3 Jun.2014

Third Reading Good Night Good Night

For the Third Reading, here are two suggestions to enhance the listener’s comprehension and help analyze the story:

~ Focus on the rhythm and the rhyming words. Leave out the second rhyming word, and have your child supply it. (Similar to the procedure suggested in the Second Reading.)

~ Dramatize the story. Create different voices for the different characters. Use different tones and volume. Remember to say the italicized lines differently.

DISCUSSION OPTIONS:

~ Talk with your child about riddles. Riddles require inferences to be formed. Make up riddles about the characters in the story to see if your child can determine which character is the answer to the riddle. (Example: I have a track and a stack. What am I? BULLDOZER) Share additional riddles that your child knows.
~ What other machinery might you add to the book?

~ Connect any of the special vocabulary used in the book to the new machinery that you are adding.

~ What happens at the construction site the next day after the trucks and machinery wake up?

~ Is the title a good one? Why?

1 Jun.2014

0 Comments

Third Reading Make Way For Ducklings

During the Third Reading, enjoy reading the entire text together. Either take turns reading pages to each other or have your child be the reader and you be the listener and questioner. As you go through the text, have fun dramatizing both the dialogue and the sounds that might occur in the setting.

DISCUSSION OPTIONS:

~ Talk about vocabulary:

• public: Review what it means. Talk about the public buildings and places in the story. Discuss the public places that your child enjoys. Talk about places that are not public places.

• polite: Review the page. Talk about the characters in the story who are polite. Are there any characters in the story who are not polite? Talk about experiences or people in your child’s life that connect with polite.

• all of a dither: Review page 11. Are there any other pages in the book where Mr. McCloskey could use that phrase? Again, connect to your child’s life. Has your child ever been all of a dither, or have you?

• responsibility: Who has responsibilities in the story? Who has the greatest responsibilities? What responsibilities do you and your child have?

~ What did you learn about ducks from this story?

~ Do you think the title is a good one? Explain. If not, what would you title the story?

~ This story is a fantasy. What is fantasy in the story, and what is real in the story?

ACTIVITY OPTIONS:
~ Talk about creating some parts of the story in color for your visualizations. If you are interested in having your child start a journal, Amazon has a couple of options. My daughter ordered iScholar Primary Composition Book for her children. (also located in the Practickle Bookstore)
• Your child can draw the colorful scenes that you have been visualizing.

• Your child can write his own story, or you can be the scribe.

1 Jun.2014

0 Comments

Second Reading Make Way For Ducklings

During the Second Reading, you will:

~ read the text.

~ ask clarifying questions.

~ focus on vocabulary building.

The text contains great vocabulary building opportunities. As you read the text, there will be words that are explained by the illustration and the text working together. There will be words that you will need to explain by a short, easy definition that is provided. If you have any memories and connections that you can make to these words, don’t miss the opportunity to share them.

*Read the series of pages before your discussion begins.

Pages 1 – 6:

~ The ducks have names. What are they?

~ Do you know why they might be called Mr. and Mrs. Mallard?

~Why does Mrs. Mallard want to stay away from foxes and turtles?

~ On page 3, there are sound words to help us with visualizing. What are they? (quacking, flapped)

~On page 3, public: open to all people. What is a public garden?

~ What might the Mallards want to find in the pond for their breakfast?

Pages 7 – 12:

~ Find the “strange, enormous bird”. Why doesn’t the bird talk to the Mallards? (It isn’t a real bird. It is a bird made out of wood.)

~On page 7, polite: courteous, using manners. Is the “strange, enormous bird”being polite?

~ Mrs. Mallard thinks that she wants to live in the Public Garden. She gives three reasons. What are they? (no foxes, no turtles, people giving the ducks peanuts)
~Why does she change her mind?

~ On page 11, what does it mean when Mrs. Mallard, squawked “all of a dither?”(She is very upset.)

Pages 13 – 18:

~ On page 18, what reasons does Mrs. Mallard give for choosing the Public Garden as the right place to hatch ducklings?

Pages 19 – 20:

~ On page 19, molt: shedding feathers. Point out all the information in the text that tells us what molt means.

Pages 21 – 22:

~ Why do the Mallards come to see Michael every day?

Pages 23 – 24:

~ What do you think Mrs. Mallard has for lunch? (Food that she can find in the pond.)

Pages 25 – 34:

~ What do you notice about the ducklings’names?

~ On page 26, great responsibility: jobs that people count on you to do or complete.
~The illustrations on these pages show some of the responsibilities of the father and mother. What are they?
~Do you have any responsibilities? Do you have any that are great responsibilities?

~ On page 34, check on the understanding of “Before you could wink an eyelash…”What does that mean? (very fast)

Page 35 – 38:
~ There are many sounds on these pages. What would the different sounds be that you would hear if you were walking through the city with the ducklings?

~ On page 38, what are “their little quackers?”(their little beaks, voices)

Pages 39 – 46:

~On page 41, planted: to stand firm and not move. It has a special meaning here. Are there any clues to help us understand its meaning?

~beckoned: to motion someone to move. What clues are in the text and the illustration to help explain beckoned? (beckoned with his hand)

Pages 47 – END: Enjoy reading to the end.

Do you think that the illustrations and the text go together well?

Do you think it’s a good idea for the Mallard family to live on the island?

1 Jun.2014

0 Comments

First Reading Make Way For Ducklings

For this First Reading, remember this session should last about 20 minutes. Adjust the length of time to your reader’s attention span. Don’t feel that you have to use all the questions.

Remember the two basic questions that provide the structure for making inferences, predictions, and conclusions.

~What do I see in the illustration? This opens up long-term memory enabling the brain to activate prior knowledge and existing connections to the illustrations.

~What is happening in the picture? Inferential thought forms.

*Number the pages. The first page with text is page 1.

Pages 1 – 6:

~ What do you see on these pages? Are the two ducks alike or different? Explain your answer.

~ What do you think is happening in the illustrations?

~ In these illustrations, can you tell whether the setting is in the past, the present, or the future? (Setting is both where and when a story happens) How can you tell?

~ What do you think about the lack of color in the illustrations?

Pages 7 – 12:

~ What do you see on these pages? What’s happening?

~ Start to pull out other sensory information and create a movie in your head. What sounds, colors, smells, etc., would there be in the park? What kind of day is it?

~On page 12, great sensory information can be added when the boy rushes by the ducks. Add the emotions of all the characters who are on the page.

Pages 13 – 18:

~ What are the ducks doing? It looks like they might be talking to each other. What might they be saying?

~ Do you see more information about the setting (both when and where)?

Pages 19 – 24:

~ On pages 19 and 20, where are they?
~Why might the ducks choose this location for their nest?

~ Who might the man be?

Pages 25 – 34:

~ What do you see on these pages? What is happening on each of these pages?

~ Make a movie in your head of these pages. What sounds, smells, tastes, textures (touch) might you add?

~ What emotions might the ducks and ducklings be feeling?

~ What might the ducks and the ducklings be saying to each other?

Pages 35 – 36:

~ Describe what is happening on these pages.

~ What sounds might you hear? What might the ducklings be saying to each other?

Pages 37- 40:

~ Plenty of emotion and sensory details can be added to these illustrations! What do you see? Explain the scenes to me. Use lots of sensory details and emotion.

~ What is the police officer doing? Why?

Pages 41 – 46:

~ What do you see? What’s happening?

~ On page 46, who might the police officer be calling? What might he be saying? How might he be saying it?

Pages 47 – 50:

~ What do you see? What’s happening?
~Are all the ducklings still in the group? Have your child count the ducklings.

Pages 51 – 56:

~ What do you see? What’s happening?

~ How might the police officers have known to be at that intersection to help the duck family?

~ On pages 55 and 56, it looks like the duck family and the police officers are talking to each other. What might they be saying to each other?

Pages 57 – End:

~ What do you see? What is happening?

~ What kind of sounds and feelings would you put in your movie on the last page?

What did we learn about real ducks from the actions of the duck family?

What questions do you have in your head right now?

1 Jun.2014

0 Comments

Second Reading: Good Night Good Night Construction Site

During the Second Reading, you will read the text and emphasize vocabulary. Feel free at any time to connect inferences about the illustrations from First Reading with the text. We will be looking at all the patterns that the author has built into the text.

Pages 1 – 4:
Notice the rhyming scheme and the rhythm. As you read, read with a rhythm. Stop at the end of some of the rhyming couplets to encourage your listener to supply the missing rhyming word.

Pages 5 – 8: Crane Truck
Follow the same oral reading procedure as for pages 1 – 4.
~On page 8, point out that the last line is in italics and has an ellipsis (. . .). Italics tells us that this line is different from the other lines. Discuss that an ellipsis is a sign from the author that the reader should make a pause here.

~Use both the italics and the ellipsis to make the line sound different.

Pages 9 – 12:Cement Mixer
Follow the same oral reading procedure as for pages 1 – 4.

~On page 9, spinning, churning, whirly: actions that go round and round.
~Find another word on this page that means the same as these three words? (twirly)

~On page 9, weary: tired. Use the clues on the page to help determine the meaning. (the yawn)

~On page 12, cuts: turn off. drum: the large container that holds the cement. Discuss the special meanings that these words have on this page.

~Note the line in italics with the ellipsis. Read it differently than the other lines.

Pages 13 – 16:Dump Truck
Follow the same oral reading procedure as for pages 1 – 4.

~On page 15, bed: the open part of a truck used to carry heavy items. gate: part of a truck bed that opens and closes. Take time to talk about the special meanings that these words have on this page..
~Note the line in italics with the ellipsis. Read it differently than the other lines.

Pages 17 – 20:Bulldozer
Follow the same oral reading procedure as for pages 1 – 4.

~On page 17, grade: slant, slope, elevation. Take time to talk about the special meaning of grade used here.

~On page 17, thunderous: loud noise like thunder. Practice reading it as if you are making a thunderous noise.

~On page 19, track: the large band of rubber with thick tread that causes movement. Locate the Bulldozer’s track in the illustration.

~Note the line in italics with the ellipsis. Read it differently than the other lines.

Pages 21 – 24: Excavator
Follow the same oral reading procedure for pages 1 – 4.

~On page 23, track: the large band of rubber with thick tread that causes movement. The author has already used this word to describe another character. Does track mean the same thing here?

~Locate the excavator’s boom.

~Note the line in italics with the ellipsis. Read it differently than the other lines.

Pages 25 – 28:

~What might all the trucks dream about?

~On page 27, how can you make the last line of the story (with italics and an ellipsis) sound special?

1 Jun.2014

0 Comments

First Reading Good Night Good Night Construction Site

When viewing illustrations, the brain follows steps similar to those described in the ABOUT THIS BOOK:
~What do you see? (gather evidence from the illustration)

~What do you think is happening?

TIP: FEEL FREE TO ENGAGE IN DISCUSSION WITH YOUR LISTENER. THIS NEW TYPE OF “READING”MAY TAKE SOME PRACTICE BEFORE THE LISTENER IS COMFORTABLE CHATTING ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATIONS.

Title Page:

~What do you see? (beams, crane, dirt, stars,……)
~What’s happening?

Pages 1 – 2:

~What do you see? (Note such details as: faces on machines, no people)

~What is happening here?

~Talk about when this illustration is happening. (during the day)

Pages 3 – 28:

~On pages 3 and 4, you see the machinery and trucks highlighted in the book. Which ones can you identify?

The author follows a pattern, talking about one piece of machinery or truck at a time. Repeat this line of questioning for each of the pieces of equipment.

~What piece of machinery do you see?
~What’s it doing in the pictures?

~Do you notice anything humorous on these pages?

~Can you tell how any of the pieces of machinery might be feeling?

After you have finished looking at the illustrations, ask:

~Do you have a favorite truck or piece of machinery?

~Do you have any questions about the story?

1 Jun.2014

0 Comments

Third Reading: A Sick Day For Amos McGee

During the Third Reading you will have three different ways to read the story:

~Your child and you may switch roles, with your child reading/retelling and you asking questions.

~Your child and you may alternate “reading”pages.

~You may leave out words to see what vocabulary words your listener inserts. The substitutions may be new vocabulary words or other synonyms. The important point is that the word inserted keeps the meaning of the text the same.

All of these methods will enhance comprehension and retention of the story.

DISCUSSION OPTIONS:

~At the end of the story, make up a story about what happens the next morning. Try to build the word amble into your creative extension. Try to build humor into the extension as the author does.

~Would you like to have a friend like Amos? Why?

~Does Amos remind you of any of your friends? Who? Explain.

~Which animal character would you pick to be your friend? Why?

~ Let’s add another animal to the story to be Amos’s friend. Who can we add? How can we make the actions and the personality of the animal humorous?

ACTIVITY OPTIONS:

~ This story lends itself to a journal activity. In the Third Reading for Make Way for Ducklings, I mention a primary writing journal that is sold on Amazon. Find it in the Practickle Book Store. This would be an opportunity for your child and you to write and illustrate:

∙an extension of the story created by your child.

∙a story about a real-life friend.

~ Read Good Night, Gorilla. There are many connections between the two stories, both in the illustrations and in the text.

1 Jun.2014

0 Comments

Second Reading: A Sick Day For Amos McGee

During the Second Reading, you will:

~read the text.

~ask clarifying questions.

~focus on vocabulary words.

*Read the pages before any discussion starts. This won’t be as easy as it sounds with your excited listener sharing thoughts, questions, and connections.

Pages 1 – 3:

Read the pages. The author has a different way of saying things. Some of the text reminds me of objects from the past:

~On page 1, clanged: loud sound made by a bell. How do our alarm clocks sound? Do they clang?

~On page 1, swapped: exchanged or traded. What does swapped mean? What is another way to say the same thing?

~ On page 2, wind: to tighten the main spring in order to work. There’s a picture of his watch on page 4. It’s an old fashioned watch.

– On page 3, ambled: to walk at a slow, easy pace. Use the text and the picture to understand what it means.

Pages 4 – 10:

Read the pages first.

~ As Amos spends time with each of his friends, he reveals something about his personality. What kind of a person is Amos McGee? (patient, kind, quiet, etc.)

~Are there any connections you can make between Mr. McGee and someone you know?

~ For each of the animals, the author has a humorous twist. Can you find the humorous twist for each animal? (the size of the elephant and the tiny chess pieces…..the slow tortoise winning every race……the shy penguin when penguins live in colonies and are very interactive……the rhinoceros who has a runny nose when they live in Africa and warm southeast Asia…….the night-time owl needing a night light)

Page 11 – 19:

Read the pages first.

~On pages 14 and 15, what happens “later that day…”?

~On pages 16 – 19, Mr. Stead doesn’t use text. Can you make up text for these pages?

~Could you figure out a way to use ambled?

Page 20 – 25:

Read the pages.

~ What do Amos’s good friends do for him? (It looks like they are showing him the same kind of friendship that he shows the animals.)

~There’s much humor in the text. How does Mr. Stead make each of the pages humorous?

~ There seems to be one animal missing. Who is it? (owl)

Page 26 – 27:

~ What has the owl been doing?

Pages 28 – 30:

Now the owl gets to read a book to Amos!

~ What do you think happens the next day?

~Do you have any questions about the text? Does it match well with the illustrations?

~Does it answer any questions that we had from

1 Jun.2014

0 Comments

First Reading: A Sick Day For Amos McGee

During the First Reading, focus on making inferences and connections with the illustrations.

When making inferences there will be two basic questions to ask your listener as you turn the pages:

~What do you see?

~What is happening?

These two questions help the brain form inferences, predictions, and conclusions. First, the brain gathers evidence from the illustration. Then, prior knowledge connects with this evidence to form an inference, prediction or conclusion

When making these connections with your listener, you may begin with sentence stems such as:

~ ___________ reminds me of ………….

~ Remember when…………….

~This is like………………….

Make the connections as specific and detailed as possible.

Keep this reading to about twenty minutes. Base the time on the attention span of your listener.

Pages 1 – 4: The illustrations on pages 1 – 4 work together as a group. Do not ask questions until your child has had a chance to see all four pages. Then you can go back and ask the following questions:

~ Do you think this man might be Amos McGee? Why?

~ What do you see in the illustrations? What do you think is happening?

~ Humor is hidden in Erin Stead’s illustrations. Look for it on each page. (He looks like a grandpa, but he sleeps with a teddy bear, wears bunny slippers, etc.)

Page 5 – 10:

As you turn the pages:

~ What do you see? What do you think is happening?

~ Do you see any humor on this page? Do you think it’s humorous that the penguin wears socks? Why would the rhinoceros need a handkerchief?

This is a time to make some connections. Do these animals remind you of any other stories or story characters you know? Does the man remind you of anyone?

Page 11 – END:

As you turn the pages:

~ What do you see? What do you think is going on?

~ Talk about humor. The illustrations in this book are full of humorous details. Take time to find them. Ask, “What do you see that’s humorous on this page?”

~On pages 18 and 19, where do you think the animals might be going on the bus? Why do you think that?

After studying the illustrations:

~ Make connections about being sick and what people do to help you to feel better.

~ Make connections between the characters in this book and characters in other books.

~ What do you think this book might be about? (friendship, getting sick,……)

~ Are there any questions that are in your head right now?

Next time we will read the text.

1 Jun.2014

0 Comments

Third Reading This Is Not My Hat

After the Third Reading, information from the first two readings is analyzed. The reader is asked to evaluate, create, and make deeper connections. As a result of the work that the brain has done during the three readings you will see comprehension, personal involvement, and retention of story elements increase. So will your enjoyment of your story time!

Here are two options as you enjoy this reading with your child:

~Alternate pages. You read one page, and your listener retells the other.

~Your listener retells the entire text, and you are the listener and questioner.

DISCUSSION OPTIONS:

~Talk about the word, probably. Build probably into as many conversation topics as you can.

~Is the crab “right”to tell the big fish where the little fish has gone? If the crab had not told the big fish, how might the story end?

~If the little fish wants the big fish’s hat, what might be a better solution than stealing the hat?

ACTIVITY OPTIONS:
~Dramatize what happens in the tall plants. What might the two fish be saying to one another? How might the two fish be sounding and acting?
~Watch This Is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen – book trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhbYyEdYWY8

Music adds a lot of suspense to the story.

Parent Links

Practickle: Where Reading Is Made Run!

Third Reading Good Night Good Night

Third Reading Make Way For Ducklings

Second Reading Make Way For Ducklings

First Reading Make Way For Ducklings

Second Reading: Good Night Good Night Construction Site

First Reading Good Night Good Night Construction Site

Third Reading: A Sick Day For Amos McGee

Second Reading: A Sick Day For Amos McGee

First Reading: A Sick Day For Amos McGee

Third Reading This Is Not My Hat