This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book The Magic Fish by Freya Littledale .
Summary: The Magic Fish grants a greedy fisherman’s wife every wish she desires, but she still isn’t satisfied .
Below you will find Some queStionS to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:• Did you notice any repeated parts in this book? Why do you think Freya Littledale chose to repeat those
words/parts?
• What words might you use to describe the wife? (greedy, demanding, selfish, bossy, ungrateful, mean)
• How do you think the wife is feeling at the end of the book? Why do you think she is feeling that way?
• What would you have done if you were the fisherman? How might the story have changed if the fisherman said no to his wife?
• What is the BIG IDEA of this book?
• What might happen next?
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The Magic Fish by Freya Littledale
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book Fireflies by Julie Brinckloe .
Summary: A boy and his friends catch hundreds of fireflies in jars . Then, when he takes them back to his room, he learns that sometimes you need to set something free in order to keep it .
Below you will find Some queStionS to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:• What do you notice about the illustrations? Why do you think Julie Brinckloe chose to use those specific colors?
• What kind of book is this? (Personal Narrative) How do you know that? (Written in 1st person point of view, using “I”; moves through time)
• How do you think the boy is feeling at the end of the book? Why do you think he is feeling that way?
• What would you have done with the fireflies?
• What is the BIG IDEA of this book?
Also, note that this is an excellent book to have your child read aloud with fluency . He/she should pause at the commas and em-dashes (long dashes), read the quotations as if someone is talking, and add excitement when there is an exclamation mark .
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book Owl Moon by Jane Yolen .Summary: A child and her Pa go owling on a frigid winter night . Will they see an owl?
Below you will find Some queStionS and ideaS to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:
• Jane Yolen has written over 300 books and also writes poetry . Notice her poetic use of language and also they way the lines on the pages look and read like poetry . Notice the descriptive, sensory language she uses; how does that help you as a reader? Can you visualize [picture in your mind] what the child is seeing, hearing, and how she is feeling?
• “ . . . it was as quiet as a dream .”
• “I could feel the cold, as if someone’s icy hand was palm-down on my back .”
• “ . . . the snow below it was whiter than milk in a cereal bowl .”
• “ . . . like a shadow without sound .”
• What style is this book written in? (Personal Narrative) How do you know that? (Written in 1st person point of view, using “I”; moves through time)
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Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book Grandfather Twilight by Barbara Berger . We questioned our way through the story . We wondered about the title, we tried to decide where the door (on the first page) was leading, we thought about why he would take only one pearl from the strand, we tried to figure out why the pearl was growing larger with every step . . . In short, we did a lot of pondering and conversing!
Summary: This book tells the story of how Grandfather Twilight puts the world to sleep at night .
Below you will find Some queStionS to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:
• What is twilight? (Dictionary definition for your reference: The light from the sky between full night and sunrise or between sunset and full night .)
• Why do you think Barbara Berger chose to use so few words in this book?
• Why do you think she wrote this book? (You might want to read the back cover reviews to see what others thought!)
• Can you think of a different title for this story?
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the nonfiction book All About Turkeys by Jim Arnosky .
Summary: In this informational book, Arnosky teaches readers about the life and habits of the wild turkey .
Below you will find Some queStionS and ideaS to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:
• Notice that the first three pages contain life-sized portraits of two turkeys .
• Why do you think Jim Arnosky chose to begin the book with questions? Did that help get you ready to read and understand the book?
• What new learning did you add to your schema about wild turkeys when you read this book?
• What do wild turkeys eat? Can wild turkeys fly?
• Go back and reread the first sentence on each page, do they give you the main ideas in this book? Sentences like these are called topic sentences.
• What do you still wonder about wild turkeys?
• Could you write a book like this about one of your favorite animals?
Here are some vocabulary words from this book to discuss with your child: hardy, wary, iridescent, scattering, tri-colored, proclaiming, dominance, secluded, migrators, and survivors . Help your child create “kid-friendly” definitions and use them in future conversations . An example would be: “I like tri-colored candy corn .”
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All About Turkeys by Jim Arnosky
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book Charlie Anderson by Barbara Abercrombie .
Summary: Elizabeth and Sarah adopt a cat that stays with them in the evenings . When he doesn’t come home, they discover that, just like them, he has two families and two homes .
As we questioned our way through this book, we thought about different types of questions that readers ask, including the following:
• Questions that are answered by simply reading or rereading the text
• Questions that are answered using the reader’s background knowledge (schema)
• Questions whose answers can be inferred from the text (background knowledge + clues from the text)
• Questions that can be answered by further discussion
• Questions that require further reading and research to be answered
• Questions that signal that the reader is confused
Below you will find an idea to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:While reading this book together with your child, ask your own questions . Discuss how asking questions helps you as a reader .
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto .
Summary: While helping to make tamales, Maria, a young Latina child, puts on her mother’s wedding ring and then forgets about it . Later, when it is time to eat the tamales, she realizes the ring is lost . Will Maria find the ring?
Below you will find Some queStionS to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:
• Do you think the title Too Many Tamales fits the story? Why do you think Gary Soto chose this title? If you were to give this book a different title, what would it be?
• How do you think Maria is feeling when she realizes the ring is lost? Why do you think she is feeling that way? How do her feelings change at the end of the story?
• What is the BIG IDEA of this book?
• Can you explain these words: dusk, kneaded, chattered, and batch? Use the context of the sentence and picture clues to figure out what each word means.
Also, note that we used this book to strengthen our thinking about predicting .
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How Many Days to America? by Eve Bunting
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book How Many Days to America? by Eve Bunting .
Summary: The American ideals of freedom and safety are highlighted in Bunting’s tale of a Caribbean family that flees on a small, crowded fishing boat to America .
The focus of our conversation was on inferring or reading between the lines .
Below you will find Some queStionS and ideaS to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:
• Notice that the subtitle is, “A Thanksgiving Story.” Does this look like other Thanksgiving stories that you’ve read? What is different about this book?
• What do you think the dad means when he says, “Because we do not think the way they think, my son”?
• Can you infer how the mother is feeling when you read, “ . . . her face twisted the way it did when she closed the door at home for the last time”?
• How is this story similar to the story of the Pilgrims coming to America? How is it different?
A few vocabulary words to highlight include the following: peered, quay, and anxious.
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills .
Summary: Minna’s father has just died and her family can’t afford to buy her a coat so she can go to school . So, the women patch together a coat for her to wear to her one room schoolhouse . When teased by her classmates, Minna explains that her coat is made of their stories . This book celebrates the value of community and sharing .
Below you will find Some queStionS to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:
• What is the setting for this story?
• How is Minna’s life different from your life? How is it the same?
• What do you think Minna is going to share on Sharing Day? Why do you think that?
• What do you think Papa means by, “People only need people”?
Also, note that we used this book to strengthen our ability to infer or read between the lines .
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The Rag Coat by Lauren Mills
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Clever Beatrice by Margaret Willey
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book Clever Beatrice by Margaret Willey . We worked on a self-monitoring strategy called “Who and What?” After each page or so, we paused and told each other who the page was about and what happened . This strategy helps young readers monitor their comprehension by pausing to quickly recall and summarize the plot as they read along .
Summary: Beatrice outsmarts the massive and burly giant .
Below you will find Some queStionS to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:
• What does it mean to be “sharp as a tack”? Is there another way you could say that?
• The rich giant likes to “gamble with his strength,” which means he likes to play a game, have a race, or do another kind of challenge to win money. Would you gamble with the giant? What kind of bet would you make?
• What other words besides clever could you use to describe Beatrice? Does she remind you have any other characters you know? Why?
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins by Carole Boston Weatherford .
Summary: Set in 1960, this picture book tells the story of the civil rights sit-ins from the perspective of 8-year-old Connie, who is not allowed to sit at the lunch counter at Woolworth’s for a banana split .
In order to better understand this book, we discussed what a lunch counter was, and the meaning of the words “protest” and “picket .” We also pondered what it means to “stand up by sitting down .”
Below are a few additional queStionS to diScuSS:• Why do you think it was best banana split Connie ever had?
• Do you think Freedom on the Menu was a good title for this book? Why or why not?
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Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins by Carole Boston Weatherford
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book A Sweet Smell of Roses by Angela Johnson .
Summary: Minnie and her sister sneak out to join a civil rights march led by Dr . Martin Luther King, Jr .
Below you will find Some queStionS and ideaS to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:
• Read and discuss the author’s note. Notice the figurative language that Angela Johnson uses such as “scent of freedom” and “winds of change.” How does her author’s note help you better understand the story?
• Why do you think the illustrator Eric Velazquez chose to only use the color red?
• What is the BIG IDEA of this book? What part of the text or illustrations helps you to think that?
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland .
Summary: When a civil war breaks out, A Vietnamese family is forced to flee their homeland .
There is so much to discuss in this book . We began by reading and discussing the poem on the dedication page . Then we questioned our way through the story . At the end, we read the Author’s Note and realized that it would have been helpful to read the note before we read the story . We talked about how having that schema would have increased our comprehension .
Below you will find an idea to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:
While reading this book together with your child, ask your own questions . Discuss how asking questions helps you as a reader .
As we questioned our way through this book, we thought about different types of questions that readers ask:
• Questions that are answered by simply reading or rereading the text (Who is telling the story?)
• Questions that are answered using the reader’s background knowledge (schema)
• Questions whose answers can be inferred from the text (background knowledge + clues from the text)
• Questions that can be answered by further discussion
• Questions that require further reading and research to be answered
• Questions that signal that the reader is confused (Why did the emperor lose his golden dragon throne?)
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Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco
This week during Guided Reading we read and discussed the book Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco .
Summary: The story of how a young girl and her grandma make thunder cake to help ease the girl’s fear of thunderstorms .
Below you will find Some queStionS and ideaS to get you Started aS you converSe with your child aBout thiS Book:
• Where did Patricia Polacco get the idea for this book? Read the author’s note at the beginning to find out!
• Notice the words Patricia Polacco chooses to use to “mark” the dialogue. Words like cooed, stammered, crowed, exclaimed, and croaked . Why do you think she chose these words instead of simply using the word said?
• How did making the thunder cake calm the girl’s fears?
