Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature

by

Joyce Sidman

 

Ms. Sidman organizes the spirals of the natural world into categories. Some of her categories are: spirals that are snuggling shapes for sleeping, strong shapes for defense, or shapes that reach out to anchor an organism or help it move. The text during the story is minimal. However, the author uses great adjectives to describe the spirals: snuggling, coiled, expanding, clever, and graceful. There is an explanatory index at the back of the book that goes into greater detail to explain Ms. Sidman’s use of each of these adjectives. The index is a great resource to help the reader answer questions that the listener might pose.

The illustrations are bold. Every time that you look at them you will appreciate the beauty and instructional value in each page. The text and the illustrations blend perfectly, interesting both the young artist and the young scientist. The text combines informational text into free verse poetry. What a great reading experience!

 

Isabel Beck, a well-known reading expert, encourages quality read-alouds in early childhood to support children’s language development. However, successful read-alouds don’t just happen. Practickle’s mission is to provide the structure for these meaningful read-aloud sessions. In the guide to accompany this book, the featured Reading Comprehension Best Practice is to have a purpose or focus to the reading. Providing a purpose for reading helps children concentrate as they read. So, after the First Reading’s study of the illustrations, encourage your child to think up a couple of questions that the text might answer. Looking for the answers to these questions helps the brain focus. Finding the answers in the text helps children to see the value of the text as an important part of learning.