While Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement
was written to assist teachers in the classroom,7 Keys to Comprehension: How to Help Your Kids Read It and Get It!
is written in a fashion that guides parents as they teach their children comprehension strategies.
If children don’t understand what they read, they will never embrace reading. And that limits what they can learn while in school. 7 Keys to Comprehension: How to Help Your Kids Read It and Get It! is the result of cutting-edge research. It gives parents practical, thoughtful advice about the seven simple thinking strategies that proficient readers use:
• Connecting reading to their background knowledge
• Creating sensory images
• Asking questions
• Drawing inferences
• Determining what’s important
• Synthesizing ideas
• Solving problems
Easily understood, easily applied, and proven successful, this essential educational tool helps parents to turn reading into a fun and rewarding experience.
Dawn Little (aka Links to Literacy) also blogs at www.teachingwithpicturebooks.wordpress.com where she provides educators with picture book lessons based on comprehension strategies and the Six Traits of Writing. In addition, she blogs at www.literacytoolbox.wordpress.com where she provides educators and parents with tips and tools to enhance the literacy lives of children. She is the founder and owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families. Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com
Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement is a book that was suggested to me early in my teaching career. I used it extensively in the classroom, and continue to use the resources and strategies within the book when I read to my own children. The goal is to create engaged, thoughtful, independent readers and this book helps!
Though Strategies That Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement is meant as a resource for teachers, I feel that any parent who has an interest in explicitly teaching their children strategies when reading (especially parents who home school!), will find this book useful.
In this revised and expanded edition, Harvey and Goudvis have added twenty completely new comprehension lessons.
In this book, you will find:
- what comprehension is and how to teach it
- lessons and practices for teaching comprehension
- information on social studies and science reading, topic study research, textbook reading and the genre of test reading
- updated appendix section recommends a rich diet of fiction and nonfiction, short text, kid’s magazines, websites and journals
When kids are engaged in their reading they enhance their understanding, acquire knowledge, and learn from and remember what they read. And most importantly, they will want to read more!
Dawn Little (aka Links to Literacy) also blogs at www.teachingwithpicturebooks.wordpress.com where she provides educators with picture book lessons based on comprehension strategies and the Six Traits of Writing. In addition, she blogs at www.literacytoolbox.wordpress.com where she provides educators and parents with tips and tools to enhance the literacy lives of children. She is the founder and owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families. Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com
Written by an educator and librarian,How to Get Your Child to Love Reading: For Ravenous and Reluctant Readers Alike
is a 500+ page guide for parents! Codell provides activities, ideas, and inspiration for exploring everything in the world through books. Codell, resists grouping books by age level. Instead, she offers a simple method for determining whether a book is too difficult while pointing out that kids may listen on a much higher level than they read. She offers scores of thematic book lists parents can use to inspire young readers, ranging from topics as diverse as medieval England to dinosaurs or hiccups.
Inside this fantastic resource, you will find:
- Over 3,000 hand-picked titles on every subject under the sun
- Hundreds of child-tested, teacher-approved craft ideas, storytimes, book-based parties, mad-scientist experiments, cooking forays, web-site recommendations, and reading-club activities
- Reassuring and simple approaches to reading aloud with children from birthday through eighth grade
- Support for parents of reluctant readers and enriching ideas for eager readers
- Extensive indexes for locating books by subject, author, and title
- Suggestions for volunteer activities and for getting involved in your child’s school
- Easy access to award-winning books
- Exciting ways to reward reading progress
This book is an indispensible resource for all parents who want to engage their children in reading. And like Jim Trelease before her, Codell also has her own website where she continues to share information on reading for parents, educators, and librarians.
Dawn Little (aka Links to Literacy) also blogs at www.teachingwithpicturebooks.wordpress.com where she provides educators with picture book lessons based on comprehension strategies and the Six Traits of Writing. In addition, she blogs at www.literacytoolbox.wordpress.com where she provides educators and parents with tips and tools to enhance the literacy lives of children. She is the founder and owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families. Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com
Title: Jeffrey and the Sloth
Author: Kari-Lynn Winters
Illustrator: Ben Hodson
Published: 2007 Orca Book Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-55143-974-7
Have you ever suffered from writer’s block? I find myself afflicted with this often. In the book, Jeffrey and the Sloth, Jeffrey accidentally stumbles upon a way to combat his writer’s block through doodling. With just a glance at the title page, students will immediately relate to Jeffrey. You see him standing in the doorway of his room staring at a blank sheet of paper on his desk. The defeated look on his face says it all. Instead of writing, Jeffrey begins to doodle and his doodle comes to life!
Use this book to inspire creative writing in elementary students. Give each student a blank sheet of paper and ask them to create their own doodle (making sure that they create at least 1 character in the doodle). Once the doodle is created, have students exchange papers and write a first person narrative as the doodle. Use the following questions as a guide:
- What is your name?
- Do you have a nickname? How did you get it? Be specific.
- Where are you from?
- Where do you live? Describe it. Is it messy, neat, what kinds of things are there?
- What is your favorite thing to do. Why?
- If you could ask the artist to change one thing about you, what would you change and why?
If you want to know more about this book or how the author conquered her own writer’s block, visit Kari-Lynn Winters’ website.
Keisa Williams (aka Ms. K) is a K-5 School Librarian at Monarch Academy, a public charter school in Oakland, CA. She is certified in secondary and elementary education (MLIS and MEd) and loves collaborating with teachers and integrating technology into her library lessons. She considers herself a “Technology Diva” and “Gadget Junkie”.
Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever is another **must have** 
resource for parents. Mem Fox, a renowned Australian author, begins the book with an anecdote about her own daughter. When her daughter begins kindergarten, she learns from her teacher that she can in fact already read. “How?” asks Fox. The answer: from the time she was born until she set foot in kindergarten, Fox read aloud to her. That was all it took. This is a powerful anecdote to say the least; but one that I hold personally true, because my son began kindergarten the same way. Of course, this is not to say that if you read aloud to your child every day from the time they are born until they step foot in kindergarten that they will be reading by kindergarten. All children learn differently and learning to read is developmental. Reading aloud to your child provides an amazing advantage for your child and certainly prepares him/her to become a reader. Don’t be discouraged if your child begins kindergarten and is not a reader yet. It will come in time.
In Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever, Fox explains that babies are born learners. She discusses the importance of books in the home and stresses the value of a read-aloud ritual – all topics you’ve likely seen in posts here!
While Fox does include a chapter on how to read aloud, which may be helpful to some parents, she does not include age-appropriate reading lists for parents. For this reason alone, I would likely pair Reading Magic with Jim Trelease’s, The Read Aloud Handbook.
Still, Reading Magic: Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever is another great resource that will serve parents well as they work to raise readers in their home.
Dawn Little (aka Links to Literacy) also blogs at www.teachingwithpicturebooks.wordpress.com where she provides educators with picture book lessons based on comprehension strategies and the Six Traits of Writing. In addition, she blogs at www.literacytoolbox.wordpress.com where she provides educators and parents with tips and tools to enhance the literacy lives of children. She is the founder and owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families. Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com
Title: Perfect Man
Author: Troy Wilson
Illustrator: Dean Griffiths
Published: 2004 Orca Book Publishing
ISBN: 1551434350
Jump into the world of an ordinary boy, “Michael Maxwell McAllum was the smallest boy in his class. He lived in a small house in a small town on a small street.” He idolizes Perfect Man, a crime fighting super hero. The story begins when Perfect Man announces his retirement. Michael isn’t sad to hear this news because he believes that Perfect Man will reappear when needed. The school year begins and Michael has a new teacher. Mr. Clark is the perfect teacher. He seems to be everywhere at once and explains information about planets as if he had actually been there. Through his thinning hair and rounded stomach, Michael believes he recognizes his idol, Perfect Man. Mr. Clark helps Michael to discover his own super power.
This book would make a great read for parents, teachers, and children who love super hero stories. The fun, vibrant illustrations will capture the attention of all audiences. Choose this book as a beginning of the year read aloud or use it to encourage children to read and write. Perfect Man reminds us to look within for our special talents.
Discussion Starters
- What is a hero?
- Who is a hero in your life?
- What makes that person a hero?
- Think of a time when you were someone’s hero. Explain.
- What is your super power?
If you like this book, try some of the other books by Orca Book Publishers.
Conversation with Troy Wilson A podcast interview with the author.
Keisa Williams (aka Ms. K) is a K-5 School Librarian at Monarch Academy, a public charter school in Oakland, CA. She is certified in secondary and elementary education (MLIS and MEd) and loves collaborating with teachers and integrating technology into her library lessons. She considers herself a “Technology Diva” and “Gadget Junkie”.
Many of you may be familiar with The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease. It has been in publication for over 30 years. It was, in fact, one of the first books recommended to me when I began teaching almost thirteen years ago. The information in it is timeless and I still refer to this book when I am in need of solid research related to reading aloud, or to help me as I parent my two children. I have begun to give it as a gift to friends who have new babies. If it were up to me, every new parent would leave the hospital with a copy in their hands.
In his sixth edition (2006), Trelease:
• Explains how reading aloud awakens children’s imaginations and improves their language skills
• Shows how to begin reading aloud and which books to choose
• Suggests ways to create reader-friendly homes, classrooms, and library environments
• Gives tips on luring children away from the television
• Shows how to integrate silent reading with read-aloud sessions
• Shares valuable lessons from Oprah’s Book Club, the Harry Potter books, and the Internet
• Includes a brand-new chapter of stories and testimonials from parents and teachers
• Offers an up-to-date treasury of 1,000 books that are great for reading aloud – from picture books to novels – and highlights some of Trelease’s favorites by theme: friendship, sports, dogs, fairy-tale parodies, and more.
This book is a treasure and must read for all parents who want to engage their children in reading. And if this isn’t enough, Jim Trelease also has his own website where he continues to share information on reading aloud for parents, educators, librarians – really anyone who wants a child to make books into friends, not enemies.
Dawn Little (aka Links to Literacy) also blogs at www.teachingwithpicturebooks.wordpress.com where she provides educators with picture book lessons based on comprehension strategies and the Six Traits of Writing. In addition, she blogs at www.literacytoolbox.wordpress.com where she provides educators and parents with tips and tools to enhance the literacy lives of children. She is the founder and owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families. Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com
What do butterflies and prairie grass have to do with reading you might ask? Illinois’ Monarch and Bluestem Book Awards, that’s what! I’ve been a school librarian for the past 33 years. One of my favorite times of each day is when I read-aloud to the students. Over the years I’ve created my own read-aloud lists for each grade level. Some books I’ve read my entire career and I never tire of them. Every year I add new books to the lists and I especially anticipate the release of the Illinois reading lists for the various grade levels. The Illinois School Library Media Association has created these reading lists.
The Monarch Award: Illinois’ K-3 Readers’ Choice Award
The Monarch Award: Illinois’ K-3 Readers’ Choice Award was established by the ISLMA Board in the spring of 2003. “The name Monarch was chosen because of its familiarity to K-3 children and to symbolize the growth, change and freedom that becoming a reader brings. The Monarch is designed to encourage children to read critically and become familiar with children’s books, authors and illustrators. The program is open to all K-3 age children in Illinois.”
I read all of the books to the students and also provide the teachers with an annotated list. All twenty nominated books are proudly displayed in the library all year long. The last week of February the voting by the students takes place. We have a ballot booth set up in the library along with their ballots and the poster with all of the books nominated. The book that receives the most votes from all of the students in Kindergarten through Grade 3 in the state of Illinois, receives the prestigious award. Our students eagerly await the results which are announced in March.
At the Monarch website teachers can discover various ways to incorporate the books into their curriculum. Resources such as: book activities across the curriculum: (social studies, science, writing, reading, & math) plus discussion questions, related websites, and other books to tie in with the nominee book can be found at the website.
I’d like to mention a few of my favorites of the 2011 Monarch Nominee List for you today.
When Dinosaurs Came with Everything, by Elise Broach
Get a WHAT!?
Free WHAT!?
DINOSAURS?
Just when a little boy thinks he’s going to die of boredom from running errands with his mom, the most remarkable, the most stupendous thing happens. He discovers that on this day, and this day only, stores everywhere are giving away a very special treat with any purchase. No, not the usual lollipop or sticker. Something bigger. Much, MUCH bigger. It’s a dream come true, except…what exactly do you do with these Jurassic treats? And how do you convince Mom to let you keep them? (Goodreads)
Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A Tall Thin Tale, by Deborah Hopkinson
It’s a tale of two boys who get themselves into more trouble than bear cubs in a candy store during the year 1816. Abe is only seven years old, and his pal, Austin, is ten.
Abe and Austin decide to journey down to Knob Creek. The water looks scary and deep, and Austin points out that they don’t know how to swim. Nevertheless, they decide to traverse it. I won’t tell you what happens, but let’s just say that our country wouldn’t be the same if Austin hadn’t been there to help his friend. (Goodreads)
Rhyming Dust Bunnies, by Jan Thomas
Dust bunnies that rhyme: Ned, Ted, Ed, & Bob!! Each dust bunny is a vibrant color and they rhyme words like car but Bob seems to now get it or maybe it’s the other three! It is a great book to read to preschoolers and Kindergarten age kids. Hilarious!
Next, the newest edition to the Illinois Book Awards:
The Bluestem Award: Illinois’ Grades 3-5 Readers’ Choice Award
This award is for students in grades 3-5 who are ready for lengthier books than found on the Monarch list, but not quite ready for the difficulty of the Rebecca Caudill titles. The award is named in honor of Big Bluestem which is the state prairie grass. The nominee list includes classics and contemporary titles and books that have been found on past Monarch and Rebecca Caudill lists.
Here’s a small amount featured (that I absolutely love) on the 2011 Bluestem Nominee List:
Ivy and Bean (Ivy and Bean, Book 1), by Annie Barrows
The moment they saw each other, Bean and Ivy knew they wouldn’t be friends. But when Bean plays a joke on her sister, Nancy, and has to hide quick Ivy comes to the rescue, proving that sometimes the best of friends are people never meant to like each other. Vibrant characters and lots of humor make this a charming and addictive introduction to Ivy and Bean. (Goodreads)
Sky Boys: How They Build the Empire State Building, by Deborah Hopkinson
It’s 1930 and times are tough for Pop and his son. But look! On the corner of 34th Street and 5th Avenue, a building straight and simple as a pencil is being built in record time. Hundreds of men are leveling, shoveling, hauling. They’re hoisting 60,000 tons of steal, stacking 10 million bricks, eating lunch in the clouds. And when they cut ribbon and the crowds rush in, the boy and his father will be among the first to zoom up to the top of the tallest building in the world and see all of Manhattan spread at their feet. (Goodreads)
The Houdini Box, by Brian Selznik
Victor is forever trying to escape from locked trunks, walk through walls, and perform any number of Houdini’s astonishing magic tricks…without success. Then — amazingly — he actually meets his idol and begs Houdini to explain himself. A mysterious locked box is the magician’s only answer, and Victor is left to wonder: Does the box contain the secrets to the most famous magic tricks ever performed?As spellbinding as a virtuoso performance by Houdini himself, this illustrated storybook for all ages combines captivating mystery and mesmerizing historical fiction, and as a bonus, offers a biographical note about Houdini. Equally strong as a read-aloud or a read-alone book, The Houdini Box conjures up the pure pleasure of an old-time magic show. (Goodreads)
Each book I have mentioned above should be ones which unquestionably deserve to be on both the Monarch and the Bluestem nominee lists. It’s my hope you will welcome and incorporate these books into your curriculum for the upcoming school year.
In the words of Nathanial Hawthorne, books are like butterflies: ”Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ”
Hope you’ve enjoyed my guest blog debut! To read more book reviews and reading lists I’ve created, visit me at: Marianslibrary – I think you’ll enjoy what you discover!
Kathy Parker is a K-12 school librarian at Seneca Grade School and Seneca High School in Seneca, Illinois. She’s been a school librarian for 33 years. Loves all things books!
I can still remember that day in first grade, when Mrs. Anderson brought a bathtub into our classroom, filled with soft, red pillows and loads of easy readers. It was an old fashioned, white tub with claw feet – nothing like I had ever seen in our home. Still, I wonder where she found it and how she managed to bring it to school. What a fabulous treat it was to take a turn reading in the bathtub. Two at a time. We could read with a classmate or friend, while being photographed by all the area newspapers, wanting to take a peek at the Tub Time Readers!
Often, for students, academic reading is not a source of comfort or pleasure. Assigned reading by teachers is homework, which purports a negative association. However, children should experience personal reading time in a place that creates lasting, positive memories, encouraging a lifetime of literary enjoyment. Winter is perfect for setting up the sleeping bags next to a cozy fireplace, so that the entire family can enjoy a Family Reading Night by the campfire. Or, pop a tent in the living room and use flashlights for reading an enticing mystery. Camping Out: A Shadow Story by Lisa Allen and Julie Sharp is an incredibly engaging story that incorporates shadow play into a plot line about camping. Children use flashlights to help tell the story about an outdoor camping experience where mysterious shapes are misunderstood for simple shadows at play. Or, taking children to the beach, a lake, pond, botanical garden, or stream with a favorite book will create a sense of relaxation and inner peace. An internal place that should not be overlooked or underdeveloped. Take a bike ride down your favorite path, pack a lunch, bring a book, and share an ice cream sundae.
If you can attain repose and calm, believe that you have seized happiness.
Julie-Jeanne-Eleonore de Lespinasse,
Roxaboxen, a hill in Yuma, Arizona, littered with rocks and wooden boxes, serves as the setting of this children’s book, which tells a true tale of one child’s active imagination. “With the aid of her mother’s childhood manuscript, the memories of relatives, and letters and maps from former inhabitants of Roxaboxen, author Alice McLerran recreated the magical world…,” in this storybook, “…as if she played there herself.” McLerran.
I’ll always remember the day my son returned home from third grade, after his teacher read Roxaboxen, by Alice McLerran, to her classroom of children. He couldn’t stop talking about the imaginary town, created simply from rocks, broken pottery, colored glass, and old wooden boxes. There were: buried treasures, a Main Street, houses, and dishes, a town hall, a Mayor, plenty of shops, money, a bakery, ice cream parlors, cars, a jail, police, horses, and a cemetery. Not only does Roxaboxen allow children to feel like they can participate in making a grown-up place all their own, students might just venture to create a town, which they can run – in the classroom, at a park, in the basement, or in the backyard.
Roxaboxen serves as a favorite childhood book in our home, as our son is now 12, and he continues to create imaginary towns, tree houses, recyclable villages, European cities, all of which found their roots in the works of Alice McLerran. Roxaboxen is “A celebration of the ability children have to create, even with the most uncompromising materials, a world of fantasy so real and multidimensional that it earns a lasting place in memory.” McLerran.
