For the Second Reading the focus will be on both the text and a vocabulary word, probably.

Research done at both the University of Virginia and Ohio State University was reported in a National Public Radio (www.npr.org) article by Alix Spiegel (May 29, 2012). Ms. Spiegel notes the importance of focusing your child’s attention on the details in the text. Asking simple questions about the text leads to stronger comprehension. Modeling for the listener the importance of the text leads to building an appreciation for both the obvious and subtle meanings of the text. As you read, encourage connections to the previous “reading”of the illustrations. Tie the illustrations and the text together.

Read the pages before any discussion.

Pages 1 – 2

~Who is telling the story? (the little fish)

~Now that you know what the fish is thinking, look at the fish’s eye. How might he be feeling?
~How fast do you think he is swimming? Why might he be swimming quickly? (He looks like he is looking behind him. He looks like he thinks someone is chasing him.)

Pages 3 – 4:

~What is humorous about the text? (The little fish stole the hat from a very big fish. The hat is so little.)

Pages 5 – 6:

~ On page 6, probably: very likely, usually.

~Is the little fish correct, or do you think that the big fish woke up right away? Explain.

Pages 7 – 14:

Read the pages first.

~Do you think that the little fish is correct?  Discuss.

~What do you think of his plan to hide “where the plants grow big and tall and close together”? Is his plan going to work? Explain.

Pages 15 – 18:

~Does the crab keep the little fish’s hiding place a secret?

~Why do you think the crab shows the big fish where the little fish has gone?

Pages 19 – 20:

The little fish tries to explain why he stole the hat.

~Is he correct to take the big fish’s hat? Discuss.

Page 21 – 22:

~Does the little fish make it to safety?

Finish the text.

~Does the little fish stay safe?

~What probably happens in the tall plants?

Spend time talking about what is going on in the tall plants. Encourage the use of all senses.

Talk about the last pages. How does the story end?

During the First Reading you will focus only on the illustrations. There will be two basic questions that you will ask your listener as you turn the pages:

~“What do you see?”

~“What do you think 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.

Repeatedly stressing the difference between what you see in the illustration and what is happening gives readers practice in using evidence for their inferences. This is an essential skill that good readers use to make their inferences, predictions, and conclusions in all types of text.

Remember the attention span of your listener. Keep the story time to about twenty minutes.

If the pages are not numbered, page 1 is the first page of text.

Title Page: Look at the title page. Jon Klassen is both the author and the illustrator.

Pages 1 – 2:

~What do you see?

~What do you think is happening?

~Why might the background black? (A response might be that the fish is in very deep water….no sunlight.)
~How might it feel in this kind of water?
~What sounds might you hear?

~Look at the little fish’s eyes. How do you think he is feeling?

Pages 3 – 4:

~What is the big fish doing? What details make you think that?

Pages 5 – 6:

~What changes are in this illustration? (eyes and bubbles) Do the eyes and bubbles tell us how the fish is feeling?

~Why might the big fish have this look on his face?

~What sounds might you hear in this scene?

Pages 7 – 20:

~Notice the changes on these pages.

~What do you think is happening on each page? What do the eyes reveal?

Continue through this series of pages. Notice the eyes of the characters. The illustrator uses the eyes to tell us a lot.

Pages 21 – 28:

As you get to the pages where the tall sea plants cover the pages, you have reached a great opportunity for visualizing.
~What sounds might you hear?

~If you could see into the thick seaweed, what might you see?

Pages 29 – End:

~On pages 29 and 30, look at the crab. What do you think the crab might be thinking?
~On pages 31 and 32, what do you see?

~How does the big fish seem to be feeling? Why might the big fish be feeling this way?

Next time, we will read the words. Do you have any questions that the text might answer when we read?

About This Book: THIS IS NOT MY HAT

By Jon Klassen

his popular book has two story streams.  One stream is through the illustrations where the action in the plot unfolds. The other story stream is through the text where the thoughts of the little “thief” are revealed. Along with the unique relationship between illustrations and text, there are a couple of parts in the book that lend themselves to rich practice in visualizing. Visualizing is a “Best Practice” in the building of strong reading comprehension strategies.

Several years ago, I read an article in Psychology Today: “Seeing is Believing: The Power of Visualization” (December 2, 2009, written by Angie LeVan). In the article, Ms. LeVan gives powerful examples of professional athletes using visualization to enhance their physical performance. From my work with a wide range of ages and abilities, visualizing is a powerful tool that strong readers use both to enhance their enjoyment of text and to self-monitor their comprehension. When a skilled reader realizes that a mental image is “fuzzy” or not making sense, other “fix-up” skills are employed to clear up the image (aka: comprehension).

As you are reading this story, share your mental images with the listener. Be detailed. Include as many of the senses as you can. Share not only what you see, hear, taste, etc., but also the feelings that the text and illustrations evoke in you.

To unlock the full potential that visualizing has to enrich comprehension, visualization must be practiced. Along with talking about visualization, drawing the mental images or dramatizing them with your children are great fun and can provide some lasting memories.