words that end in -ing, starting with looking. The child acts out looking, pointing to their eyes and looking around, and see, eyes wide, pointing at something. Then comes a hunt for looking on every animal page, counting as they go.
The readings follow the same shape as before, with one addition: on the final read the child acts out looking every time they hear it. The questions have moved from the story to the words. Which word on this page tells us what the animals are doing with their eyes? Which word ends in -ing? Then the child makes a sentence of their own with looking, about something they can see right now.
The close has its own fixed sentence this time: "Today I connected actions to words." The educator's line for it is a good summary of the whole lesson: we use our bodies first, then our voices.
How do the two lessons fit together?
The two lessons share a book and a shape, and differ in what they ask the child to notice:
| Lesson 5 | Lesson 6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Reads the book for | what happens, and who sees whom | a word pattern: action words ending in -ing |
| New words | looking, teacher, children, goldfish, picture first | looking and see, acted out first |
| The reading | picture walk, a read-aloud with pauses to guess, a second read saying the refrain | the same, plus a final read acting out looking |
| Questions | who sees what, answered by pointing to the page | which word says what the eyes are doing; a sentence of the child's own |
| Paired with | "Barnyard Parade", a counting poem | "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear", an action rhyme |
| The close | "I know because I saw" | "Today I connected actions to words" |
Why point to the page?
At six, "show me" is where reasoning starts. A child who answers "a red bird" and then puts a finger on page 9 has tied a claim to the place it came from, which is a small thing and an important one. The lesson guide doesn't let "I just know" stand, and it ends every lesson with the same sentence to finish, so the move stops being something the educator asks for and becomes something the child does. Nobody is measuring a reading level yet. The habit is being built all the same.
Why read the same book twice?
Reading one book across two lessons lets the second visit ask for something new without asking the child to start again. In the first lesson the child learns what happens and who sees whom. In the second, with the story already familiar, attention can move to the words themselves: looking, and the -ing on the end of it. The refrain that carried the child through the first reading is still there, and now they can hear what it is made of.
Questions parents ask
What ages does Little DODO serve?
Ages 5–8 — kindergarten through Grade 2. The point is foundational reading at this stage: confidence to read aloud, comfort with comprehension questions, and the joy of understanding what they read.
How often does a Little DODO student meet with their Navigator?
High-frequency, low-pressure. The cadence is set with you during the diagnostic call to match your child’s attention span and family rhythm — never longer than the child can sustain.
Does Little DODO use Lexile measurement?
No. Lexile is appropriate from Grade 3 in the ELA Program. At Little DODO ages, the outcomes are confidence with reading aloud, comfort with comprehension, and the steady habit of opening a book. Formal Lexile assessment starts later.
What can you do at home this week?
At home, read the book together and leave the refrain to your child. The home review that goes to families after these lessons has one tip: pause just before "What do you see?" so your child can say it with you.
It also suggests a game. Ask your child to name three animals from the book, with their colours, in order. Then take turns acting out a movement from the week's counting poem: waddle like a duck, prance like a horse, tiptoe like a mouse. And tonight, look for something at home and tell someone what you see.
The review lists the week's words with a meaning and a sentence for each. Looking, it says, means "using your eyes to see something."
If your child is between five and eight and you'd like to see what lessons like these would look like at their stage, a 20-minute consultation covers Little DODO as well as the ELA Program. Book a consultation.