Homemade Band (pages 16 and 17)
- Before you read the poem, encourage your child to listen for the words that rhyme.
- Help your child "read the picture" to answer the questions.
- After reading this poem, create your own "homemade band."
The questions are designed to help children infer possible answers by using information from the illustrations. Making an inference is a higher order thinking skill, but with help, it's one that even young children can begin to develop.
*Language Development: Speaking & Communicating (Develops increasing abilities to understand and use language to communicate information, experiences, ideas, feelings, opinions, needs, questions, and for other varied purposes.) *Literacy: Book Knowledge & Appreciation (Demonstrates progress in abilities to retell and dictate stories from books and experiences, to act out stories in dramatic play, and to predict what will happen next in a story.)
Look at My New Shoes! (pages 20 to 23)
- Before reading the story, ask your child to describe what's happening in each picture.
- When you read the story, ask your child to use the pictures and what he or she knows about shoes to help guess what the Spanish words might mean.
- Read the story again and encourage your child to chime in.
Shopping for new shoes is a common childhood experience. Children can use what they know about shoe shopping to help them understand this story, even though they may not know the Spanish words.
*Social & Emotional Development: Knowledge of Families & Communities (Progresses in understanding similarities and respecting differences among people, such as gender, race, special needs, culture, language, and family structure.) *Science: Scientific Skills & Methods (Begins to describe and discuss predictions, explanations, and generalizations based on past experiences.)
Built It (page 31)
- Discuss the illustration, and ask children to describe block buildings that they have made.
- The second question on this page asks children to infer a possible answer. Children may use their own experiences and say that Rachel will build a house, since doghouses are usually in people's backyards.
- Children can also use the information in the illustration to answer the question. Because there are many stuffed dogs in the illustration, children may say that Rachel will build more doghouses. Both are reasonable responses to the question.
Give your children some small stuffed animals when they build with blocks, and document their work by taking photos of the buildings they create.
*Social & Emotional Development: Self Concept (Develops growing confidence in a range of abilities and expresses pride in accomplishments.) *Creative Arts: Art (Develops growing abilities to plan, work independently, and demonstrate care and persistence in a variety of projects.)
*Early-childhood standards based on the U.S. Head Start Child Outcomes Framework.