Reading Connection

September 2019

Read-aloud favorites Fill your home with words ■ The Day You Begin (Jacqueline Woodson) Your child learned to talk The students in this story feel alone by hearing many words for different reasons, whether it’s every day. Now that she’s because of what they look like, how learning to read, seeing lots they talk, or what they eat. But the of words will make them children discover that when they familiar to her when she share their differences, they begin to comes across them in see just how well they do fit in. (Also books. Use these ideas to available in Spanish.) surround your youngster with words. ■ Night Night, Groot Label (Brendan Deneen) On sticky notes, help In this bedtime comic your child label furniture, book, Baby Groot is toys, and appliances with ready for bed after a long day. But their names. She could put his friend Rocket Raccoon has other each note on the correct item, ideas. He snatches Groot out of bed, then walk around the house and see and the two zoom across the universe how many words she can read. Idea: Let with their superhero friends. Will school, help her check the menu to find her create a nameplate for each person’s Groot ever get to sleep? out what’s for lunch. door—and even put one on the dog’s Collect ■ food bowl or the fish tank. Tigers & Tea with Toppy (Barbara Cut construction paper into fourths Kerley and Rhoda Knight Kalt) Post and staple the pieces together to create To Rhoda, her grandfather is “Toppy.” Use colorful tape to mark off a “bulletin word books. Your child might title one To everyone else, board” on the refrigerator. Your youngster “Food Words,” then cut words like cereal he’s the famous can post all kinds of things to read. Exam- and rice from food packages and glue wildlife artist ples: The school cafeteria menu, notes them all over the pages. She could put Charles R. Knight. from you, a joke. Then, make time daily her books on a shelf or on the coffee table This biography tells to read the board. For instance, before to pull out and read whenever she likes.♥ the story of a weekend adventure Rhoda and Toppy enjoy together. Tag along to the museum My school story and the zoo to see many of the artist’s drawings and paintings. w “What did you do in school today?” Instead of having your child tell you, ■ The Cloud Book (Tomie dePaola) encourage him to write it down. He’ll Can your youngster predict the work on putting events in order, and weather by looking you’ll learn all about his day. at the clouds? Ask your youngster to write a sentence Has she ever about what he did first. Example: “I rode the thought that a school bus.” Then ask, “What happened cloud was shaped like an animal? This next?” He might write: “We had reading and nonfiction book teaches readers about writing time. I went to lunch and ate with my common cloud types and the weather friends. We did math.” they typically bring. Tip: If your child isn’t writing yet, let him dictate his story to you.♥

lily pads, he could float Books and the leaves on a puddle. Or if there’s an illustration of a bear in a cave, great outdoors maybe he’ll use sticks Reading can be a quiet indoor pastime and rocks to build a for your youngster—or a playful outdoor miniature hideaway adventure! In your backyard or at the for his teddy bear. park, read stories that take place outside. Explore science. Do a Then, try these suggestions for helping science activity related your child make connections between to a book. Say the main books and his world. character in a story is an Recreate a picture. Let your youngster choose earthworm. Your child an illustration from a book and use props to make might observe worms on his own real-life version of it. If the picture shows a pond with the sidewalk after a rainstorm to see how they wriggle. Or after reading about a windy day, he may want to make a colorful wind sock to see which way the wind is blowing.♥

A back-to-school Read-alouds for new readers recipe ●Q My son loves it when I read to him. Now that he’s learning to read on his own, what should I do differ- Your youngster can practice writing ently at story time? instructions as she whips up a recipe for a great school year! ●A Simply continuing to read aloud to your son is one Together, read recipes for favorite of the best ways to support his reading. Kids who have dishes so she sees how they include an pleasant experiences with books tend to become ingredients list and step-by-step instruc- better readers. tions. Then, suggest that your child Try following your child’s lead at story time. If write her own list of ingredients for a he points out words he knows, offer encouragement. great school year. Example: “1 friendly (“You’re right, that word is blue.”) Or if he asks what a 1 teacher, –2 cup reading, a dash of recess.” word means, give a quick kid-friendly explanation. (“Locomotive is a big word for train.”) Also, share your reactions to the book, and let your son do the same. Example: 1. Combine 1 friendly teacher “I was really hoping the train would make it up the hill. Did you think it would?” 1 ♥ with –2 cup reading. You’ll find that talking about stories is a natural way to boost his comprehension. 2. Sprinkle in a dash of recess.

3. Add –1 cup math games. 2 Let’s do research! Next, she should write a step for each My daughter Kara my phone to answer Kara’s questions. ingredient. Encourage her to use cooking asks a lot of ques- For instance, I help her type her topic words like those in the recipes she read tions. During a into the library database, and we look (stir, combine, blend). recent trip to the library, we read a non- at the list of suggested books. Then the Finally, listen while your youngster fiction book that answered her most librarian points us toward the section reads her finished recipe to you.♥ recent one: “Why do we where we can find get the hiccups?” what we need. OUR PURPOSE Now Kara keeps a list Kara is learning To provide busy parents with practical ways of questions she thinks her way around to promote their children’s reading, writing, and language skills. of. When we visit the the library, and Resources for Educators, library, we look up the she’s even learning a division of CCH Incorporated 128 N. Royal Avenue • Front Royal, VA 22630 answers. Our research to use a book’s 800-394-5052 • [email protected] is turning out to be far index to locate the www.rfeonline.com more educational—and information she’s ISSN 1540-5648 more fun—than asking looking for.♥ © 2019 Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated October 2019

Read-aloud favorites Writing is practical ■■Gymnastics Time! (Brendan Flynn) This nonfiction book takes readers Show your youngster how use- inside a gym to see gymnasts in ful writing can be by giving him action. It explains basic facts about real-life reasons to put pencil to the sport, such as how to get started paper. Here are a few ideas. and what equipment To-do lists the athletes use. What does your child want Part of the Sports or need to do this week? Help Time series. him make lists to keep (Also available track. He might list Lego in Spanish.) structures he plans to build (castle, rocket) or ■■We Don’t Eat Our Classmates chores he needs to com- (Ryan T. Higgins) plete (water plants, dust). Penelope Rex is a little dinosaur who Or maybe he’ll list upcoming ate her classmates on the first day of events, such as going to the book school. (Could she help it if they fair and eating dinner with Grandma. He Memory book were delicious?) Now no one wants can check off each item as he finishes it. Suggest that your child start a note- to be friends with Reminders book of favorite memories. Each night her. It takes a lesson before bed, he could write and illustrate Let your youngster be your secretary from the class gold- three things he wants to remember about and write reminders for you. Examples: fish to put Penelope the day. Examples: Jumping in a pile of “Buy milk.” “Sign field trip form.” Provide on the right track. leaves, listening to his teacher read a a pad of sticky notes (and a little spelling good book, learning a funny joke. ■■Space Taxi: Archie Takes Flight help) for him to jot them down. Then, set (Wendy Mass and Michael Brawer) up a place to leave the notes where you Note: If your youngster is just learning Archie Morningstar is excited to will see them. Encourage reading practice to write, ask him to write letters or words spend Take Your Kid to Work Day in by leaving notes for him, too. he knows, and help him fill in the rest.♥ his dad’s taxi. But when he climbs in the car, he discovers that his dad is a A record of my reading taxi driver for aliens from outer space. Instead of a trip around the w These ongoing craft projects will help city, Archie is on an intergalactic your child keep track of books she reads this adventure! The first book in the year—and show her how she’s progressing Space Taxi series. as a reader. ●●Paper chain. Help your youngster write ■■A Full Moon is Rising each book title on a strip of construction paper. (Marilyn Singer) She can link the strips together to form a colorful Poetry, geography, and chain that will get longer the more she reads. Idea: Suggest that she use different- culture come together in color strips for different types of books (green for animal tales, purple for poetry). this volume. Each poem is ●●Patchwork quilt. Have your child write book titles on separate construction- about a full moon in a different part paper “quilt” squares. Encourage her to decorate each one—maybe she’ll make a of the world. A special section offers red-and-white striped square for The Cat in the Hat (Dr. Seuss). Now help her tape interesting facts about each place or staple the squares together in rows and columns for a quilt that grows through- mentioned in the poems. out the year!♥

numbers and shapes, for example, read I can learn from nonfiction! math picture books. Or she could find a biography of a historical figure she’s Nonfiction books are fun for your studying. She’ll learn new facts and youngster to read—and they build gain a deeper understanding of the knowledge she needs in school now topic. and later. Help her become a fan of nonfiction with these tips. Read graphics. Many nonfiction books include charts, tables, maps, Explore school subjects. Let your and diagrams like those your young- child check out nonfiction library ster will see in textbooks. When you books that are related to topics she read together, be sure to read the studies in school. As she learns about graphics, too, so she becomes com- fortable with them. For instance, she’ll learn to read the titles, captions, or data Real or they contain. Idea: Suggest that she make her own graphic. After reading a chart about endan- nonsense? gered animals, perhaps she’ll draw a chart showing animals that live in your neighborhood.♥ How are the words fan and can related? They both belong to the –an word family! Give your youngster’s reading and spelling skills a boost with Autumn fine-motor play this word family game. Your child’s hands need to be strong and coor- dinated for tasks like writing and cutting with scissors. Try these fall-themed activities to give his little fingers a workout. Pumpkin pincushion. Let your youngster stick pushpins all over a small pumpkin. Then, he could stretch colorful rubber bands between the pins to create designs. Apple tree. Have him draw the outline of a tree on paper. He can place red pom- 1. Get a set of magnetic letters or letter pom apples on his tree and then use tweezers to “pick” them up. tiles. Set aside the vowels, and mix up Leaf rubbing. Together, gather leaves from the ground outside. Encourage your the consonants in a bowl. child to tape one to a table, place a sheet of paper on top, and rub the side of an 2. Let your child choose a word family, unwrapped crayon over it. The leaf’s outline will appear! such as -an, -op, -ug, or -et, and find the Seed signs. Ask your youngster to create a sign for your door by gluing apple or magnetic letters or tiles for his “family.” pumpkin seeds onto paper to spell “W-E-L-C-O-M-E.”♥ 3. Take turns drawing a consonant from the bowl and saying it with the word family. Does it make a real word or a nonsense word? For instance, adding b Working with the reading specialist to -ug makes bug (real). But adding g ●Q My daughter meets especially helpful for students who makes gug (nonsense). with the school reading teacher each week. struggle with reading. 4. If it’s a real word, the player writes it How can I work with the teacher to help The specialist may also tell you what down. When all the consonants have my child do her best? your daughter is doing well and where been used, the person with the longest they’re working on ways to improve. A Start by asking the reading specialist list picks the next word family so you ● Finally, be sure to attend what you and your daughter can play again.♥ all IEP (Individualized can do at home. For Education Program) OUR PURPOSE example, the teacher meetings. The teacher To provide busy parents with practical ways might suggest specific will answer your ques- to promote their children’s reading, writing, cues to give your child and language skills. tions, explain anything when she reads a word Resources for Educators, that you don’t under- a division of CCH Incorporated incorrectly. Or maybe 128 N. Royal Avenue • Front Royal, VA 22630 stand, and help you plan she’ll have ideas for 800-394-5052 • [email protected] for your daughter’s read- www.rfeonline.com word games that are ISSN 1540-5648 ing success.♥

Read-aloud favorites Playing with ABCs ■■Do Not Lick This Book (Idan Ben-Barak) Recognizing the letters of The title of this pic- the alphabet is one of the ture book offers good first stepping-stones on advice—since, as the the exciting path to pages explain, germs becoming an indepen- are everywhere. A little dent reader. Try these microbe named Min gives readers a activities as your child humorous introduction to germs, learns her ABCs. explaining where they live and what Alphabet train they do. All aboard! This playtime project encour- ■■Froggy Gets Dressed (Jonathan ages your youngster to London) write and play with letters. Let Froggy should be hibernating through her collect small cardboard boxes. the winter, but playing in the snow is She can cover each one with construc- more exciting. Soon, he’s outside and tion paper and label it with a different ready to play—but he's not dressed for smiley face in the loop of the p and make letter of the alphabet (uppercase and the weather. Early readers will love the straight line into a ponytail by draw- lowercase). Then, punch holes in the predicting what Froggy ing a ribbon around it. boxes, and use yarn to string them has forgotten each Letter search together like cars in a train. time his mother calls Choose a word, and see if your young- him back inside. Alpha-doodles ster can find its letters on signs or labels. (Also available in Calling your child’s attention to She’ll learn to recognize letters with differ- Spanish.) loops, lines, and curves helps her tell ent fonts, which will help her read the similar letters apart. Pick two lowercase print in various books. Before dinner, you ■■Katherine Johnson (Thea Feldman) letters, perhaps p and q or v and w. Have could say, “We’re having tacos. Go find Even as a little girl, Katherine John- her print a big version of each letter and t-a-c-o-s.” Maybe she’ll spot t on the son knew she wanted a job using her turn them into doodles. She might draw a package of tortillas, a on a jar of salsa, favorite subject—math. But she and so on.♥ didn’t know that one day she would help NASA calculate flight paths for astronauts. This biography describes I found a poem! her life and work. Part of the You w A pile of books next to your youngster’s Should Meet series. bed or at the library could inspire him to write a “found poem.” ■■ The Treasure (Uri Shulevitz) A found poem uses words your child In this retelling of a classic folktale, finds in print—in this case, on book Isaac keeps dreaming about hidden spines. Have him choose several books treasure under a bridge near a castle. with fun titles and stack them so he can see But when he goes in search all the spines. For example, his stack might of it, the treasure is include Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (Bill Martin Jr. and not there. Where John Archambault) and Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin! (Lloyd Moss). will he find it Now he can use the words to write a poem. It’s fine for him to add words of his in the end? own, too. His poem might begin: “Chicka chicka zin zin / I like to play the violin.”♥

Explain. Ask your youngster Make words stick to teach his little sister or his grandpa a word he learned To truly learn new words, your youngster today. Example: “Prefer needs to use them over and over again in means you like something different situations. Use these strategies to better than something else. I make new words a permanent part of prefer blue to red.” Explain- his vocabulary. ing the definition in his See. Attaching words to something con- own words helps him make crete helps to cement them in your child’s sense of it in a way that memory. When you’re out and about, you works for him. might point out construction workers using Repeat. Look for opportuni- a crane to lift a load, or say the wind is blustery ties to use new words in various contexts. For instance, if because it’s blowing hard. your child learned gravity while reading about space, you could take turns naming something that might happen if we didn’t have gravity. (“Without gravity, it would be really easy to do flips in the air!”)♥ Compound combos Getting the most out Thanks + giving = Thanksgiving! of audiobooks Here’s an idea that lets your child learn about compound words, or longer words My daughters love made up of two smaller words. audiobooks. I mentioned this to one of their teachers and asked if listening to Make cards them counts as “real” reading. Mr. Jackson Together, think of a dozen com- said audiobooks are great for readers of any pound words (mailbox, playground). age. Then he gave me an idea for using Have her write and illustrate the two them to build the girls’ comprehension skills. words from each compound word on Mr. Jackson suggested that I listen to audio- separate index cards. books with my daughters. We could follow along in a print version so they make the (For suitcase, she connection between the words they hear and the words they see. He also recom- would write mended that we stop sometimes to talk about the book—just like we would if I suit on one were reading it aloud. We might discuss the characters, predict the ending, or go card and over a confusing part, he said. case on Since then, the girls and I have checked out several audiobooks from the library, another.) and I think they’re helping them become stronger readers.♥ Mix and match Ask your youngster to form other compound words. She might think, Tell me about your drawing “A housefly is a fly in the house. I could ●Q While volunteering in my After he finishes telling you about a make firefly by using fire from campfire son’s classroom, I noticed the teacher ask- picture, take the conversation a step fur- and fly from housefly.” Or maybe she’ll ing students to tell stories about pictures ther by asking questions. For example, form sunflower by putting together sun they drew. What’s the purpose of this? you might say, “Where will the squirrel from sunrise and flower from flowerpot. hide the nuts?” Or maybe you’ll ask A Drawing a picture is one way your How many combinations can she ● about the process that went into his son tells a story. For instance, if find?♥ drawing: “How did you he draws a squirrel with its choose the colors?” OUR PURPOSE cheeks full of nuts, he’s Tip: Suggest that To provide busy parents with practical ways communicating that the to promote their children’s reading, writing, he write a story squirrel is collecting nuts. and language skills. about his draw- Describing the picture Resources for Educators, ing—or offer to a division of CCH Incorporated out loud encourages 128 N. Royal Avenue • Front Royal, VA 22630 write down his him to think it through 800-394-5052 • [email protected] story as he dic- www.rfeonline.com and perhaps add more ISSN 1540-5648 tates it to you.♥ information. © 2019 Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated