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© 2017 Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated

September 2017

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Your child can talk, write, and draw her way to better reading comprehension. Try these fun activ-ities to help her understand and remember what she reads.

TalkDid you know that talking about

books can improve your youngster’s comprehension skills? Invite her to retell stories and share details about what she reads. Ask open- ended questions like “Why do you think…?” or “What did you like about…?” Describing the story in her own words will prompt her to think through what she read and to organize her thoughts.

WriteEncourage your youngster to jot down

insights and questions while reading. The process of asking and answering “How does Jamal really feel about having a baby brother?” lets her monitor how well she is understanding what she reads. Tip: Sticky notes are ideal for writing notes and mark-ing passages, or she could use a small notebook.

■ The Templeton Twins Have an Idea (Ellis Weiner)

It’s double trouble in this mystery about the disappearance of twins John and Abigail Templeton. Their dad is an inventor and the kid-nappers are college-age twins who want to cash in on his invention. The first book in the Templeton Twins series. (Also available in Spanish.)

■ Eight Dolphins of Katrina: A True Tale of Survival (Janet Wyman Coleman)In 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept

eight dol-phins from

their Missis-sippi aquarium

home into the Gulf of Mexico. Your child

can read about the dangers the dol-phins faced and how their trainers never gave up on rescuing them.

■ Next Best Junior Chef: Lights, Camera, Cook! (Charise Mericle Harper)A multicultural cast of tweens competes for top chef honors on a reality TV show. This fictional tale captures the contestants’ nervousness and excitement as they navigate cook-ing challenges. The first story in the Next Best Junior Chef series.

■ Sonia Sotomayor (Barbara Kramer)Sonia Sotomayor is America’s first His-panic Supreme Court justice—and only the third woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. This easy-to-read biography describes Sotomayor’s rise from a humble back-ground, her early interest in the law, and obstacles she overcame.

Boost reading comprehension

Three cheers for writing!

Book Picks

When your youngster shows you his summer vacation essay or book report, you have a chance to recognize his writing accomplishments. Here are three ways to celebrate.

1. Display. Reserve a wall in the hallway or family room to hang writing samples. You might even frame them like the masterpieces they are.

2. Arrange a read-aloud. Encourage your child to read his writing to grandparents, aunts, and uncles when they visit—or during a video call.

3. Create a coffee table book. Let your youngster decorate a binder to fill with his favorite stories or reports. Place it on a coffee table so visitors can enjoy his work.

DrawLike a mountain, the plot of a story

builds to a peak. Have your child draw a mountain on a sheet of paper and illus-trate it with characters, places, and objects from the story. On one side of the moun-tain, she can write about the characters, setting, and problem. At the top, she could summarize the most critical part. And on the way down, she might explain how the problem was solved.


To provide busy parents with practical waysto promote their children’s reading, writing,

and language skills.

Resources for Educators, a division of CCH Incorporated

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Brainstorming story starters

Road-trip reads. In the car, keep a stash of books that includes short items—perhaps an almanac, a book of world records, a volume of poetry, or a joke book. Your

child could pull out a variety and read to

everyone.

Trivia time. Cards from quiz games (Trivial Pursuit

Junior, Beat the Parents) offer fun ways to get kids reading—and learning new facts—any time of day. Put a batch of ques-tions in a tote bag, and quiz each other after dinner or in a waiting room.

Reading rituals that workEstablishing regular routines helps

busy families find more time to read. Fit more reading into your child’s day with these clever ideas.

Breakfast broadcasts. Morning reading can be as easy as bringing the newspaper to the table. Your youngster might read movie reviews, sports columns, or comics. Or ask him to check the weather page and announce the forecast.

●Q For homework this year, my son has to write a weekly

journal entry on a topic of his choice. He’s already saying he doesn’t know what to write about. How can I help?

●A Your son may be surprised to dis-cover that an ordinary event like a soc-cer game or a family picnic can inspire an interesting story.

Chat with him regularly about his week—what was exciting, surprising, or funny? He might say, “Even though my team

Loving the school library

My daughter Lily loves library day at school, but last year she kept forgetting to return books. This year, we have a plan to help her remem-ber so she can check out new books each week.

I asked Lily to find a special place for library books. She covered a cardboard box with wrapping paper and put it on the counter with her books inside. Then, she added a sign that says “Thursday: Books go in backpack” on one side and “Friday is Library Day!” on the other.

Now Lily flips the sign to the front on Thursdays and to the back on Fridays. Hopefully our new plan will remind Lily to return books throughout the year—and enjoy the new books she brings home each Friday.

Pop goes the spelling word!Give your youngster’s spelling study time a fun

burst of energy with this active balloon game.

1. Blow up one balloon for each spelling word

on your child’s list. Have her use a permanent

marker to write a word on each balloon.

2. Now the action starts! She and her friends

take turns picking a balloon and saying the

word that’s written on it.

3. Players bat the balloon back and forth.

Each time someone hits it, that person calls

out one letter in the word in order. The player who finishes spelling the word by

shouting the last letter gets to pop the balloon with a pin.

4. The “popper” chooses another balloon and starts the next round. Repeat until

all the words have been spelled and all the balloons have been popped.

lost, I made a great save,” or “I love pic-nics because Dad packs surprises like spicy mustard with pretzels.”

After these conversations, your son could write story ideas on slips of paper

(“Soccer save,” “Picnic treats”). Put them in an envelope for easy reference. Do this together frequently, and he’ll soon

develop a knack for brainstorming story

ideas all by himself!

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October 2017

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As your child gets older, he will do more reading in subjects like science, social studies, and math. Here are strategies for helping him use clues in text-books and other nonfi ction to understand what he reads.

Remember the three “Bs”Encourage your youngster

to scan for information in boldface, boxes, and bullet points. In a science chapter on weather, he might see the word storm chasers, a box on how rain forms, and a list of the world’s windiest cities. Previewing these parts will alert him to what the chapter covers (storms, rain, wind)—and what to look for as he reads.

Examine an imageThis activity can help your child

observe details in pictures. Let him select any photo, illustration, or diagram in a textbook. Together, gaze at it for 30 seconds. Close the book, and write as many facts about the picture as you each can. For a diagram of the earth, he could write, “The earth has four layers” and “The core is the innermost layer.” Take

■ Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile

(Marcia Wells) Sixth-grader Eddie Red has a photo-graphic memory and a talent for drawing. Will that be enough to out-smart art thieves in New York City? The fi rst book in the Eddie Red series.

■ Trapped: How the World Rescued 33 Miners from 2,000 Feet Below the Chilean Desert (Marc Aronson) This true story describes the plight of copper miners trapped for 69 days in 2010. As the miners slowly ran out of food, water, and fresh air, rescuers from all over the world worked to save their lives.

■ The Lemonade War (Jacqueline Davies) Sibling rivalry and lemonade take cen-

ter stage in this opening book of the Lemon-ade War series. The friendship

between a sister and brother is put to the test when she skips a grade and winds up in his fourth-grade class. (Also available in Spanish.)

■ How Cities Work (James Gulliver Hancock)Readers watch a city grow from a tiny village to an enormous metropolis in this nonfiction book. Each page is fi lled with detailed drawings and sim-ple explanations about the buildings and people it takes to make a city thrive.

Keys to nonfi ction reading

Picture that word

Book Picks

This activity makes vocabulary building fun! Have your youngster create her own deck of

vocabulary cards that show definitions at a glance. Together, brainstorm playful ways to write words so

their meanings are illustrated. For example, she might write backward as drawkcab or print twins twice. Or per-haps she’ll stack the letters in vertical or write diagonal at a slant. What could she do with staircase, bubbly, or symmetry?

Suggest that your child write each word on an index card with brightly colored markers or pens. Encourage her to add words from her vocabulary lists and textbook chapters, too. Studying will be easier with visual cues like these.

turns reading your facts aloud, and check the picture to verify them.

Guess the graphic The secret to grasping charts, graphs,

and tables is to read the words and the numbers. Even the design may offer hints. Choose a graphic, and cover the heading. Can your youngster fi gure out its purpose? Perhaps you selected a pie chart that looks like an apple pie, its slices labeled with state names and per-centages. He might deduce that it shows top apple-growing states. Now let him pick a graphic for you.

Fun with

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Get comfortable with public speaking

2. Provide reasons. Explain that your child’s reasons should appeal to her audience—in this case, you! That means putting herself in your shoes: “I know you’re worried I won’t clean the cage. I’ll write out my cleaning sched-ule and post it so I won’t forget and you will know what to expect.”

3. Add supporting facts. These could include a quote from an expert or infor-mation from a website or a magazine arti-

cle. Or she might mention survey results about pet ownership and responsibility.

Tip: Let your youngster know you’ll consider her position and get back to her!

Persuade me! Next time your youngster

asks for a pet hamster or a bigger allowance, suggest that she put her request in writing. She’ll practice persuasive writing and give you time to think about your answer. Share these steps for writ-ing a convincing case.

1. State your case. A good argument is specifi c and clear. Ways to start may include “I believe” or “In my opinion.” (“I believe having a pet makes a kid more responsible.”)

●Q My daughter’s first class presentation of the year is next

month. She’s a little nervous—how can I help her prepare?

●A Encourage your daughter to prac-tice, practice, practice! If she feels confi dent about what she’s going to say and how she’ll say it, she will feel more comfortable.

One way to pre-pare is by observing good public speak-ers in action, such as her principal

Author habits to followIt takes hard work to become a pub-

lished author. You can guide the budding author in your household with these real-life habits of successful writers.

Read a lotEncourage

your child to read often and to read a wide variety of material—fiction, biographies, science fiction, graphic novels, and newspapers. He’ll pick up ideas for his own writing.

Keep tools handySuggest that your youngster always

keep a small notebook nearby (even in his pocket). He can jot notes or begin a story whenever inspiration strikes.

Create a goalAuthors often set targets for them-

selves, perhaps writing for a certain number of hours a day, or writing a set number of words or pages. Ask your child to pick his own daily goal (write for 20 minutes, write fi ve sentences or until he fi lls a page).

Partner with the reading specialist My son Simon was recently diag-

nosed with dyslexia. I had a good meeting with the reading specialist at school, and she said the best way to support Simon is to read aloud every day. Fortunately, that’s something Simon and I have always enjoyed together.

The reading specialist gave me titles that are a little more challenging than Simon can read by himself. Reading harder books, she said, will help Simon stretch his comprehension skills.

She also asked that I listen to Simon read the books she sends home each week—but not to correct him immediately if he struggles. Instead, I should suggest he try strategies he’s learning like using context clues or breaking words into “chunks.” So far it’s going well. Simon likes following along as I read aloud to him, and he’s excited to show me how he can read the books he brings home.

leading an assembly or game show hosts on TV. What does she notice? She may see that they look at the audience, smile, speak clearly, and avoid glancing at their notes too often. Then, she can keep

these tips in mind during her own presentation.

Finally, your daughter will feel more confident if she knows what she sounds and looks like as she presents. Offer to videotape her—she can practice and play it back until she feels ready.

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November 2017

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Did you know that a strong vocabulary paves the way for your child to become a fluent reader, a better writer, and a more confident speaker? Try these everyday strategies to increase your youngster’s word power.

Create crosswordsEncourage your child to make

a crossword puzzle for you to solve. She’ll boost her vocabulary as she col-lects unfamiliar words from books and uses dictionary definitions to write clues. Idea: Have a crossword puzzle night. Get crossword puzzle books from the dollar store. Take turns reading clues aloud, and fill in the answers. Or make your own puzzles, and swap.

Search during errandsAt the bank, supermarket, or car wash,

ask your youngster to be on the lookout for new words. Can she figure out the meaning of words like principal or bio-degradable by using context clues? For instance, if a sign at the bank says, “Inter-est is paid on your principal monthly,” she

■ My Side of the Mountain (Jean Craighead George)

It’s the 1950s, and Sam doesn’t want to live in his cramped

New York City apart-ment with his fam-ily anymore. He runs away to the Catskills and learns to live on his own. A

coming-of-age story for young nature lovers. (Also available in Spanish.)

■ Science in Ancient Egypt (Geraldine Woods) Does your youngster know that ancient Egyptians used the sun to tell time, made paper from plants, and designed tools to lift and move heavy objects? This nonfiction book explains many things we have learned from this long-ago civilization.

■ Trauma Queen (Barbara Dee)Thirteen-year-old Marigold wants to go to school, make friends, and, most of all, avoid embarrassment. That’s hard to do with the unusual way her mother teaches the drama class at her new school. A hilarious look at mother-daughter relationships.

■ A Bad Case of the Giggles (Compiled by Bruce Lansky)This funny collection of poems on everything from stinky feet and hic-cups to spaghetti and hand-me-down clothes is practically guaranteed to make readers love poetry. Includes more than 60 poems by numerous poets.

Building word power

Host a poetry slam

Book Picks

This family “poetry slam” lets your child enjoy poetry and practice speaking in front of others.

Find. Have your youngster pick out poetry books from the library or print poems from websites. Then, each fam-ily member can choose one to memorize or read.

Perform. On the big night, take turns performing your poems. For extra fun, use props. Your youngster could juggle strawber-ries while reciting “Wild Strawberries” (Shel Silverstein) or hold an umbrella and a stuffed elephant as he recites “Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant” (Jack Prelutsky).

Discuss. Boost your child’s reading and listening comprehension by talking about the poems. Ask questions like “What do you think the poem’s mes-sage is?” or “Why do you think the poet chose that topic?”

might realize that principal is the amount of money you have. Or a recycling sym-bol near the car wash chemicals may be a hint that biodegradable relates to environ-mental conservation.

Make a word wallSet aside a bulletin board or a space

on a kitchen wall where family members can post interesting words they read or hear. During dinner, talk about where you found the words and why they’re interesting to you. Then, try to sprinkle the words into your conversation. Each week, have every person choose her favorite new word.






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Reading Connection INTERMEDIATE EDITION November 2017 • Page 2

Branching out as a reader

2. Add details. Suggest that your youngster dig for details that support and clarify facts. Prompts like “Tell me more about…” and “Could you explain…” may lead him to discover which foods his cousin tried on his trip to Korea or what inspired his grand-mother to run a marathon.

3. Check facts. Your child should consult books or websites

to confirm information. For example, he could check the ingredients for Korean specialties or find out how many miles are in a marathon (26.2).

4. Write and publish. Once your youngster has all the facts, it’s time to write! Suggest that he write an article about each rel-ative he interviewed or one long article combining his informa-tion. Then, he could distribute copies to family members.

What’s the scoop?Encourage your youngster to practice

informational writing by pretending he’s a “roving reporter” when you visit with relatives this month. These steps will ensure he gets the scoop on all the fam-ily news that’s fit to print.

1. Ask questions. Have your child list the six questions reporters ask: who, what, when, where, why (the “5 Ws”) and how. He can use them to think of questions when he interviews family members. Examples: “What school did you go to?” “When did you graduate?”

●Q My son only likes to read stories about sports. Any ideas

for getting him to try something new?

●A It’s great that your son enjoys read-ing and has go-to favorites.

To help him discover a variety of books, try taking him to a library or book-store and pointing out displays showcasing mys-teries, new releases, clas-sics, or how-to books. Sometimes children get into the habit of going straight to the same sec-tion every time. If you

Menu gamesRestaurant and take-out

menus are chock-full of opportunities for your children to prac-tice reading skills. Here are two ideas.

Search for wordsGo on a word hunt

with your youngster. Who can find the longest word? The word with the most syllables? You might ask her to find a syn-onym (a word with the same meaning) for delicious (mouth-watering). Or see if

she can find an antonym (an opposite) for chilled (steaming).

Find the foodChoose an ingredient (zucchini,

alfredo sauce, garlic), and have your child find a menu item that contains it. If the menu has photographs, point to a picture of a dish she doesn’t know, such as chicken Parmesan, and cover up the name. Let her study the picture and then read through the menu descriptions to find one that matches.

Be a guest readerAt my daughter’s parent-teacher

conference, I met her reading teacher, Ms. Con-

nor. She let me know that she was looking for

parent volunteers, so I signed up to come in

twice this month.

For my first time volunteering, I read with small groups of students. The

teacher explained that hearing someone read aloud encourages kids to view

books as a source of pleasure. Then, I had some students read to me, which she

said helps them improve their reading fluency and listening skills.

My daughter was excited to see me in her class, and I really enjoyed reading

with her and her classmates. Next, I’ve signed up to take part in the book dona-

tion program coming up. We are going to ask other parents and the community

to contribute used books for a classroom library.

explore together, a different type of book may catch his eye.

Also, since he’s a sports fan, biogra-phies of athletes may be a natural fit. Reading these real-life stories may lead to an interest in biographies about inventors,

musicians, or world leaders. Another idea is to steer

him toward books about sports history. Reading about the origin of the Olympic Games or the impact of the civil rights movement, for instance, may encourage interest in other history books.

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December 2017

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Hide a special book for your youngster to find. Hold an indoor reading campout. Encourage family members to “like” each other’s book reviews. With these cre-ative ideas, you can inspire your child to use more of his spare time for reading!

Leave hidden gemsAt the library,

secretly look for a book you think your youngster would like, such as one you read at his age or a story about the sport he plays. At home, leave the book where he can find it, along with a note about why you chose it for him. Idea: Suggest that your child hide a book for you or a younger sibling to discover.

Hold special eventsAsk your youngster to organize a fam-

ily reading event once a month or so. Per-haps he’ll plan an indoor campout or a New Year’s Eve read-a-thon. He could find books with a related theme—maybe an outdoor adventure tale for the campout or

■ Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina

(Young Readers Edition) (Misty Copeland)In 2015, Misty Copeland became the first African-American principal ballerina in the American Ballet Theatre’s history. This children’s ver-sion of her autobi-ography describes how she pursued a ballet career despite the odds.

■ The Neverending Story (Michael Ende)In an antique bookshop, a boy named

Bastian finds a mys-terious book filled with enchanted creatures. When

the world inside the book turns out to be

real and he discovers it’s in danger, he must go on a quest to save it. (Also available in Spanish.)

■ A Child’s Introduction to the Night Sky (Michael Driscoll)Your youngster can explore astronomy with this colorful non-fiction book. She’ll learn about stars and planets, important scientific achievements, space exploration, and more. Includes a star chart pullout.

■ I Survived the Bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941 (Lauren Tarshis)This installment of the popular histori-cal fiction series I Survived takes read-ers back in time to the day of the Pearl Harbor attack. The story is told from the point of view of an 11-year-old boy who had recently moved to Hawaii.

Motivated to read

Storytelling time

Book Picks

Encourage your child to make a “story pole” and use it to tell a tale. She’ll practice story planning, a skill that can help with creative writing assignments in school.

First, have her think of something funny or interesting that happened to your family, perhaps getting caught in a downpour during a hike. Then, she can cut a sheet of construction paper into four horizontal strips and, on each, draw a picture of a story event (seeing the first big drops, laughing and holding backpacks over your heads, hurrying to the car, getting cozy at home in pajamas).

Let your youngster tape the pictures around a paper towel tube in the order the events happened. Now it’s time to tell her story! She could point to the pictures on her pole and add details as she talks.

a book about New Year traditions around the world for the read-a-thon.

Post reviewsHave your child find a spot on a wall

where he and other family members can display reviews of books they’ve read. You could “like” each other’s reviews by adding star stickers and comments. Let your youngster ask relatives to mail or email reviews that he could post, too. He may be inspired to read a book that his cousin or a favorite uncle enjoyed.






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Books that comfort

Consult an expert. Writers get help from people with firsthand knowledge of their story topics. Say your child is writing about cheerleading. She could talk to a neighbor or a classmate who cheers. The interviewee may

describe what it feels like to be tossed in the air or to

lead a stadium full of fans rooting for their team.

Read nonfi ction. Your youngster may not be able to observe crocodiles or kangaroos in real life—but she can read about them in nonfiction library books or online. Encourage her to dig for facts that will bring animal characters to life, such as the way they communicate with each other or the habitat they live in.

Research and writeYour youngster may think of research

as something she does for a report. But writers do research for stories, too! Share these tips to help your child bring real-life elements into her fiction.

Go on location. Authors often visit the places they write about. If the characters in your youngster’s story work at a bike shop, she could go to one herself. Encourage her to notice details she might mention in her story, like bikes hanging from the ceiling or an employee fixing a tire.

When my husband and I divorced last year, our

son Jeremy took it hard. I tried talking with him, but he clammed up. So I turned to the school counselor for help. She told me that reading books about young people facing similar problems would help Jeremy talk about his own situation.

Dialogue you can believeWriting dialogue that

reflects how people actually talk is a skill that takes practice. Your child can learn to write believable dialogue with this activity.

On a whiteboard or chalkboard, let your youngster draw two very different characters, such as a dragon and a mouse. Have him add a big speech bubble above each character’s head.

He can decide which character each of you will be and write a line of dialogue in his speech bubble. (“I’ll try not to breathe fire in your direction, little mouse.”) Now you write a reply in your character’s bub-ble. (“Thanks. You’re a good friend!”)

Read your dialogue aloud. Does it sound realistic? If not, you could revise it and try again. Then continue the “con-versation” by erasing your lines and writing new ones.

What is close reading?●Q My daughter is doing “close reading”

in school this year. What does that mean, and how can I help her at home?

●A You can think of close reading as peeling back layers of meaning in a story. For example, your daughter probably doesn’t need to read closely to know that a story is about a lost dog. But a closer reading might lead her to understand that the story is about the bond between humans and pets.

Close reading also includes thinking about how a story is written, so your child might consider why the author decided to tell it from the point of view of the dog rather than its owner.

At home, suggest that your youngster keep tools like a highlighter, sticky notes, and a pencil nearby when she reads. She could jot down passages from the book that really make her think, words and phrases she likes, or questions she has. Then, she can go back through the book to consider why the author picked a particular word, for instance, or why a character made a certain decision.

I’m happy to say the counselor was right. The books she suggested made my

son realize that he was not alone. They also gave him a way to ask me questions (“Do you think

the divorce was the boy’s fault?”) and me a way to answer him (“Absolutely not. What happened was only between the parents”).

Some days are still rough, but I’m glad we have found a way to talk through our problems.

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