THIRD READING: ANALYSIS – OLIVIA

For the Third Reading, read the book all the way through. Share the reading responsibilities with the listener any way you wish. You may wish to alternate reading pages, or have the child retell the story. If your child is retelling the story to you, help your child use the details in the illustrations to guide the retelling and when to turn the page.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Discussion Options will focus on Olivia’s personality.

~Do you think Olivia behaves properly in the book?

~What activity do you think Olivia does the best?

~Give an example of a time in the story when Olivia and you are the most alike.

~Give an example of a time in the story when Olivia and you are the most different.

~To reinforce the vocabulary, discuss times in your life when you:

wore people out                         basked in the sun                were firm with someone someone was firm with you      you visited a museum.

ACTIVITIES:

~Use the graphic organizers to record and organize your responses to these questions:

How are Olivia and you alike?

How are Olivia and you different?

or

What do you do well?

What do you want to learn to do well?

~Check out Olivia’s website: www.myolivia.com

~Check out this website for other activities: www.homeschoolshare.com. Search: Olivia.

SECOND READING: TEXT AND VOCABULARY – OLIVIA

During the reading of the text, look for information to answer your questions. If you didn’t have any questions, don’t worry. Connect the information in the text to your inferences about the illustrations.

*There are a few vocabulary words that are highlighted.

*Ask the questions after you read the pages.

Pages 2 – 3:

~ wearing people out: getting people tired. What does wearing people out mean?

~Do you wear people out like Olivia does?

Page 4 – 9:

~On page 5, firm: demanding. What does it mean to be firm with Ian?

~Does Olivia do any of the same activities that you do?

~Why might she have to keep moving Edwin?

Pages 10 – 14:

~What does Olivia do well at the beach?

~On page 14, bask in the sun: lie and relax in the sun. What does bask in the sun mean?

~Is basking in the sun a good idea or a bad idea? Discuss.

Pages 15 – 17:

~What do you think she might be saying to her mother about taking a nap? Do you agree with Olivia?

Pages 18 – 21:

~Can you figure out what a museum might be? (a place where art or other objects of value are displayed)

~On page 19, what might Olivia be thinking?

Pages 22 – 25:

~On page 24, time out: for a child: a short break in play or work due to misbehavior. What is a time out?

~Do you think Olivia should have a time out for painting the picture?

~Have you ever had a time out, like Olivia?

Pages 26 – End:

~What do you think Olivia is dreaming about?

~Do you dream about the books that you read?

~Why might Olivia wear her mother out?

FIRST READING: ILLUSTRATIONS – OLIVIA

The purpose of the illustrations is to give you information about the main character, Olivia. Mr. Falconer uses quite a bit of humor in them which both reader and listener will enjoy. As you move through the illustrations, you’ll be talking about Olivia’s personality traits, her likes and dislikes, and her family.

*Page 1 is the page on which the text begins.

Pages 2 – 5:

Meet Olivia.

~What activities do you see Olivia doing?

~What does this tell you about Olivia? (She is very active and likes to do many things.)

~Do you like to do any of the things that Olivia likes to do?

~On pages 4 and 5, who do you think the little piglet might be?

Pages 6 – 7:

~What do you see Olivia doing?

~How are Olivia and you alike? How are Olivia and you different?

Pages 8 – 9:

~What do you notice about Olivia’s clothes? What might this tell you about Olivia?

~On page 8, note Olivia trying to wear a pair of panty hose. Panty hose might need an explanation to your listener.

Pages 10 – 14:

~Where are Olivia, her mother, and brother?

~What can you tell about Olivia from these illustrations? (She likes the beach. She knows how to swim.)

Pages 15 – 17:

~On page 15, how does Olivia seem to be feeling? Why might she be feeling this way?

~What do you think is happening on these pages?

Pages 18 – 20:

~On page 18, what do you see? Does this give you a clue where Olivia, her mother, and her brother might be?

~On page 19, what do you think Olivia is looking at?

~On page 20, what do you see? What might be happening?

Page 21 – 24:

~What do you see on these pages?

~Why might Olivia be sitting on the steps by herself?

Pages 25 – End:

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

~Look at the faces of the characters. How are they feeling? Why might they be feeling that way?

~Is the ending happy? Why or why not?

What did we learn about Olivia’s likes and dislikes from the illustrations?

What did we learn about Olivia’s family from the illustrations?

After looking at the illustrations, some questions that occurred to my grandchildren were simple questions, such as:

~Why is there so much red in the illustrations?

~Why does her mother look like she gets mad at her?

Write down any questions that you have to have them handy for the Second Reading of Olivia. After the Second Reading, your listener will discover that sometimes the text will provide the answers to the questions, and sometimes it won’t. When the text doesn’t provide an answer, it can be a learning experience to talk about what questions weren’t answered. Sometimes the author wants the reader to create their own ideas or answers using clues provided in the illustrations and text.