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?

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?

My grandson LOVES cars and trucks. I mean REALLY loves them. Both fiction and informational picture books that have any vehicles are the books he requests repeatedly. When I first read this book, I was so excited. It’s about trucks and big construction machinery, AND it is rich with inferencing opportunities. Most of the thinking that we do each day is forming inferences which includes predictions and conclusions.

The experience that REALLY taught me how to teach was teaching reading to secondary at-risk students. What was blocking the comprehension of most of these students was a lack of strategies and skills to help them when comprehension broke down. I taught them how the brain forms inferences:
LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE + LINK IT TO WHAT YOU ALREADY KNOW = AN INFERENCE!

When reading text, students would practice saying to themselves:

~What does the text say?

~What do I already know about this?

~So…………………… (The prediction, conclusion, or inference forms.)

Since the early 80’s research has confirmed inferencing’s importance to comprehension. Kathryn S. Carr in an article in The Reading Teacher in 1983 mentioned important findings from 1980 that state, “Inferencing is the most important comprehension subskill.” Since then, research continues to affirm her statement, granting inferencing Best Practice status. Successful students know how to form inferences. Strong readers make more inferences and more correct inferences than poor readers. Let’s get our young readers started inferring!

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?