The purpose of this reading is to bring everything together: the text, the vocabulary, and the illustrations. The discussion and activity options focus on analyzing the main idea, theme, character traits, setting and how all of the story elements fit together.
During this reading your child and you will read the story all the way through. Three ways that you can add fun and improve recall during this reading are:
~You may switch roles and become the listener and questioner as your child “reads”(retells) the story to you.
~Your child and you may alternate the pages you read to each other.
~You may be the primary reader, stopping at places of your choice to have your child finish the sentence in her own words or supply the next word. (similar to filling in the blank) This would be an opportunity to reinforce special vocabulary words, like epsilon.
DISCUSSION OPTIONS:
~Paul is described as an eccentric person (not a regular character, peculiar or odd behavior). Would you like to have Paul as a friend? Discuss both his positive and negative traits.
~On page 21, Paul said, “The world is my home.”What did he mean? Would you want to live as Paul lived?
~This story is of Paul’s life. How did Paul stay the same from his childhood until he “left this world”? How did Paul change?
ACTIVITY OPTIONS:
~Think of opportunities to use math terms, such as: add, subtract, infinity, epsilon, million, and 100%. These could be added to your Word Wall.
~One of the unique things that Paul brought to the world of mathematics was the joy and benefit of great minds working together in collaboration on a problem. There are many simple math workbooks in stores. Find one that interests you. Work on the problems in it with someone, like Paul did. Talk about your math problems as you work toward solutions.
~There are other great vocabulary words to put on your Word Wall, such as: generous, genius, impatient, and improbable. Try to use each one of them five times. Fräulein would be a fun word to use, too.