This is a great book to introduce the alphabet and to enhance young children's vocabulary.
A special gem in this book is the hidden ladybug on each page. Kids will love trying to find the hidden ladybug!
Peas read this book with your child!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
LMNO Peas
I am getting more and more interested in alphabet books because of my two little ones. I love Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, but I need a break from the coconut tree! When I was searching the library last week I came across a keeper and thought I would share. LMNO Peas by Keith Baker is one cute alphabet book.
The book is full of peas who live within the alphabet. The peas are energetic little characters who share with the reader their occupations and hobbies. As the peas weave through the letter A, they share they are acrobats, artists and astronauts! As you read the prose aloud you will feel a gentle rhythm. The illustrations really make the book. The peas are cleverly illustrated. If you look closely you will find much humor in the pictures.
This is a great book to introduce the alphabet and to enhance young children's vocabulary.
A special gem in this book is the hidden ladybug on each page. Kids will love trying to find the hidden ladybug!
Peas read this book with your child!
This is a great book to introduce the alphabet and to enhance young children's vocabulary.
A special gem in this book is the hidden ladybug on each page. Kids will love trying to find the hidden ladybug!
Peas read this book with your child!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The Quiet Book
I recently stumbled across quite a gem of a book for younger readers! The Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood explores all the various forms quiet can take throughout a child's day. There are many types of quiet and this simple picture book takes the reader through a quiet journey of daily activities.
What I LOVE most about this book is it encourages the reader to discover the emotion behind each form of quiet! This book will get your child making inferences without much assistance from you! For example, when you read about "top of the roller coaster quiet" your child will draw upon his schema (background knowledge) and the picture cues to infer that this might be a scared or nervous type of quiet. So many times when we read with younger children we do not have high level thinking conversations because we think the child is too young. However, this book shows how simple creating inferences can be!
As you share this story with your child be sure to stop and connect emotions to each type of quiet. See if your child can connect to the different types of quiet. Be sure to share your thinking too! Kids love when parents share!
Some questions to ask your child to start the conversation:
What I LOVE most about this book is it encourages the reader to discover the emotion behind each form of quiet! This book will get your child making inferences without much assistance from you! For example, when you read about "top of the roller coaster quiet" your child will draw upon his schema (background knowledge) and the picture cues to infer that this might be a scared or nervous type of quiet. So many times when we read with younger children we do not have high level thinking conversations because we think the child is too young. However, this book shows how simple creating inferences can be!
As you share this story with your child be sure to stop and connect emotions to each type of quiet. See if your child can connect to the different types of quiet. Be sure to share your thinking too! Kids love when parents share!
Some questions to ask your child to start the conversation:
- How do you think _____feels?
- How would you feel?
- Can you think of a time you experienced that type of quiet?
- What other types of quiet can you think of?
This is one of my new favorite books. It is a deceptively simple book that conveys so much meaning. Underwood has written a follow-up book titled The Loud Book and it will be published in April! I cannot wait to get my hands on it!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
The Memory String
The Memory String by Eve Bunting is such a sweet story. It is the story of a little girl named Laura whose mother passed away a few years ago. Her father recently remarried and Laura is adjusting to life with her stepmother. To hold on to her deceased mother, Laura shares the buttons on her memory string with her cat. But her cat breaks the string and the buttons spread all across the yard. Laura's stepmother knows how important the memory string is to Laura and helps her find all the missing pieces.
I love when books share stories about social issues. For some reason it is always easier to hold a conversation with your child when you have a story as a springboard. This is a good book to share with all children because it teaches empathy; however it is a great book to share with children who have recently lost a parent or have parents who have divorced and remarried. The Memory String naturally lends itself to text-to-self connections. Children cannot only connect to the events of the story, but they can also connect to the emotions. This is also a good story for creating inferences. The author does not state how each of the characters are feeling throughout the story. The reader has to infer the characters feelings based upon the text's clues and their own background knowledge.
You will naturally come up with questions and comments to share with your child as you read this book, so I am only going to post a few to get your thinking conversation started.
1. Read to the end of page 7. Ask your child: Why do you think Laura pulls our her string a lot in front of her stepmother?
2. Read to the end of page 12. Ask your child: Laura seems pretty sad. Why do you think it hurts her to see her Dad and Jane happy?
3. Read to the end of page 14. Ask your child: Why do you think the memory string is so important to Laura? Do you have something that is important to you?
4. Read to the end of page 18. Ask your child: How do you think Laura feels? How do you think Jane feels? What about her Dad?
5. Read to the end of page 25. Ask your child: What might Laura be feeling when she hears Jane talk about the missing button?
6. Read to the end of page 31. Ask your child: What might Laura have to think about?
7. Read to the end of page 31. Ask your child: How do you think Laura feels at the end of the story? How do you think Jane feels?
A great extension to this book would be to start your own memory string. What would you collect?
I love when books share stories about social issues. For some reason it is always easier to hold a conversation with your child when you have a story as a springboard. This is a good book to share with all children because it teaches empathy; however it is a great book to share with children who have recently lost a parent or have parents who have divorced and remarried. The Memory String naturally lends itself to text-to-self connections. Children cannot only connect to the events of the story, but they can also connect to the emotions. This is also a good story for creating inferences. The author does not state how each of the characters are feeling throughout the story. The reader has to infer the characters feelings based upon the text's clues and their own background knowledge.
You will naturally come up with questions and comments to share with your child as you read this book, so I am only going to post a few to get your thinking conversation started.
1. Read to the end of page 7. Ask your child: Why do you think Laura pulls our her string a lot in front of her stepmother?
2. Read to the end of page 12. Ask your child: Laura seems pretty sad. Why do you think it hurts her to see her Dad and Jane happy?
3. Read to the end of page 14. Ask your child: Why do you think the memory string is so important to Laura? Do you have something that is important to you?
4. Read to the end of page 18. Ask your child: How do you think Laura feels? How do you think Jane feels? What about her Dad?
5. Read to the end of page 25. Ask your child: What might Laura be feeling when she hears Jane talk about the missing button?
6. Read to the end of page 31. Ask your child: What might Laura have to think about?
7. Read to the end of page 31. Ask your child: How do you think Laura feels at the end of the story? How do you think Jane feels?
A great extension to this book would be to start your own memory string. What would you collect?
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
One Green Apple
There are lots of good children's books out there, but I am so excited to share a book I think is GREAT! One Green Apple by Eve Bunting is one of my favorites. Bunting shares a simple story about a young immigrant girl, who speaks no English, on her first day of school in America. Children will empathize with the main character -- they are able to imagine what it would be like to be in a country where they dressed differently than everyone else and spoke a different language. This story truly teaches compassion, warmth and friendship.
Since children can empathize with the main character, this is a great book to make text-self connections and build on their schema (background knowledge). Sound familiar? Yep, children can make connections to most books! When students connect what is happening in the story to events in their own like you know they understand what they are reading! The more connections a child makes, the better! There are also opportunities in the story to infer or draw conclusions because so much of the story deals with human emotions.
Below are a few questions to guide your thinking conversation with your child. As always, the questions above are just a guide to enhance your comprehension conversation with your child. Only ask your child questions when it feels natural and will help enhance their understanding of the meaning this story is sharing.
1. Read to the end of page 6. Ask your child: What does the author mean when she says students looked at the girl coldly? Why do you think some kids would look at her like that? What do you do when you have a new student in your class?
2. Read to the end of page 7. Ask your child: How do you think the girl feels about being the only one in her class to wear a dupatta? Can you think of a time when you felt different?
3 Read to the end of page 12. Ask your child: How would you feel if you could not communicate with your teacher or friends?
4. Read to the end of page 14. Ask your child: Why do you think Farah picks a green apple? What do Farah and the green apple have in common?
5. Read to the end of page 19. Ask your child: Why do you think the boy wants to stop Farah from putting her green apple into the machine?
6. Read to the end of page 28. Ask your child: How do you think Farah feels?
7. Read to the end of page 32. Ask your child: What lesson do you think this story is trying to teach us?
Happy reading and conversing!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
American Tall Tales
I love Mary Pope Osborne! What young child does not enjoy the adventures of Jack and Annie in the Magic Tree House? However, did you know that Osborne has written several other books for young people other than her popular series? In 1991 she published American Tall Tales. It is a collection of stories about some famous fictional characters such as Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill, as well as actual people such as Johnny Appleseed and Davy Crockett. She also introduces the reader to lesser known personalities in American culture.
The stories are full of action and humor and the violence is kept to a minimum. This is a great collection of tall tales to share with your child. When I was teaching, I was always amazed how many of my students had never heard of the classic personalities that are presented in this collection. This collection will help build your child's schema (background knowledge) and will help familiarize them with the characteristics of a tall tale. This collection of stories are also great to make text-to-self and text-to-text connections. When sharing these stories with your child, let this collection just be your spring board. There are so many great stories out there about these wonderful characters. This is a great opportunity to compare the stories and see what themes they have in common.
In America, exaggerated storytelling began in the 1800s. The stories people told were about the land of America - the large mountains, dry deserts, and thick forests. The stories were told about the heroes who showed courage and ferocity to overcome the obstacles of the great land. What I love about American tall tales is that the characters are usually part fiction and part historical fact. The stories are tales that were created and shared (usually orally) from generation to generation about the trials and tribulations of early Americans.
They are really great stories and stories I strongly believe are still relevant in today's society. We can learn a lot from our tall-tale heroes!
The stories are full of action and humor and the violence is kept to a minimum. This is a great collection of tall tales to share with your child. When I was teaching, I was always amazed how many of my students had never heard of the classic personalities that are presented in this collection. This collection will help build your child's schema (background knowledge) and will help familiarize them with the characteristics of a tall tale. This collection of stories are also great to make text-to-self and text-to-text connections. When sharing these stories with your child, let this collection just be your spring board. There are so many great stories out there about these wonderful characters. This is a great opportunity to compare the stories and see what themes they have in common.
In America, exaggerated storytelling began in the 1800s. The stories people told were about the land of America - the large mountains, dry deserts, and thick forests. The stories were told about the heroes who showed courage and ferocity to overcome the obstacles of the great land. What I love about American tall tales is that the characters are usually part fiction and part historical fact. The stories are tales that were created and shared (usually orally) from generation to generation about the trials and tribulations of early Americans.
They are really great stories and stories I strongly believe are still relevant in today's society. We can learn a lot from our tall-tale heroes!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
The Golden Rule
Last night I was out-and-about during rush hour. I was quickly reminded why I do not travel during the five o'clock hour. Everyone is in a hurry. When people are in a hurry, I think their worst traits seem to appear. As I was sitting in traffic observing bad behavior being practiced by adults, I was quickly reminded of one of my favorite picture books: The Golden Rule by Ilene Cooper. I wish I could have stepped out of my car and shared this book with my fellow drivers. Sometimes even adults need a reminder about practicing the Golden Rule!
Cooper's book is such a great book to share with children. It is one of those books that works with kids in kindergarten and kids in high school. A young boy and his grandfather discuss the meaning and how to practice the Golden Rule. The grandfather shares many cultures and religions have their own versions of the golden rule. He shares examples with the young boy. The boy contemplates what the world would be like if everyone practiced the Rule.
This book is more than a story. It is a conversation starter. It really lends itself to talking about how you and your child can incorporate the Golden Rule into your daily lives. This is a super book for text-to-text connections and text-to-world connections. If you want your child to learn how to practice the Golden Rule, it is important they are able to connect the story to their life and to the larger context of the world. This is also a great opportunity to have your child synthesize information. How does their thinking about the Golden Rule change throughout the story? You want your child to get the big idea - what is the story trying to teach, but you also want to see how your child's thinking is enhanced throughout the story.
Some questions and sentence stems to start your conversation:
1. Read the first page "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and ask your child: Have you ever heard that saying before? What do you think it means?
2. Read to "How do you think that boy or girl is feeling" and ask your child: How do you think a new child feels at school? How would you feel if you were the new kid at school?
3. Read to "You're getting the idea" and ask your child: Can you think of a way you can practice the Golden Rule? or use the sentence stem: My new thinking about the Golden Rule is....
4. Read to "Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many problems between people. Between countries" Ask your child: Why do you think it is so hard to practice the Golden Rule?
5. Read to the end of the story. Talk with your child about what message you think the book is trying to teach. Use a sentence stem to continue the conversation. Some examples are: I used to think_________but now I think or I think the Golden Rule means ___________and I can implement it by __________.
There are so many great extensions to this story. You can write your family's own version of the Golden Rule and help each other put it in practice. You can keep a log of all the times you notice your child doing a specific deed that practices the Golden Rule. Once a week you can review each child's log and celebrate!
Another GREAT book to share with younger kids about the Golden Rule is Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller. It does a great job of teaching the Golden Rule in a very primary way. It might actually be a good book to start with and use The Golden Rule as a follow-up!
Cooper's book is such a great book to share with children. It is one of those books that works with kids in kindergarten and kids in high school. A young boy and his grandfather discuss the meaning and how to practice the Golden Rule. The grandfather shares many cultures and religions have their own versions of the golden rule. He shares examples with the young boy. The boy contemplates what the world would be like if everyone practiced the Rule.
This book is more than a story. It is a conversation starter. It really lends itself to talking about how you and your child can incorporate the Golden Rule into your daily lives. This is a super book for text-to-text connections and text-to-world connections. If you want your child to learn how to practice the Golden Rule, it is important they are able to connect the story to their life and to the larger context of the world. This is also a great opportunity to have your child synthesize information. How does their thinking about the Golden Rule change throughout the story? You want your child to get the big idea - what is the story trying to teach, but you also want to see how your child's thinking is enhanced throughout the story.
Some questions and sentence stems to start your conversation:
1. Read the first page "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and ask your child: Have you ever heard that saying before? What do you think it means?
2. Read to "How do you think that boy or girl is feeling" and ask your child: How do you think a new child feels at school? How would you feel if you were the new kid at school?
3. Read to "You're getting the idea" and ask your child: Can you think of a way you can practice the Golden Rule? or use the sentence stem: My new thinking about the Golden Rule is....
4. Read to "Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many problems between people. Between countries" Ask your child: Why do you think it is so hard to practice the Golden Rule?
5. Read to the end of the story. Talk with your child about what message you think the book is trying to teach. Use a sentence stem to continue the conversation. Some examples are: I used to think_________but now I think or I think the Golden Rule means ___________and I can implement it by __________.
There are so many great extensions to this story. You can write your family's own version of the Golden Rule and help each other put it in practice. You can keep a log of all the times you notice your child doing a specific deed that practices the Golden Rule. Once a week you can review each child's log and celebrate!
Another GREAT book to share with younger kids about the Golden Rule is Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller. It does a great job of teaching the Golden Rule in a very primary way. It might actually be a good book to start with and use The Golden Rule as a follow-up!
Monday, March 7, 2011
M is for Mischief
Do you ever have days when your children drive you batty? The next time you have one of those days, read M is for Mischief: An A to Z of Naughty Children by Linda Ashman. By the time you finish this alphabet book you will think your children are angels! Of course, your child might come up with some new ideas to drive you batty! However, that is not all bad....you will know they comprehended the poems in the book!
I love alphabet books, but I especially like this one because of the alliteration throughout the poems. Alliteration is the repetition of the first sound in a series of words or phrases. Each letter of the alphabet has a poem that tells the story of a naughty child. For example the first poem in the book is Angry Abby. The author uses several words that start with the letter A throughout the poem. It is a great book to read aloud!
I also enjoy this book because of the vast vocabulary used by the author. I guarantee this book will enhance your child's speaking vocabulary. When reading this book, make sure to take the time to stop and discuss the meaning of some of the words. This book serves as a great spring board for a writing activity. You and your child can work together to create your own poem about a naughty child. It might seem easy, but it is a very challenging task.
As for comprehension, your child will be able to make text-to-self connections (hopefully not too many!). The book is also great for helping your child infer. The title of the poem for the letter Q is Quarrelsome Quincy. I doubt many young children know the meaning of the word quarrelsome. However, after reading the poem your child should be able to use the text clues plus their background knowledge to infer the meaning.
This is such a fun book to read aloud. I really think some books are meant to be spoken -- this is one of them.
I love alphabet books, but I especially like this one because of the alliteration throughout the poems. Alliteration is the repetition of the first sound in a series of words or phrases. Each letter of the alphabet has a poem that tells the story of a naughty child. For example the first poem in the book is Angry Abby. The author uses several words that start with the letter A throughout the poem. It is a great book to read aloud!
I also enjoy this book because of the vast vocabulary used by the author. I guarantee this book will enhance your child's speaking vocabulary. When reading this book, make sure to take the time to stop and discuss the meaning of some of the words. This book serves as a great spring board for a writing activity. You and your child can work together to create your own poem about a naughty child. It might seem easy, but it is a very challenging task.
As for comprehension, your child will be able to make text-to-self connections (hopefully not too many!). The book is also great for helping your child infer. The title of the poem for the letter Q is Quarrelsome Quincy. I doubt many young children know the meaning of the word quarrelsome. However, after reading the poem your child should be able to use the text clues plus their background knowledge to infer the meaning.
This is such a fun book to read aloud. I really think some books are meant to be spoken -- this is one of them.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Now & Ben
I love picture books that not only tell a story, but also share historical information with the reader! Now & Ben The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin by Gene Barretta is one of those books. Not only does this book share the many inventions of Benjamin Franklin, but it also shows the reader how the invention has evolved in today's society. This story deepens one's appreciation for one of the most influential figures in American History.
It is important your child have some schema (background knowledge) about Ben Franklin before reading this story. The story talks about his inventions and how they helped shape present day society, but it does not go into much detail about his life. If your child does not have much schema about Ben Franklin take some time to read the book jacket with your child and talk about the words etched in the cobblestone on the cover (printer, statesman, writer, humorist, etc).
Since this story is full of information about Ben Franklin's inventions, this is a great story determine importance. When we read a text we accumulate lots of information, but our brains cannot remember every detail. Good readers need to learn how to remember and discuss important ideas and concepts.When determining what is important in a text the reader should always be thinking about what matters most in the story.
When you share this book with your child you can use some of the following sentence stems to help your child determine importance.
- I want to remember....
- What's important here....
- Wow! I think it is interesting that Ben...
- The most important thing I learned about Ben Franklin is....
Enjoy the story! When you spring your clocks forward on March 12th be sure to say a thank you to Benjamin Franklin!
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