Highlights High Five™ April 2009 Parent/Teacher Guide
Clouds (page 4)
- Before reading the poem, talk together about the illustration and ask children to describe what they see in the clouds.
- After reading the poem, ask children to explain what they think Christina Rossetti meant when she wrote, "When the wind blows, you walk away slow."
- Have children discuss possible answers to the poet's question, "Where do you go?"
With the combination of words that repeat and words that rhyme, you can use this poem to support children's growing understanding that groups of letters form words (conventions of print) and listen for sounds that letters make (phonological awareness). Count the number of times the words sheep and wind appear in the poem. Then encourage children to think of more words that rhyme with hill/still and go/slow.
Hunt for Shapes (pages 16 and 17)
- Before talking about this feature, ask children to tell what they know about museums.
- As you explore this feature, begin by asking children to describe what they see happening. Here are some questions you could use. What do you think the woman in the chair is doing? What do you think the kids are doing? What else do you see happening?
- For young children, counting the shapes may be too difficult. Encourage them to just talk about what they see on these pages.
- Older children will enjoy finding and counting the rectangles and squares. As you work together on this task, it may be hard to decide if some are squares or rectangles. You could model using a ruler to check on the length of the sides. If you count the children's pads of paper, the labels by the paintings, and the easels, you will find at least 20 rectangles.
After exploring the shapes on these pages, encourage children to look around the room and identify shapes they see. When you go for a walk or take a drive, have fun hunting for shapes.
Build It (page 27)
- Begin discussing this illustration by asking children if they have ever walked across a foot bridge. Then talk about how the girl in this feature used alphabet blocks to make steps up to her bridge.
- After answering the questions, point out that the girl in this illustration used wooden blocks, alphabet blocks, toy people, cars, and trees. Help children think about what materials they would like to use to build a pedestrian bridge.
Block play enables kids to make their own decisions about what and how they will build. Children stretch their imaginations, strengthen their problem-solving abilities, and learn how to organize as they combine various materials to make something that they have seen.